MasukMichael’s POV By the time Ashley and I pulled into the driveway at Henry’s school, my chest felt like it was being squeezed.The school was exactly what you would expect from a private academy that catered to the wealthiest families in the city.Ashley turned off the engine slowly and for a moment neither of us moved.“He’s never gotten into trouble before,” Ashley said quietly.Her voice carried the same disbelief I was feeling.“He must have had a reason,” she added.I stared straight ahead at the main building. “There’s always a reason" I said but that didn’t mean it was a good one.Ashley turned toward me. “Michael… the call sounded serious.”I exhaled slowly through my nose.“Yeah, it did” I muttered but the more I thought about it, it seemed impossible.Henry… fighting someone? It didn’t add up.He could be stubborn, rebellious sometimes and moody like most teenagers, but he wasn’t violent.Ashley reached over and touched my arm gently.“We’ll handle it,” she said.I nodded.
Michael’s POV I leaned back in my chair, staring at the screen in front of me while rubbing the bridge of my nose. I had been digging for hours now, trying to connect two things that refused to meet and that was Theo and the Ramirez family.It shouldn't have been this hard.If Theo had any connection to them, there should have been something like an old report, a financial tie, a partnership, a whisper of collaboration between organizations, but every search I ran came back clean.I tapped my pen against the desk."Come on, nobody's this invisible" I muttered under my breath. I opened another file, one that had nothing to do with Theo directly but everything to do with the other name that had been haunting my mind since that night at the warehouse.My stomach tightened as the latest intelligence report on the Ramirez family appeared.I still couldn’t believe it had been seven long years since I had run.My fingers hovered over the trackpad before I scrolled. The report was extensiv
Michael’s POVNick stood in front of me for several seconds after finishing the bandage, staring at my arm like he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing.I had explained everything to him as he worked and it was a lot for him to process. “You’re bleeding through it already,” Nick muttered, pressing the bandage a little tighter.I gritted my teeth as pain flared up my arm.“It’s fine,” I said.“It’s not fine.”“It’s manageable.”Nick exhaled sharply, clearly fighting the urge to yell at me.“You got shot, Michael.”“Technically grazed.”“That’s not better!”His voice echoed softly through the quiet house and for a moment, both of us froze. We instinctively glanced toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms.Nick lowered his voice.“You should have told me you were going after him,” he said.“I knew you would try to stop me" I replied. “Yeah, because this is exactly why” he said bluntly. I leaned back against the counter, trying to ignore the dull throbbing in my arm. Adrenaline
Michael’s POVThe gun was still pressed firmly against the back of my helmet. The man holding it watched me with narrowed eyes, like a predator that had finally cornered its prey."How do you know that name?" I asked him but he ignored me.“Take the helmet off” he said calmly, My hands were now raised slightly in surrender, but my mind was racing.If he saw my face, everything would collapse. All the lies I had carefully built to keep our lives normal would explode.I forced myself to breathe slowly.“You still haven’t answered my question,” I said and the man frowned.“What question?”“How you know that name.”He tilted his head slightly.“Ramirez?”“Yes.”He stared at me for a moment, then chuckled quietly.“Interesting,” he muttered.“Why?”“Because most people would deny knowing it.”“I’m curious,” I replied carefully and his grin returned.“You should be afraid instead.”My jaw tightened inside the helmet.“Answer the question.”The man studied me like I was a puzzle piece that
Michael’s POVI stayed in the shadows behind a stack of shipping crates, barely breathing. Inside the massive warehouse, the overhead lights hummed softly.Theo stood near the center of the space with three other men. Even from this distance, his presence commanded attention.His back was straight, his shoulders broad beneath his fitted jacket. His voice carried clearly across the open warehouse as he spoke with calm authority.“They've arrived, right?” Theo asked.One of the men nodded. “Customs clearance already went through” he replied. “Good, no mistakes this time” Theo replied coolly. My pulse quickened.This was it.Exactly the kind of coded language people used when they were moving drugs or weapons.I leaned forward slightly, keeping my helmet low so the visor hid my face. The dark visor reflected the dim lights, making it impossible for anyone to see my eyes.The helmet wasn’t just protection for riding, right now it was a mask.One of the men beside Theo checked a tablet
Michael’s POVAs laid in bed later that evening, Henry’s words replayed in my head on a vicious loop.I lay flat on my back, staring at the ceiling, the faint streetlight from outside cutting through the curtains and casting pale light across the room.Ashley hadn’t believed me when I lued i was fine when she'd came to check up on me, but she had let it go.Nick had been quieter. He always knew when I needed silence instead of comfort.Now the house was still. Henry’s music had stopped an hour ago and his door hadn’t opened again.I turned onto my side and reached for the drawer of my bedside table.My fingers wrapped around the cool wooden frame before I even fully decided.I pulled it out and a picture of Fernando stared back at me.The photo was old, taken before everything collapsed. He looked happier there, less haunted.His dark eyes were intense even in stillness, his jaw strong with that arrogant half-smirk he always wore like armor.I sat up slowly, resting my back against th







