"Say that again?" Dylan was furious. He hadn’t expected Lisa to speak so disrespectfully about his daughter.
"Hah! You useless man, all you do is puff yourself up in front of women, huh? You don’t have a penny to your name—what do you think you can provide for your daughter?" Lisa continued mocking him without a care.
Dylan’s gaze remained as cold as steel, locking onto Lisa’s smug expression. “How I raise Molly is none of your concern,” he said, his voice low but firm.
Lisa let out a dry laugh, crossing her arms. “Oh, please, Dylan. Let’s not pretend you’re doing her any favors. You’re a broke, useless man with no future. Molly deserves better than being dragged down by you.”
Dylan opened his mouth to reply, but a small voice interrupted from the doorway. “You’re a bad woman!”
Both heads turned toward Molly, who stood clutching her stuffed bunny as though it were her only shield. Her innocent face was streaked with tears, her big eyes glistening with hurt.
Lisa’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “What did you just say, you little brat?”
Upon hearing Lisa's words, Dylan's face turned cold. He stood up and positioned himself in front of Molly, coldly saying.
"Repeat what you just said? Who gave you the guts to call my daughter like that?"
Lisa let out a cold laugh, thinking Dylan was a clown.
"I called her a little brat!"
Lisa's face was full of mockery. "What are you going to do to me? Hit me?"
Dylan clenched his fists tightly, unable to accept that someone would dare insult his daughter.
Molly took a shaky step forward, her tiny fists clenched at her sides. “You’re bad! You made Daddy sad!”
Lisa rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, grow up, you spoiled little—”
“Enough!” Dylan’s voice cut through her words like a whip. His jaw clenched as he stepped protectively in front of Molly. “Apologize. Now.”
Lisa laughed harshly, leaning back against the wall. “Apologize? To a child nobody even wants? Don’t make me laugh, Dylan. Even her own mother doesn’t care enough to stick around.”
“Mommy loves me!” Molly cried, her voice breaking as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.
Lisa smirked, her voice dripping with venom. “Oh, sweetheart, if your mother really loved you, do you think she’d have left you with this useless man?”
Molly cried loudly, throwing the plush toy she was holding at Lisa. Lisa was seething with anger, feeling deeply offended.
"You little brat!" She raised her hand, intending to slap Molly hard.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Dylan angrily stood up, positioning himself in front of Molly.
Lisa collided with Dylan, and his strong body made her feel as if she had slammed into a wall. She screamed and fell to the ground, her head hitting the corner of the table, blood pouring out.
"Blood! I'm bleeding! Dylan, you're a complete maniac! How dare you hit a weak woman?!" Lisa screamed, touching her forehead.
Dylan sneered coldly. "I didn’t hit you. You were the one trying to hit Molly. I was just protecting her! There are cameras in our living room!"
But Lisa ignored Dylan's words, she screamed, “You think you can get away with hitting me? You’re nothing but a pathetic excuse for a man, Dylan! You have no money, no status, nothing! How dare you!”
However, her rant was interrupted by the distant rumble of engines. The sound grew louder, cutting through the morning quiet until it was impossible to ignore.
“What’s that noise?” Molly asked, her tears momentarily forgotten as she peeked out from behind Dylan.
Lisa strode to the window, her anger replaced by confusion. “What the…” she muttered.
Outside, a procession of sleek, luxurious cars pulled up in front of Jane’s house. The sun gleamed off the polished surfaces of the vehicles—Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Aston Martins—each more dazzling than the last.
Lisa’s jaw dropped. “Are you seeing this?” she asked, though she wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular.
Dylan didn’t move, his expression unreadable.
Moments later, men in tailored suits began stepping out of the cars, their movements precise and exuding authority.
Lisa turned back to Dylan with a smug smirk. “See that? This is Jane’s life now. These must be her new business partners. The Nelsons. Real men with power and money. You’ll never even get close to this kind of wealth.”
Dylan’s lips curved into a faint, mocking smile, one that sent an inexplicable chill down Lisa’s spine.
From one of the cars, a strikingly handsome man emerged. He was tall, with sharp features, and his three-piece suit fit him perfectly, exuding elegance and power.
Lisa’s breath hitched. “Who is that?” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes away.
She turned to Dylan with a triumphant look. “This must be one of Jane’s wealthy suitors,” she said loudly. “Look at him—class, wealth, everything you’ll never have. Face it, Dylan, you’ll never compare to—”
Seeing the handsome man walk up to her, Lisa quickly straightened her clothes.
She put on what she thought was her most beautiful smile and said to the handsome man, "Hello, sir. I'm Jane's best friend, Lisa. She's not here right now, but I can show you around..." However, the man walked straight past Lisa without even glancing at her. Instead, he stopped in front of Dylan and, to her utter shock, bowed deeply. “Mr Grenville,” he said, his voice filled with respect. “I am Charles Emerson, the Nelson family’s butler. It’s an honor to see you here.” Lisa’s mouth fell open. “What?” she stammered, her brain scrambling to make sense of what she had just witnessed. Before she could say more, another car door opened. This time, a stunning woman stepped out, her movements graceful as she helped an elderly man to his feet. The old man leaned on a silver cane, his face lit with emotion as he approached Dylan. “Young master,” the elderly man said, his voice trembling. “Welcome home. We’ve been waiting for this day for so long.”
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Vivian didn’t answer right away. Her fingers tightened around the pendant until the edges bit into her skin. The cold wind lashed at her face, but it was nothing compared to the storm tearing through her mind.Finally, she spoke, voice low. “Then we burn it before it breathes.”Dylan nodded slowly. “Caleb thinks he found a backdoor into the Umbra relay. Could give us thirty seconds of blackout in Madrid’s defense grid.”“Thirty seconds is a lifetime in the right hands,” she said, then turned to face him fully. “Get the strike team briefed. We go dark at 0400.”He hesitated. “You sure you’re up for this?”Vivian’s eyes flashed. “I wasn’t up for losing Oslo. I wasn’t up for watching a clone wear Nadia’s face like a mask. But here we are.”Dylan gave a grim smile. “Alright then. I’ll let the others know.”As he walked off, Vivian stared into the darkness, whispering to herself, “Let Madrid be the last grave we dig.”⸻Caucasus Mountains, 48 hours laterA blizzard roared across the icy pe
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Somewhere near the northern fjords of Norway, two hours later…The safehouse was buried deep in the granite belly of a mountain, invisible to satellites and cloaked from all standard surveillance grids. Caleb hunched over the console, red light from the screens casting his face in eerie shadows.“Still no ping on Hale?” Vivian asked, voice hoarse from smoke and adrenaline.“Ghosted,” Caleb muttered, typing rapidly. “He’s not on facial, thermal, or biometric nets. Either someone’s hiding him, or—”“Or he’s using another clone,” Mendez cut in grimly as he loaded fresh rounds into his sidearm. “We don’t even know if that was the real him back there.”Vivian paced. Her bruised neck still ached, but her fury outweighed the pain. “It was him. That ego? You can’t fake that.”A ping echoed from Caleb’s console. Everyone stilled.“Something just hit a subchannel from Geneva.” Caleb leaned in, brows furrowing. “Encrypted scramble. But the tag matches the Umbra matrix. It’s… a fragment. Voicepri
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A glass chandelier sparkled above the marble atrium, casting refracted light across the faces of billionaires, diplomats, and defense contractors. Waiters in tuxedos glided past with champagne. Laughter rippled. Cameras clicked.And in the middle of it all, Victor Hale smiled.His tailored suit was razor-sharp, his tie blood red. The woman on his arm—Nadia’s clone—laughed at something a Turkish minister said, but her eyes flicked robotically to the left every three seconds. A programmed scan pattern.“She’s running a threat sweep,” Dylan muttered from the van, eyes locked on the screen.Vivian adjusted her blazer, then pulled her hair into a tight ponytail as she exited the vehicle. “Let her. She won’t see us coming.”“Two guards at every exit,” Mendez said, checking the building schematic. “Basement’s got a secured uplink. That’s where he’ll trigger the protocol.”Vivian clicked her mic. “Caleb?”“I’m inside already,” came the hushed voice. “Pose as a waiter. I’m moving toward the up
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36 Hours LaterLocation: Prague, Czech Republic — Underground Vault beneath the Bellini FoundationA silent corridor stretched before them, dimly lit by recessed lights that flickered ever so slightly—almost like a pulse.Vivian led the way, clad in tactical black. Her expression was unreadable, movements sleek and calculated. Dylan followed behind, checking the biometric reader on his wrist every few feet. Caleb trailed nervously, re-earning trust one mission at a time.They reached a reinforced steel door—coded, pressure-sealed, and shielded.Dylan pulled out a decryptor puck and slapped it onto the control pad.“Security protocols rotating every ten seconds,” he murmured. “We’ve got one window.”Vivian leaned in. “Then make it count.”With a soft click, the door hissed open. Vivian was the first through, her silenced pistol sweeping the room——only to pause.Inside wasn’t what she expected.No computers.No hard drives.Just art.And Marco Bellini.Standing casually, a glass of win
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Three Days Later — Tokyo, JapanLocation: Private Tea House, Shibuya DistrictThe paper screen slid open silently as Maiko Katsura entered, her presence as sharp and precise as the blade hidden beneath her kimono sleeve. She wasn’t just an information broker—she was a legend in the intelligence world, someone even seasoned field operatives refused to cross.Vivian stood waiting, dressed simply in black, no weapons visible, but her eyes betrayed the fire that had only grown since the confrontation with Lucien.Maiko’s lips curled faintly. “You came without backup. Either brave… or reckless.”Vivian bowed slightly. “Both.”Maiko gestured to the cushion across from her. “Then speak. And don’t waste words.”Vivian slid a flash drive across the lacquered table. “Nadia Greer. Victor Hale. Marco Bellini. We tracked the link back to your territory. I need names, networks, satellite leases, ghost server jumps—everything.”Maiko didn’t even look at the drive. “And what do I get in return?”Vivi
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The buzz of tension hadn’t even begun to settle when the door to the safehouse’s main floor clicked open again.Vivian and Dylan both turned sharply, hands instinctively brushing their concealed holsters.But it wasn’t an intruder.It was Agent Serena Voss—tall, poised, icy-eyed, and draped in her usual navy coat that seemed to hum with command.Behind her trailed Specialist Lin Cho, whose tablet was already lit up with real-time satellite pings.“Did you miss the part where this was a restricted site?” Dylan growled.Serena didn’t blink. “I override my own clearances.”Vivian stepped forward. “Then override this—walk back out, Voss. We’re not playing diplomatic games anymore.”“I didn’t come for games.” Serena’s eyes flitted to the monitor showing Victor Hale sipping wine. “You’re playing with fire, Vivian. Hale’s not just ‘retired.’ He’s an asset that never shut down.”“Asset,” Vivian repeated, voice low. “Is that what you call a man who once sold out half our Eastern field network
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