LOGINI stood near the corner of the arcade, Noah wrapped securely around my waist like a little koala. He chattered happily away, his small voice bubbling over as he explained how incredible his day had been, how good he felt dominating the virtual car games, and how he might just trade up to become a professional racer one day.I chuckled softly, reaching up to stroke his hair and encouraging his big dreams. I wasn't the kind of mother to crush my kids' ambitions without at least listening to them out first.We made our way back across the bright, echoing crowd toward the small cafeteria directly opposite the arcade. I had spent the walk trying to coax Adrian into relaxing, whispering that maybe we were just over-stressing ourselves, letting our imaginations run wild. He hadn't agreed with me—not by a long shot—but he had quietly decided to follow along for my sake, keeping his heavy protective guard wrapped tightly around us.We stepped into the warm, bustling air of the cafeteria just a
I pulled up the global accounts.What I saw made my breath slow.A network so vast it barely looked real. Funds distributed across continents, currencies shifting constantly, values masked and mirrored. The system wasn’t just protected—it was alive, adapting in real time.Impossible to break.That was the word that came to mind.Impossible.I closed my eyes for a moment, forcing myself to breathe. Panic wouldn’t help. Anger wouldn’t help. I had to think clearly.If I couldn’t break it… I had to control it.Or erase it entirely.My fingers hovered over the keyboard as the weight of the idea settled in. This wasn’t a fight that ended with a battle. This was a war fought in silence, in algorithms, in legal structures and financial choke points.If I destroyed their global bank access—even for a moment—their empire would collapse inward. No payments. No loyalty. No ability to move influence across borders.They would devour themselves.But the cost…I knew what it would take. The risks we
The paper felt heavier than it should have.One of Pa Jake’s guards handed it to me without a word.There was no envelope. No seal Just a folded sheet, creased once, deliberate Julian’s style. I didn’t open it immediately. I already knew whatever was written there wasn’t meant to inform me It was meant to unsettle me.When I unfolded it, the message was short. Cold and personal.No threats spelled out.No explanations.It was Just confirmation.The Dynasty brothers are in America.Jacksonville CityMy chest tightened.How is that even possible? I thought. These weren’t men who moved casually.Every step they took was calculated, public when it needed to be, invisible when it didn’t. Them coming here meant one thing: this was no longer a distant power pressing from afar They had crossed the ocean to end this themselvesFear hit hard not the kind that paralyzes but the kind that sharpens everything too much This wasn’t just intimidation. This was a declarationThey meant business
I watched the hacker closely as he worked, fingers flying across the keyboard, eyes glued to multiple screens. The soft hum of machines filled the room, but nothing could drown out the tension pulsing through me. Every move he made felt like walking on the edge of a knife—one wrong input, one miscalculation, and everything we were risking could collapse.Signals, firewalls, proxy chains, encrypted nodes—he navigated through them like water, but the Dynasty’s systems weren’t ordinary. I could feel the weight of the obstacle pressing down on us. This wasn’t just a corporate network. This was a global fortress backed by power beyond what most people could imagine.Suddenly, alerts flared on the screen. Government-backed intrusion detection. Emergency protocols activating in real-time. Funds didn’t vanish yet, but the movement slowed, frozen in place. Shadow-locks. Reroutes. Every signal the hacker sent was being scrutinized, diverted, delayed.“They’re reacting,” I muttered to myself, he
I sat back on my seat on the airplane, my laptop open, files spread across the screen like pieces of a broken puzzle.Flight noise hummed softly around me but my mind was nowhere near the cabin. I was tracking movements, names, timelines anything connected to the Russian minister. Every detail mattered now.Elena sat beside me quiet but alert. She hadn’t said much since we boarded.“We’ll have to go undercover once we land,” I said, breaking the silence.She turned sharply “Undercover? What?”“Yes,” I replied. “At the airport.”Elena frowned “Can’t we send someone else to do this? Why does it have to be us?”I closed the file and looked at her. “Because this part is too sensitive. If we give it to the wrong person and they make a mistake, the whole plan collapses, We can’t afford that.”She studied my face for a moment, then sighed“Alright. I understand”I nodded, then added, “According to the news the Russian minister arrives at this airport today”She stiffened. “He’s the one han
I slammed the car door shut, rounded the vehicle, got inside, and sped away.Logan was safely tucked into the passenger seat, passed out right after making his demands.I groaned loudly, fighting back the urge to slam my fist against the steering wheel.I was angry, but I wasn't stupid.My gaze darted to him. His eyes were shut, and I silently whispered a thank-you. If I had to stand one more second of his annoying talking, I would have banged my head against the wheel until I passed out.I drove down the cool streets of New York. The drive was awfully peaceful, apart from his scent.He smelled like vintage leather, rain, and a hint of cologne—not the kind that knocks you out, but the kind that seeps deep into your lungs and fills you up.For a man who spent most of his time training and wasting away in a club, he smelled nice.Fuck nice. He smelled good.His scent burrowed its way into my nose, and my lungs clung to it greedily.I stared at him from the corner of my eye: the way his







