2026-07-30 23:01:52
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Chapter 80
Karl’s POVTwo of the men who had failed me knelt on the concrete floor, heads down, wrists bound in front of them. The rest of the crew stood in a loose circle, silent but watching. I walked slowly between the two failures, letting the silence stretch until it became uncomfortable.“You had one job,” I said, voice calm. “Four of you. One target. Bats and the element of surprise. And somehow Sinclair and his friend walked away without a scratch while you two crawled back here looking like amateurs.”One of them, the younger one, swallowed hard. “Master Karl, the other man—”I cut him off with a sharp slap sent him tumbling over. “I don’t want excuses. I want results. Results you didn’t deliver.”I nodded to the enforcer standing nearest. He stepped forward and drove a fist into the younger man’s ribs. The sound was wet and heavy. The man folded with a choked gasp. I watched without expression, then turned to the second one.“You were supposed to be the experienced one. What happened
Chapter 79
Clara’s POVI stood in front of the bathroom mirror and practiced the expression one more time. Soft eyes, slightly tired smile. Hand resting lightly on my stomach like it had become a habit. The public version of me had to look flawless even when everything underneath was cracking.Tamara’s voice came from the bedroom. “The blog posts went live an hour ago. Two of the smaller gossip accounts already picked them up. ‘Sources close to the couple say Ace Sinclair has been distant and cold toward his pregnant wife.’ It’s clean, no fingerprints leading directly back to us.”I walked out, still adjusting the neckline of my dress. “Good. Make sure it reaches the board members who actually matter. I want them feeling sorry for me by tomorrow morning.”Tamara looked up from her phone. “You’re pushing hard.”“I don’t have a choice.” I sat on the edge of the bed and started putting on earrings. “Ace is slipping further every day. If I don’t control the story, someone else will. And I am not lo
Chapter 78
Ace’s POVThe sidewalk outside the office was half-empty when I left that evening. Streetlights had already flickered on, throwing long yellow pools across the pavement. My shoulder still carried a dull, familiar ache from the morning’s training, but the rest of my body felt sharper than it had in months. For once the soreness felt useful instead of just punishing.I was halfway to the parking garage when I heard the sharp, frightened cry.An old woman stood near the corner, both hands clenched around the strap of her purse. A skinny guy in a dark hoodie had one hand on the bag and the other raised like he was ready to shove her off balance. She looked terrified.Something in me moved before my brain fully caught up.“Hey,” I called, voice hard. “Back the fuck off.”The guy turned his head. He had that jittery, desperate look of someone who had already decided the world owed him. “Mind your business, man.”I stepped closer, hands loose at my sides the way Ryu had drilled into me a h
Chapter 77
Lena’s POVMy hands were still trembling when I slid into the corner booth across from Natasha. The café smelled like burnt coffee and old wood, the kind of place where people kept their voices low and their eyes on their own tables. It was becoming our rendezvous point. I set the small envelope between us and pushed it toward her with two fingers.“I got more,” I said, keeping my voice quiet. “Texts from last week. One voice note he left when he was drunk. He talks about the hospital bills like it’s something to be proud of.”Natasha opened the envelope and flipped through the pages quickly, her expression tightening with every sheet. “This is solid, Lena. If we can line these dates up with the hospital payment records, it starts looking like a clear pattern of control and coercion. The kind of thing that holds up.”I wrapped both hands around the paper cup just to stop them from shaking. “He’s getting worse. The men outside the building stay longer now. One of them followed me all
Chapter 76
Jonathan’s POVThe air in the underground village always felt heavier than it should. Damp concrete, the faint chemical bite of product being packed, and the low constant hum of generators pressed in from every side. I walked beside Karl through the main corridor, my suit and polished shoes looking almost ridiculous against the rough floors and yellow hanging lights. I hated coming down here. Every visit reminded me that the clean boardrooms and polite handshakes up on the surface were only half of what we really were.Karl stopped near one of the larger loading bays and watched a group of men seal the last set of crates. I stood a few feet away, hands in my pockets, waiting for him to speak first. He always liked to set the pace.“Expansion is moving slower than I want,” he said without looking at me. “We need more routes. More product moving. The surface has gotten too comfortable.”I exhaled through my nose. “The surface is the only reason this whole operation doesn’t collapse, K
Chapter 75
Ace’s POVSweat stung my eyes as I pushed through another set of drills. This was hell but it was needed if I was going to transform from being weak.The guest house living room had been cleared to make space for the mats, and Ryu stood a few feet away calling out corrections in that calm, unforgiving voice of his.“Keep your guard up Mr Ace! Again.”My shoulder still ached from the attack, but the pain had started to feel useful. Every time I moved through the sequence Rhy taught me, I felt a little less like the man who used to swallow Clara’s lies and call it loyalty. I dropped into a low stance, blocked the padded strike Ryu threw, and countered. My breathing was rough, my muscles burned but I kept going.When Ryu finally called the break I sat on the edge of the mat, chest heaving, and grabbed the water bottle. The door opened and Jacobi walked in, looking like he hadn’t broken a sweat all day.“You’re improving,” he said, tossing me a towel.I wiped my face. “Still feel like I
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