2026-02-22 00:05:00
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CHAPTER 169
Two Years LaterThe autumn sun streamed through the windows of the modest home Damien and Simone bought in the suburbs. Nothing flashy but safe and filled with light.Emma, who was now almost ten, helped her brother, two-year-old Daniel build block towers in the living room. She was patient when he knocked them down giggling.Daniel toddled around with the energy of a child who spent his first months fighting for every breath. Every step was a victory.The NICU challenges left him smaller than average but he was healthy and happy. Doctors said he would catch up eventually, it was just a matter of time.Simone's design firm thrived. She worked from home three days a week and balanced career and motherhood in ways that felt sustainable now.The pregnancy trauma left scars. She still saw a therapist monthly and sometimes had nightmares. But she was healing.Ashley lived ten minutes away with her twins and her new husband. A
CHAPTER 168
Daniel Marcus Webb weighed three pounds and two ounces. He was tiny and fragile but alive and breathing on his own.He was immediately placed in the NICU covered in wires and tubes. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit hummed with machines and monitors.But he was breathing on his own which was a miracle at twenty-nine weeks. Most premature babies needed ventilators.Simone recovered from surgery and was wheeled to see him two hours later. She was still groggy from anesthesia but insisted on going.She wept at the sight of their tiny son fighting for life in an incubator. His skin looked very translucent and his fingers were so small.Damien held her hand with both of them exhausted and terrified but very grateful. They had come so close to losing everything.The NICU doctors explained that Daniel would need to stay hospitalized for at least two months and possibly three until he reached developmental milestones.There
CHAPTER 167
The building did not fully collapse. Firefighters stabilized it enough for rescue operations after twenty minutes of desperate work.Torres and her team were extracted through windows using ladder trucks. The firefighters broke through the glass and pulled them to safety one by one.All survived though two agents were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Their lungs were damaged from breathing toxic fumes but the doctors expected full recovery.Robert Carlos was found dead in the stairwell. He was killed by falling debris during the structural failure when part of the ceiling came down.His body clutched a melted and useless gun. The heat had warped the metal beyond recognition.The USB drive Damien protected survived and contained exactly what Martin promised. Comprehensive evidence of Volkov's entire network spanning multiple continents.Martin Bradford survived the heart attack. Paramedics revived him at the place and he wa
CHAPTER 166
The building's fire suppression system activated but the flames spread so fast. Water sprayed from ceiling sprinklers but did nothing to slow the inferno.This was not an accident. The fire moved rapidly and consumed everything in its path with unnatural speed.Torres screamed into her radio. "This is arson! Repeat, deliberate arson! We need firefighters and rescue immediately!"Agents scrambled to evacuate. They moved toward the exits but smoke was already filling the corridors and visibility dropped to almost nothing.Martin looked genuinely terrified. His pale face went even whiter. "I did not plan this. Someone must have followed you here."Torres realized the truth in a flash of understanding. Robert Carlos. He escaped to Costa Rica but clearly returned to tie up loose ends.If Martin testified, he would implicate Robert further. Provide details about Robert's role in the network. The fire was meant to kill Martin before he
CHAPTER 165
Damien arrived at CloudTech headquarters with Torres and a full team. Black SUVs surrounded the building and agents took positions at every entrance.The building was empty since it was after hours and security was minimal. Most employees had gone home hours ago.They took the elevator to the top floor where Damien's old office overlooked the city. The view through floor-to-ceiling windows showed Chicago glittering in the darkness.The door was open. Martin Bradford sat in Damien's former chair and looked older and thinner than Damien remembered.He was clearly ill. His skin was pale and his eyes were sunken deep into his skull. But he was smiling like they were old friends meeting for drinks."Damien. Thank you for coming," Martin said. His voice was weaker than before. "Agent Torres, I assume your people have the building surrounded."Torres nodded curtly. "You are under arrest, Martin. Do not make this harder than it need
CHAPTER 164
Damien could not breathe. The hospital hallway seemed to tilt sideways and his vision blurred at the edges.Martin Bradford was his mentor for six years. The man who helped him build CloudTech from nothing and who guided his career with patience and wisdom.The man who celebrated Emma's birth with champagne and gave him advice on everything from business strategy to fatherhood.That Martin was secretly orchestrating the company's destruction the entire time? This wasn't possible. It was incomprehensible."Are you sure?" Damien asked. His voice sounded strange to his own ears."I am sending you the evidence right now," Torres said. "I am sorry, Damien. I know how much he meant to you."Damien's phone buzzed with incoming files. He opened them with trembling fingers and started reading.Financial records showed payments from Volkov's shell companies to Bradford's offshore accounts going back eight years. Millions of d
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