2026-01-22 01:58:45
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Chapter 124: Cracks in Calm
Morning did not come gently this time.It came with noise. Phones. Notifications. Buzzing. Ringing. Voices.Victor was already awake before the sun touched the curtains. He sat stiff, headphones on, eyes sharp, face pale.Andrew dragged himself up from the couch and rubbed his face.“What now?” he muttered.Victor didn’t answer.Richard stepped in quietly, like he had never slept at all.Diane followed, tying her hair, worried already.Kathleen sat with a blanket around her shoulders. Her eyes were swollen. She must have cried sometime during the night.Victor finally spoke. “It dropped.”Richard nodded once. “Show me.”The article was everywhere already. Not small anymore. Not quiet.Screens lit up with copies, blogs, news pages, gossip sites, social media. Same headline. Same poison.A SAINT WITH DIRTY HANDS?HIDDEN MONEY. HIDDEN DEALS. HIDDEN TRUTH.Photos of Gerald shaking hands. Photos of Kathleen cutting ribbons. Smiling. Helping people.And under the pictures:Doubt. Suspicion.
CHAPTER 123. Pressure Points
Morning came quietly. No explosions. No gunshots. No chaos.But everyone could feel something was wrong.The air felt heavier.The silence felt louder.Richard woke early and stood by the kitchen counter, drinking black coffee. He didn’t check his phone. He didn’t speak. He just stared at the window like he could see trouble forming somewhere far away.Victor was already at the screens.Andrew snored lightly on the couch, one arm over his eyes.Diane came out slowly, hair messy, voice sleepy.“You didn’t sleep,” she said softly.Richard didn’t deny it.“Not much.”She leaned on the counter.“What are you thinking?”He tapped the mug.“Sean.”She waited.“And?”“He’s choosing.”“Choosing what?”“Where to hurt first.”Her stomach tightened.“Why does it always have to be pain?”“Because pain makes people talk,” Richard said quietly. “Pain makes people panic. Panic breaks plans.”She didn’t like that answer.But she knew it was true.*Victor suddenly spoke.“Richard.”Richard walked ove
Chapter 122 : Forty-Eight Hours
The drive back to the safe house felt longer than usual.Traffic crawled. Horns sounded. People argued in the streets. Life moved like nothing was wrong.But inside Richard’s head, everything felt louder.Sean’s voice replayed again and again.Forty-eight hours.He parked. Took a breath. Went inside.Victor looked up first.“You saw him.”Richard nodded.Andrew straightened.“How bad?”Richard took off his jacket slowly.“He didn’t threaten. He didn’t shout. He didn’t show off. That’s what makes it bad.”Diane walked closer.“What did he say?”Richard looked at all of them.“He gave us time. Two days. Then he stops playing.”Andrew frowned.“Two days to do what?”“Either pull back…” Richard said quietly, “…or be ready to bleed.”Silence landed like a heavy stone.Victor turned to his screens.“So he’s testing boundaries. Mapping responses. He wants to know if we fear him.”Richard nodded.“Yes. And he watched everything. The house. The street. Escape paths. He’s building a picture.”A
Chapter 121 :What Do You Want?
Morning came slowly.The sky was pale gray. Clouds drifted lazily. The city looked tired, like it had fought all night and lost.Inside the safe house, no one slept well.Andrew walked around the room with a cup of coffee he didn’t really want. Victor sat in front of the screens again, focused, silent, studying every line of code like it was a map to survive.Diane stood near the window, hugging herself.Richard came out last.He looked calm.Too calm.“Anything?” he asked.Victor exhaled.“Sean is moving carefully. Not loud. Not stupid. He’s not like Brian.”Andrew frowned. “What does that mean in English?”“It means,” Victor said, “he studies before he bites.”Richard nodded.“That’s worse.”Diane turned.“So what exactly does he want to do?”Richard’s eyes hardened.“Find the weakest person in the chain. Pull them. Break them. Make them talk.”Andrew swallowed.“Who’s the weakest?”Silence.Everyone knew the answer.Diane whispered, “My mom.”Victor nodded slowly.“And maybe… Geral
Chapter 120: Dangerous Contract
The night felt heavier than before.The city kept moving outside, horns, distant engines, faint laughter from late bars, but inside the safe house, an invisible weight pressed on everyone.Sean was moving now.And Richard knew that when Sean stepped into the game, things stopped being about pride, contracts, or headlines.They became personal.They became dangerous.Victor stared at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, as lines of encrypted signals danced across the monitor.Andrew stood behind him, chewing gum again, but this time his jaw was tight.No one joked anymore.Diane walked quietly toward the table, eyes shifting from one face to the other.Finally, she broke the silence.“What exactly does Sean want?”Richard didn’t speak right away.He pulled out a chair and sat slowly, as if lowering himself into the middle of a decision.“He wants leverage,” Richard said. “He never attacks empty-handed. He prefers to take something that forces you to come to him.”Diane frown
CHAPTER 119 : The Quiet Knife
The audit started at dawn.Not with shouting.Not with threats.With silence.Richard sat alone in the small control room of the safe house, staring at a wall of screens. Each screen showed streams of data, calls, transactions, access logs, movements. Victor had set it up overnight.Every beep felt loud.Every pause felt dangerous.Behind him, Diane stood with a cup of coffee she hadn’t touched. Her eyes moved between Richard’s face and the screens.“You haven’t slept,” she said softly.Richard didn’t turn. “Neither have you.”She sighed. “This isn’t healthy.”He finally looked at her. “Neither is betrayal.”That word hung between them.She walked closer. “You’re tearing yourself apart trying to predict the worst.”“I’m trying to prevent it,” he replied.Before she could answer, the door opened.Andrew walked in, jaw tight, phone clenched in his hand. Victor followed right behind him, face serious.“We have something,” Andrew said.Richard straightened. “Talk.”Victor tapped a tablet
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