Tony Hale Novels & Stories

Nico’s POV Adrian’s report arrived before sunrise. I hadn’t slept. The photograph remained on my desk, turned facedown because every time I looked at it, I imagined my hands around Ethan Hale’s throat. Adrian entered carrying a thick folder and placed it in front of me. Leon followed, although no one had invited him. “Ethan Alexander Hale,” Adrian began. “Thirty-two. Chief executive of Hale International. Hotels, private resorts, property development, and logistics holdings across the United States and Europe.”

It was Jasper Cole. Alexander glanced at the screen, then looked back at me. "Wait for me." He left those two words, turning and walking out of the observation room. At the end of the corridor, by the window, Alexander answered the call. "Mr. Knight, we've fully interrogated him." "It's Marcus Hale, a compulsive gambler. He owes several hundred thousand to a small loan company under the White Group, and Chloe White is holding this over his head to force him to do her bidding."

The message came in the form of a legal summons not to a courtroom, but to a private estate in northern Vermont. Sender: Anders Hale. Relation: Sole heir to Echo agent Margot Hale, now deceased. Subject: "Request for in-person consultation. I’ve inherited a sealed Echo vault. I do not wish to destroy it nor do I wish to own it. I want someone to help decide what the world should know." The Hale estate stood like a ghost on a hill stone and ashwood, once a listening post for early Echo operations under the guise of diplomatic retreats. The grounds were wild now, the vines untrimmed, windows fogged with time.

“Thirty-second floor. Mr. Hale will see you.” Mr. Dominic Hale. Founder of the elite Hale & Lex Law Group. A man so powerful even his whispers could bankrupt empires. I’d Googled him the night before. His pictures didn’t prepare me. The elevator doors opened into a private hallway carpeted in thick gray. Every step I took seemed to echo in the quiet. The door to his office was already ajar, and I stood there for a moment, adjusting my blouse before knocking. “Come in.” His voice was deep. Not just deep—dominant, laced with quiet command. I pushed the door open and saw him.

Because we’re not. Hale disappears into his study after a shower, still toweling off his hair when I catch a glimpse of him pacing, already on his second call. I don’t know who he’s talking to—probably someone from his international network, one of those shadow brokers or off-the-grid asset specialists he doesn’t even bother naming anymore. He doesn’t ask me to leave. But I don’t go in either. Not yet.

Hale Global Headquarters. Neo-Veridia. 08:00 AM. The automatic glass doors of the Hale Global tower hissed open. The lobby was bustling with the morning rush—analysts juggling coffees, interns running with tablets, security guards scanning badges. But when the figure in the black trench coat stepped through the doors, the noise level dropped by fifty percent. Altair Hale walked through the lobby.

Alpha said. “It matters not what anyone here believes to be true. I am here to claim what is rightfully mine,” I said. “Oh? Is this not a family reunion?” Alpha Joshua said. “I, Shane Hayes, am here to challenge Alpha Joshua Wright of the Dark Moon pack,” I said. “Hayes? You are a Wright,” Alpha Joshua growled. “Your name will die here, today. Hayes is the name I’ve taken and will be the name that carries into the next line,” I said.

Ophelia sensed the shift too. Her expression tightened subtly as she studied Luna more carefully. Something uncertain flickered across her face for the first time. Then a man hurried toward them from the far end of the ballroom. Wore a grey suit and a nervous smile with conference badge hanging from his neck. “Ms. Albert!” he called breathlessly. The moment he reached her, he bowed slightly. “My God, it’s truly you.” He extended both hands eagerly. “Victor Hale, chairman of Hale Dynamics. We spoke over video conference last year regarding the Tokyo acquisition.”

I needed to buy myself a lot of time or else, I was going to be doomed if he discovers. Bang! I collided with a figure just as I was running, making me fall to the floor. Immediately, a sense of premonition arose in my heart as I stood up and looked at the figure. Frowning, I saw that the figure was a man in his late sixties. But from the looks of it, he didn't seem to be a member of the pack and it made me wonder if he was a spy. But then I could care less about that at the moment, I needed to leave as soon as I could. I didn't know if Alpha Kyle had noticed that I was missing or not.

I extended a hand to him, and shaking my hand, he smirked at me, watching as Natasha took a step back. “Alpha Nathan Kozlov. You really are a man of business. I can see that your place seems to bring in more people with each passing day” he said, looking at Natasha who bit her bottom lip as she smiled. I knew that it disgusted her to act this way, but she also knew her job and duty well, and it was one of the main reasons why she was the ONLY one qualified for this job and no one else.