“Why is no one home? What happened here?”Julian stood in the center of the ruined living room, his hands clenched so tightly as he scanned the place. He had returned to Sunspire City today to surprise his mother, Lucia, and his younger sister, Aurora. Eleven long years of blood, dust, and war had passed since he left at nineteen. He had left behind a broken family after his father, Nicholas, was murdered by the corrupt politician Chadwick Lincoln. Julian had retired as the supreme commander. He dismissed his guard at the border so he could walk up the driveway as a simple son coming home. But instead of warm hugs and the smell of home-cooked food, he had stepped into a nightmare. The wooden front door had been kicked off its hinges. The sofa was slashed open, and family portraits lay smashed on the floorboards. A phone vibrated from the sofa cushions. Aurora's phone.Julian dropped to one knee and shoved the heavy velvet cushion aside. Half-buried in broken glass lay a small s

Inside the pitch-black warehouse, white chemical smoke hissed violently from the shattered ceiling canister, filling the cold room with zero-visibility haze. Tear gas burned through the air, but Julian Bennett didn't flinch. His lungs stayed steady, his eyes slicing through the white fog.He grabbed Aurora, pulled her off the iron table, and tucked her into a narrow alcove behind two heavy steel support beams. "Cover your nose with your collar, keep your eyes shut, and don't move," he whispered into her ear."Julian, no!" Aurora sobbed, clutching his wrist tightly through the darkness. "There are too many of them. They're going to kill us.""Stay down," Julian commanded softly, his voice steady as iron. "Count to twenty."He slipped into the swirling white smoke, vanishing like a shadow dissolving into the night.Outside, heavy tactical boots kicked through the shattered front entrance. Flashlights attached to automatic rifles cut jagged beams of white light through the haze. Thirt

Lucia held onto Julian's black shirt from behind, her body shaking wildly. "Julian... please," she sobbed, tears spilling down her bruised cheeks. "Don't move! They'll kill you.""Stay behind me, Mom," Julian said softly. He didn't step back. He stood like an iron wall, his dark eyes colder than the storm outside.Captain Vance shoved past his officers with a greasy, yellow-toothed smile. He pressed his heavy steel revolver against Julian's forehead. "Look at you," Vance sneered, his breath reeking of cheap whiskey and tobacco. "You came back to Sunspire City thinking you were a tough guy? Let me tell you how things work here, boy. Governor Chadwick Lincoln owns this town. He owns the courts. He own the mayor. And he owns every bullet in this room."Julian looked Vance straight in the eye. "Captain Vance," he said, his voice flat and calm. "You are using your badge to shield a kidnapper and a monster. Lower your weapons and walk away while you still have a chance."Vance laughed hyst

The entire ballroom went still for a moment. The heavy golden pen slipped from Tony Garrison's fingers and fell to the ground.Susan stared at Director Hayes, her jaw wide open, her face draining of all color. "W-What did you just say?" she stuttered, her voice shaking uncontrollably. "Blacklisted? Canceled? There has to be a mistake.""There is no mistake, Miss Garrison," Director Hayes replied coldly into the microphone, his voice echoing off every crystal chandelier in the room. "By order of our new Chairman, Zucker Enterprises has severed all ties with the Garrison family. Your credit lines are revoked, your contracts are null and void, and our legal team is filing multi-million-dollar lawsuits for financial fraud against your firm."Chaos erupted in the hall. Flashbulbs exploded like lightning as dozens of reporters rushed toward the stage, shoving their cameras and microphones into Tony and Susan's panicked faces."Mr. Garrison. Is your family business completely bankrupt?" a r