LOGINExactly nine in the morning. Avery arrived at the study door on schedule.
The main lights were off; only the monitoring terminal on the desk glowed with a cold blue light. Dominic reclined in his swivel chair, back in a dark shirt with the top two buttons undone. Shipping charts were spread across the desk, flanked by stacks of open files—the very air smelled of his brand of business.
Avery stood at the door for a second, taking a sharp breath and letting it out slowly.
Thirty thousand feet above the ocean, inside the Gulfstream business jet.The cabin lights had been dimmed, leaving only a few soft wall lamps casting a gentle glow, shielding them from the raging storm outside the thick windows. The low hum of the engines was the only constant sound, a steady backdrop to the stillness within.Avery sat cross-legged on the wide leather sofa, her phone resting on her knee. The screen's glow illuminated her cool features as her fingers moved rapidly across the display, cross-referencing the voiceprint she had just captured with the terrain map of Santa Maria Island. Lines of code and topographic data streamed across the screen, each one a piece of the puzzle she was slowly assembling.Staring at the dense streams of da
The Neptune's top deck. The sea wind howled, carrying the sharp stench of gunpowder and scorched metal. Black smoke rose from the lower decks, curling into the night sky like dark serpents. The glow of distant fires reflected off the churning waves below, painting the water in shades of orange and crimson.The chaos and flames from the hall below raged through the night. The ship's anti-aircraft defenses had been silently disabled by Dominic's undercover operatives, who had infiltrated the Neptune hours before the auction began. Every gun emplacement, every missile battery, every radar array had been neutralized without a single alarm being raised. The ship's command center had been taken over, its systems rerouted to Kessler's control.Duke Oliver lay sprawled on the wet deck, his once-immaculate vintage suit s
Midnight was approaching.Three decks below the Neptune's surface, the extravagant circular auction hall blazed with light. The air was thick with the scent of agarwood, expensive cigars, and the undercurrent of blood. Massive crystal chandeliers cast a dim, opulent golden glow over the space. The circular viewing galleries were packed to capacity. Those who stood here were titans and criminals from the global underground, arms dealers, illegal tech moguls, and black-market power brokers. The murmur of voices rose and fell like a living thing, punctuated by the clink of glasses and the rustle of expensive fabrics. The polished marble floor reflected the chandelier light in a thousand tiny points, like a field of distant stars.Dominic and Avery sat in the best VIP box on the second level.
Under the cover of night, the open sea churned with towering waves. The black water stretched endlessly, like a beast with its jaws wide open, its surface broken only by the white caps of crashing swells. But in the heart of this dark and lawless expanse, a colossal structure blazed with light, extravagant beyond measure. Its decks were lined with gold and crystal, its hull a fortress of steel against the raging sea.The Neptune, the world's largest mobile underground trading platform.The sound of rotor blades cut through the air, growing louder as a black helicopter descended onto the top deck. The downdraft sent the sea spray scattering across the landing pad. The engines wound down to a low hum.The cabin door slid open. The sea wind whipped agai
The gunpowder smoke on the overpass had been washed away by the rain. Obsidian City welcomed a rare, clear sky. The morning light fell across the buildings, clean and bright, as if the city itself had been reborn. The wet streets glistened under the pale sun, and the distant hum of the harbor carried a note of calm that had been absent for years.With the International Special Investigation Bureau and the Morris family's heavy blockade, the web of black-market interests that had entrenched itself in Obsidian City for years was uprooted. One by one, the old channels were shut down, the hidden accounts frozen, the shadow networks dismantled. North Port was orderly. Ships moved in and out on schedule. The old world's poison had been cleansed by absolute force.Inside the underground command center, the air was cold
Six in the morning. The coastal overpass at Obsidian Port.The rain had not stopped. The sea wind whipped up towering waves that crashed violently against the cliffs below the overpass, sending plumes of white spray high into the air. Sirens and ambulance alarms tore through the rainy night, painting the sky with streaks of red and blue light. The emergency vehicles' flashing beacons reflected off the wet asphalt, casting long, distorted shadows across the bridge. Rainwater streamed down the concrete barriers in thin, relentless rivulets, pooling in the cracks and running toward the edges.Under international judicial procedure, after the interrogation at Kessler Estate, Victor had to be transferred to the International Special Investigation Bureau and Obsidian City's joint police escort. He was to be taken to a
When Avery opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Dominic's Adam's apple, inches from her face.The taut line of his throat shifted slightly with each steady breath. She realized, with a jolt of panic, that at some point she had wrapped her arms around him, her fingers still clutching the fab
Avery stared at those words. Her phone hit the carpet. Before she could pick it up, Dominic was already moving."Drake. Clear the entire second floor. Inside and out." His brow was tight, his face stone serious."Dorothea's room. Now."Footsteps surged from every direction.The living room lights a
Morning came.Dominic's chair was empty.When Avery woke up, he was already dressed. Hearing her stir, he turned."Let's go. The lab."He didn't give her time to hesitate.Drake stayed behind to watch the house. The car waited at the gate.Dominic walked ahead in a dark tactical jacket. Avery follo
Dorothea lowered her head and went back to drawing. The crayon scratched across the paper."Dorothea." Avery crouched beside her daughter."Who told you that number?"Dorothea didn't look up. "I saw it.""Where did you see it?"The little girl's hand stopped. She put down the crayon, picked up her







