LOGINThe night passed slowly.
For Serenity, it was a sleepless night. She hugged Mia and Alex, listening to their steady breathing, but her mind was in chaos.
"Mommy, what if he takes us away?" Alex had asked before bed, his small hand holding hers tight.
"He won't," Serenity swore, though she didn't believe it herself. "I won't let him."
Meanwhile, at the top floor of the Sterling Group.
The city lights went out one by one as dawn approached, but the lights in the CEO's office remained on.
Jackson sat on the couch, surrounded by cigarette butts and empty coffee cups. He hadn't smoked in three years, but tonight, his nerves were frayed.
It was 7:55 AM.
Every second felt like a year.
Jackson stared at the heavy mahogany door. He was terrified. What if the boy wasn't his? Then the resemblance was just a cruel joke from God. But what if he was?
What would that make Jackson? A monster who abandoned his own pregnant wife?
Knock. Knock.
The sound echoed in the silent room like gunshots.
"Come in," Jackson’s voice was hoarse.
Luke entered. He looked exhausted, having run around all night, but he held a sealed white envelope with both hands like it was a sacred relic.
"Sir. The results are here."
Jackson stood up. His legs felt heavy. He walked over to Luke and took the envelope. His hand, which signed multi-billion dollar contracts without shaking, was trembling now.
Rip.
He tore the seal open. He pulled out the thin sheet of paper.
He ignored all the medical jargon and skipped straight to the bottom of the page.
Subject 1: Jackson Sterling
Subject 2: Alex Lewis
Probability of Paternity: 99.9999%
Conclusion: Biological Father.
The paper slipped from his fingers and drifted to the floor.
"Sir?" Luke asked cautiously. "Is it..."
Jackson didn't answer. He covered his face with his hands, letting out a sound that was half a laugh and half a sob.
It was true.
The boy who hacked his computer. The boy who looked him in the eye and called him 'Uncle Pig'. That was his son. His son.
And if Alex was his, then Mia... the sweet girl with Serenity's eyes... was his daughter.
He had twins.
Flashbacks from five years ago crashed into his brain like a tsunami.
The divorce papers on the table.
Serenity holding her stomach instinctively.
Her desperate whisper: "Jackson, I have something to tell you..."
And his cruel reply: "I don't care. Unless you are dying, I don't want to hear it."
Jackson punched the wall hard.
Bang!
"I'm a bastard," Jackson gritted his teeth. "I'm the biggest bastard in the world."
She was trying to tell him about the babies. And he chose to rush to the airport for Chloe.
For five years, she raised his children alone in a foreign country. She gave birth alone. She fed them alone. While he was living in luxury, trying to please another woman.
Guilt washed over him, threatening to drown him. But soon, the guilt was replaced by a burning resolve.
They were his blood. His family.
"Luke," Jackson turned around. His eyes were red, but they were blazing with determination.
"Prepare the car. We are going to Starry Tower."
"Are we taking the lawyers, sir?" Luke asked. "Usually in custody battles..."
"No lawyers," Jackson snapped. He picked up his jacket.
"If I send lawyers, she will hate me forever. I don't want to take the children from her."
He paused, looking at the city skyline outside the window.
"I want them all. The mother, the son, and the daughter. I want my family back."
"But Sir..." Luke hesitated. "Miss Vera made it very clear she hates you. And Miss Chloe is waiting for you for lunch..."
"Cancel lunch. Cancel Chloe. Cancel everything for the rest of the week!" Jackson roared.
He walked to the elevator, buttoning his shirt. He needed a strategy. Serenity was no longer the soft, submissive girl he married. She was a tiger protecting her cubs.
He couldn't just demand them back. He had to hunt.
"First," Jackson said as the elevator doors closed. "Find out what her new studio needs. Suppliers? Contracts? Funding? I will give her everything."
"You want to buy her forgiveness with money?" Luke raised an eyebrow.
"No," Jackson narrowed his eyes. "I want to corner her. I will make myself so useful, so unavoidable, that she has no choice but to let me into her life."
He clenched his fist, feeling the phantom sensation of those small strands of hair.
Wait for me, Serenity. You ran for five years. But this time, I won't let you go.
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
Sparks showered from the ceiling. The sound of tearing metal was deafening.The dining car groaned and tilted violently to the right. Tables, chairs, and expensive wine bottles slid down the slope, crashing into the wall.Jackson slammed one hand into a window frame, his other arm locked around Serenity’s waist. He stopped them from sliding into the pile of broken glass below."Don't let go!" Jackson shouted over the noise.Serenity looked down. Through the shattered window beneath them, she saw nothing but swirling snow and darkness. They were dangling over a canyon."The coupling is breaking!" Serenity yelled, pointing to the metal hook connecting their car to the rest of the train. It was stretching, groaning under the weight.CLANG.The door at the top of the tilted car (the one Zero left through) was kicked open.Two figures rappelled down into the car on zip lines.They wore sleek, matte-black armor. No faces. Just glowing red visors. They moved with robotic precision, magnetize
The Midnight Express tore through the darkness of the Swiss Alps at 300 kilometers per hour.In the exclusive private dining car, crystal glasses jingled softly with the vibration of the tracks. Outside the window, nothing existed but snow and night.Jackson adjusted his cufflinks. Under his tuxedo, he was wearing a ceramic knife taped to his ribs—the only weapon the metal detectors didn't pick up.Serenity sat opposite him, looking breathtaking in a black velvet gown. She held a clutch that contained a small vial of Margaret’s anti-serum."Nervous?" Jackson asked, pouring her water."I’m having dinner with the man who tried to kidnap our children," Serenity’s eyes were cold. "I’m not nervous. I’m restraining myself from stabbing him with a fork.""Patience," Jackson whispered.The door at the end of the car slid open.A man walked in.He looked nothing like a villain. He was handsome, in his forties, wearing a grey suit that cost more than the train itself. He had silver hair and a s
"Close your eyes," Liam commanded softly.The nursery was dimly lit. Aurora and Alex lay on the large rug, pillows under their heads. Liam sat between them in a lotus position. Jackson and Serenity watched from the couch, feeling useless but alert."Grandpa, this is unscientific," Alex muttered, keeping one eye open. "Telepathy isn't real.""Quantum entanglement is," Liam placed a finger on Alex's forehead and another on Aurora's. "Connect."A pulse of violet light rippled through the room.The Dreamscape.Alex gasped. He wasn't on the rug anymore.He was standing on an endless plane of pure white water. The sky was white. The horizon was white. It was a blank canvas."Whoa," Alex looked at his hands. They were glowing. "High definition rendering. Zero latency.""Where are the toys?" Aurora appeared next to him. In the dream, she wasn't wearing pajamas. She was wearing a sparkling fairy queen dress.Liam appeared in front of them. He looked younger here, powerful and majestic."This i
That night, the Palace was quiet. But the air was heavy.In the royal nursery, five-year-old Aurora was tossing and turning in her bed. She was sweating.“No… go away…” she whimpered in her sleep.Around her room, objects began to react to her distress. Her teddy bears floated into the air. The heavy curtains rustled as if caught in a storm, though the windows were closed. The water in her glass began to boil.In the Dream:Aurora was standing in a field of grey ash. The sky was purple.In the distance, a massive Black Tower stretched up into the clouds. It looked like a needle piercing the sky.Standing at the top of the tower was a man. He didn't have a face. Just a smooth, white mask with a single vertical line drawn on it."Come here, little star," the man’s voice echoed inside her head. "Your light belongs to me."Shadowy hands reached out from the ground, grabbing Aurora’s ankles."Daddy!" she screamed in the dream.In the Real World:CRACK!The mirror on Aurora's wall shattered







