Derek’s eyes remained fixed on the gun.The man in the passenger seat tightened his finger around the trigger, but he never got the chance to squeeze it. In the blink of an eye, Derek surged forward. His elbow struck the man’s face with crushing force, throwing him sideways through the open door and out into the night. He disappeared from the vehicle before the engine even stalled.Derek immediately turned his attention to the back seat. Three men sat crowded together, with Megan trapped in the middle. Her hands were bound tight, a thick blindfold covering her eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to keep her breathing steady.Before Derek could reach for her, a cold steel barrel pressed hard into his temple. "Pull over," the man behind him growled.Derek kept his hands planted on the steering wheel, his knuckles pale."Pull over now!" The gun jabbed harder into the side of his head. "If you try anything, I'll shoot her."Derek glanced up at the rearview mirror, ca

The moment Derek was certain Megan was safely settled inside, he stepped out onto the secluded porch and pulled out his phone. He dialed Bushman, the call picking up almost before the second ring finished."Young Master," Bushman's gravelly voice answered."I need you to dig into the men who kidnapped Megan," Derek commanded, his tone dropping to a dangerous chill.Bushman’s voice instantly turned grave. "Do you want their identities?""Everything. Their names, their employers, their money trail, their bank accounts, their phones, their messages. Find out who contacted them, who gave them the instructions, who paid them, where the money came from, and where it went after they received it."Silence stretched over the line for a second as Bushman digested the weight of the request. "You believe someone else is pulling the strings.""I know someone is behind them," Derek replied, turning to look through the glass window toward the room where Megan was resting. "They weren't after her.""

The abandoned warehouse stood isolated far from town, positioned so far off the beaten path that Derek had barely passed another vehicle for miles. The rough, deserted road leading up to it was lined with broken streetlights, long since burnt out or smashed. Dense bushes had crept over the asphalt edges, swallowing the shoulders, while surrounding structures lay in decaying silence.Derek eased his foot off the gas as the massive warehouse drifted into view. From a distance, the property appeared completely deserted, but he knew better. The second his boots hit the ground, his sharp gaze swept the perimeter, taking in the skeletal frames of uncompleted buildings cluttering the grounds.Then he picked them out.Snipers.One crouched along the roofline of a half-built structure. Another sheltered behind a thick concrete pillar. Two more occupied an unfinished building farther back. As Derek subtly moved his eyes across the compound, he identified even more hidden marksmen carefully stat

Derek stared at Eric in complete confusion, the words hanging heavy in the cool air of the warehouse."My blood?"Eric nodded calmly. "Yes."A part of Derek desperately wanted to trust the man standing before him. Eric was his uncle, his father's own brother, and the last memory Derek had of him as a child was entirely untainted by suspicion. Yet another part of his mind flatly refused to lower its guard. Everything about this encounter felt off."What do you need my blood for?"Instead of answering immediately, Eric turned and walked across the concrete floor toward a large wooden cabinet resting against the far wall. Derek tracked his movements closely, watching as his uncle opened the heavy doors, reached deep inside, and pulled out an old, tightly rolled scroll.Eric carried it back, setting it gently on a nearby wooden table. Before Derek could press him further, Eric looked up, his expression turning thoughtful."First, tell me about your mother."Derek's eyes shifted, a wary ed

Uncle Eric quickly turned and walked toward the cabinet again. Without saying another word, he opened it and retrieved the scroll.Derek watched every movement carefully. At first glance, there was nothing impressive about it; it looked like an ordinary piece of old paper that had been tightly rolled and wrapped. There were no visible markings, no writing, and no strange symbols on the outside.Yet the moment Derek looked at it, something inside him reacted. It was subtle, almost like an instinct. The paper was not ordinary, and Derek could feel it in his gut.He stared at the scroll for a few seconds before looking back at Eric. "Is there anything I need to know before I open it?""No, no. There is nothing you need to know," Eric replied immediately, shaking his head.Derek's eyes narrowed. "Nothing?""Nothing," Eric said with a slight smile. "Just put your blood on it. The portal will respond."Derek did not move. He looked around the room again, bothered by the lingering sense that