로그인Morning came slowly.Gray light filtered through the tall windows of the medical wing, washing the room in pale silence.Ethan had not moved.He remained seated beside Don’s bed, one hand still wrapped around his, his head resting against the edge of the mattress. Sometime during the night, exhaustion had pulled him into a shallow, restless sleep.He woke to movement.A slight pressure against his fingers.His eyes snapped open.For a moment, disoriented, he simply stared.Then he felt it again.A weak squeeze.Ethan’s breath caught.His gaze shot upward.Don’s eyes were open.Still heavy with exhaustion.Still dulled by pain.But unmistakably open.Relief hit Ethan so suddenly and violently that his vision blurred.“You’re awake.”His voice came out rough, barely above a whisper.Don looked at him quietly.There was no confusion in his gaze.Only recognition.And something softer Ethan couldn’t immediately name.For several seconds neither of them spoke.Then Don’s lips moved.“You s
Don Pope did not look back.The heavy doors at the end of the hall shut behind him with a finality that echoed through the mansion like a gunshot.Ethan stood motionless.The anger that had fueled him moments earlier was already cooling, leaving behind something colder and harder to ignore.Regret.The guards said nothing.Neither did Victor, who had appeared silently at the far end of the corridor. His expression was unreadable, but there was something sharp in his eyes when he looked at Ethan.Disappointment.“You should go back to your room,” Victor said.Ethan swallowed.“What happened?”Victor’s jaw tightened.“Rafael’s eastern warehouses were attacked.”The words hit him like ice water.“How bad?”“Bad enough.”Victor’s gaze lingered on him for a long moment.Then, quietly—“The Don hasn’t been sleeping because he’s been dismantling threats before they reached this house.”Ethan said nothing.Victor’s voice hardened.“Everything he’s done has been to keep you alive.”And with th
Rain battered the mansion windows.Cross City disappeared behind sheets of silver.Inside, tension coiled through every corridor.Don had doubled security.No one entered or left without authorization.The mansion had become a fortress.And Ethan had become its center.He stood in the library, staring at an old photograph Don had left on the desk.Three men stood together.One was unmistakably younger Don Pope.Another was a stern-faced stranger.And the third—Ethan’s breath caught.His father.There was no denying it.The same sharp features.The same eyes Ethan saw every morning in the mirror.The proof was undeniable.Footsteps sounded behind him.He turned.Don.“You believe me now.”It wasn’t a question.Ethan swallowed hard.“Yes.”Don approached slowly.“There’s more.”Ethan’s stomach tightened.“What?”Don’s expression was grim.“Your father uncovered evidence of betrayal before he died.”“Evidence against who?”“That’s what we’re trying to find.”Ethan frowned.“We?”Don sto
The scream echoed through the mansion.Ethan jerked upright in bed, heart hammering.It was distant.Muffled.But unmistakably human.He moved to the door, pressing his ear against it.Voices.Fast footsteps.Then silence.Something was happening.And no one was telling him anything.His frustration boiled over.He grabbed the heavy ceramic lamp from the bedside table and slammed it against the door handle.Once.Twice.On the third strike, metal bent enough for the latch to loosen.The door swung open.Freedom.Adrenaline surged through him.He slipped into the hallway.The mansion was darker now, most lights dimmed.He moved carefully, keeping close to the walls.Voices drifted upward from below.He followed.At the end of a narrow corridor, he found a staircase descending into the lower levels.The air grew colder with every step.Then he heard Don’s voice.Low.Controlled.Deadly.Ethan stopped just before the bottom step.Through the partially open doorway, he could see everythin
The mansion had gone unnaturally quiet.Ethan stood near the tall window in his room, staring out at the glittering lights of Cross City spread beneath the dark sky. From this height, the city looked peaceful. Beautiful even.It was a lie.Everything about this place was a lie.The polished marble floors. The expensive furniture. The soft bed that swallowed him every night.A prison wrapped in luxury was still a prison.He hadn’t stopped thinking about what had happened earlier.The strange conversation with Don.The way the man had looked at him—not with cruelty this time, but with something Ethan couldn’t understand.And then there was that silence.That brief, loaded pause when Ethan had mentioned trust.Don Pope had looked away.For a man who commanded an empire through fear and absolute control, that tiny flicker of hesitation meant something.Ethan could feel it.There was a crack somewhere in Don’s perfect armor.And Ethan intended to find it.A soft knock came at the door.He
Ethan stood frozen in the center of the room.The silence pressed against him like a weight, thick and suffocating.His pulse pounded hard against his ribs.This was insane.Every instinct told him to stay quiet. To let whatever was unfolding happen without him. If Don Pope had enemies inside his own house, then maybe that was Ethan’s chance. Maybe if chaos broke loose, he could escape.That should have been enough.It should have been exactly what he wanted.And yet—His thoughts kept circling back to those whispered words.Loose end.The phrase made his stomach twist.Because if they were willing to kill Don, then Ethan was never walking out of this alive.He was evidence.A complication.Something to erase.Ethan dragged both hands through his hair and began pacing again.“Think,” he muttered.The guards outside could be involved.The servants—if there even were any—could be involved.There was no one he could trust.Except—His jaw tightened immediately.“No.”The word came out sh







