Masuk~ ISLA ~Emery’s eyes widened in panic as she looked up at the towering figure holding her wrist. The color drained completely from her face, her violent fury vanishing into thin air."A–Alistair..." she stuttered, her voice trembling.Before she could squeeze out another word, Alistair twisted her wrist and shoved her away with brutal force. Emery hit the floor hard, her expensive heels sliding across the polished tiles as she landed in a pathetic heap near the doorway."Alistair!" Emery gasped, staring up at him in utter disbelief as she clutched her bruised wrist. She looked at him with wide, tear-filled eyes, instantly shifting into her victim persona. "Why would you do that to me?! Look at what she did! She threw hot tea directly in my face! My skin is burning!"She gestured frantically to her cheek, where the delicate skin was already turning a deep, angry red and forming small, painful blisters. "I came here to talk to her civilly, and she attacked me! I was only trying to defe
~ ALISTAIR ~I tore through the heavy glass doors of The Sovereign, the cold night air hitting my face like a slap. My chest burned with a furious heat that threatened to devour every shred of restraint I had left.Of course I got his riddle. Simon wasn't just playing innocent; he was openly taunting me, daring me to look closer. The subtle, dangerous malice in his eyes confirmed every terrifying doubt creeping into my mind. My suspicions were becoming real. The man I had treated like a brother for years—the quiet, noble doctor—was a complete stranger. Simon was far more dangerous than anyone had ever realized, hiding a cold, sociopathic monster beneath an immaculate white coat.I slammed the car door shut as I climbed into the driver's seat, pulling my tie completely free and throwing it onto the seat beside me while dialing Evan."Is it done?" I demanded into my phone the second Evan picked up.Before stepping foot inside that lounge earlier, I had already instructed him to run a co
~ ALISTAIR ~We left the charred ruins of the lab behind as the flashing red lights faded in the rearview mirror."Sir, Dr. Ellis's location has been confirmed," Evan reported from the front seat, looking back from his tablet screen. "Our team tracked his personal vehicle to The Sovereign. He's currently in a private suite, meeting with a group of investors."The Sovereign? My hands clenched into tight fists against my knees, my knuckles popping in the silence of the SUV. My fists were already aching to land a punch right in his face.Simon had been in my inner circle for as long as I could remember. We had practically grown up together, walking the same halls and moving through the same elite circles. I had always known he was quiet and somewhat mysterious—a man who claimed to dedicate every waking hour of his life to saving lives and practicing medicine. He kept his private affairs locked tight, and I had respected him for his discipline.Until tonight.The image of his cold, indiff
~ ALISTAIR ~"What?" I snapped into the receiver, my voice raw with the residual fury Mr. Chandler had left behind."Alistair. Don't hang up."The voice on the other end made my blood boil all over again. I sneered, pulling the phone away from my ear with my finger hovering over the red button. I was already pushed to my absolute limit by the old man's disgusting proposal, and now this idiot was calling me. I had zero patience left for Vitale games."I don't have time for your bullshit, Vitale," I snapped, about to end the call."Listen to me, damn it!" His voice cut through the speaker, tight and unnaturally frantic. "Check the news. Allison is missing. She vanished hours ago, and she might be in serious danger."I froze, my hand pausing in mid-air. My eyes narrowed as a sharp, calculating coldness settled over my thoughts.Allison? Missing?"And what the hell does that have to do with me?" I scoffed, leaning against the edge of my desk, my voice dripping with ice. "I have enough on
~ ALISTAIR ~The market tickers running across the glass wall of my office were bleeding red.Despite every non-disclosure agreement enforced, every emergency stock buyback executed, and every legal gag order issued by our PR team, the DNA scandal continued to circulate like wildfire through upper-class society and social media platforms. The press had even labeled it "the fall of an empire." The stock price of the Montgomery Group flickered and dropped with every passing hour, fluctuating wildly under the weight of public hysteria.I leaned back in my leather chair, unbuttoning my suit jacket harshly. I had been clenching my jaw so hard that the muscles in my face ached. My phone was vibrating incessantly against my desk, but my mind was elsewhere—trapped in that hospital room where Isla lay, pale and fragile.The heavy double doors of my office swung open without a warning knock. I didn't need to look up to know who it was; the heavy, deliberate thud of a silver-tipped cane against
~ ALLISON ~ The first thing I registered when I opened my eyes was a heavy, suffocating darkness. I couldn't see my own hands or the floor beneath me. The air was cold and stale, carrying the sharp, metallic tang of damp concrete and rust. My head throbbed with a vicious, rhythmic pulse behind my temples. I tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea forced me to stay still as the memories of what had happened in the laboratory came rushing back in a chaotic wave. The thick glass door crashing open. The sudden burst of tactical flashbangs. Armed, masked men swarming the workspace before Richard or I could even react. I remembered the dreadful panic as they shoved us to the floor. I remembered watching one of them douse the main servers and microfluidic analyzers in chemical accelerant, tossing a flare onto the equipment. The fire had roared to life in seconds, devouring the monitors, the raw spectrograph files, and every shred of evidence we had just uncovered. They had burned it all to







