The eastern warehouse district was quieter than Raiden had expected. Rows of old industrial buildings stretched along the narrow roads, most of them abandoned or barely in use. The further he drove from the main road, the fewer people he saw. There were no pedestrians, almost no traffic, and only a handful of lights still burning between the warehouses.Raiden slowed his car as he approached the location provided by the security team. A few seconds later, he spotted the SUV.It was parked beside an old warehouse with its engine turned off.Raiden stopped several meters away and remained inside his car for a moment, studying the surroundings through the windshield. The vehicle matched the one captured by Aurora's security cameras almost perfectly.He eventually stepped out and approached it. The doors were unlocked. Raiden checked the interior carefully. There was nothing immediately useful, but the engine was still slightly warm. Whoever had driven it had not left long ago.His eyes m

Gerard stood in the middle of the warehouse, staring at the aftermath of the fight with a growing sense of unease. The place had been turned upside down. Several men were unconscious across the concrete floor, metal racks had been knocked out of place, and the walls bore marks from the struggle. Judging from the damage alone, Raiden had clearly fought his way through a considerable number of attackers. What Gerard could not understand was where he had gone afterward.“Young Master Bolt!” he called, his voice carrying through the empty building.Nothing came back.Gerard immediately ordered the security team to search every part of the warehouse, including the offices, storage rooms, loading areas, and rear entrance. If Raiden had managed to escape during the chaos, there had to be some indication of which direction he had taken.While the team spread through the building, Gerard remained near the center of the warehouse and examined the floor. He soon noticed a small black fragment am

Raiden staggered out of the service tunnel and into the night air, his breathing still uneven from the effort of escaping the facility. He had no idea where he was, and his body was barely cooperating with him anymore. The fight at the warehouse had already pushed him to his limit, and whatever had happened inside that strange facility had left him with little strength to spare.He made his way along the roadside until he spotted a small convenience store still open late at night. Raiden pushed through the glass door, drawing a startled look from the cashier.“Sir, are you alright?”Raiden ignored the question for the moment and looked toward the counter. “Can I borrow your phone?”The cashier hesitated at the sight of his condition, then handed him the store phone.Raiden dialed the only number he could remember. The call was answered almost immediately.“Hello?”“Gerard. It’s me.”“Young Master Bolt?”“I need you to pick me up.” Raiden glanced outside the window, trying to identify

The following morning, Aurora returned to its usual rhythm, but Raiden had no intention of treating the previous night as an ordinary incident.Mileena had spent the night in one of the private rooms upstairs under constant security. She had insisted that she was ready to return to work, but Raiden had refused. After everything that had happened, he was not willing to let her walk back into the hotel as though nothing had occurred.When Mileena came down that morning, she found Raiden in the lounge with a cup of coffee beside him.“I heard you told Gerard I am not allowed to work today.”Raiden looked up from his tablet. “You were kidnapped yesterday.”“I am aware of that.”“Then you understand why,” Raiden said.Mileena sat across from him. She still looked tired, but the fear from the previous night had faded from her expression.“I wanted to thank you,” she said quietly.Raiden put the tablet down. “You don't need to.”“I do.” Mileena held his gaze for a moment. “You came for me wh

Marcus left Johny’s office with a faint smile still resting on his face. He had walked in expecting another discussion about Raiden, Aurora, and the failure at the warehouse, but he was leaving with something far more valuable than anything they had managed to accomplish against their common enemy. A secret.Not merely the existence of an unknown backer behind Johny, but the fact that this person had given Johny a direct order to capture Raiden alive and had enough authority to threaten everything Johny possessed. The wording of the letter had been clear enough. If Johny failed again, his wealth, company, influence, and privileged life would all be taken from him.Marcus had no intention of exposing that information immediately. That would be foolish. Information was only valuable when the person holding it understood how to use it.He entered the elevator and leaned against the wall, his mind already working through the possibilities. Johny had never been a man who suddenly acquired