James, his chest swelling with pride, stepped forward, setting down one of the suitcases at Nathan’s feet. He glanced at Tom, and with a nod, he carefully flipped the latches on the case.The lock clicked, and the lid slowly lifted, revealing the stacks of cash inside.Nathan’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he gazed at the bundles of money. He let out a low chuckle, his fingers brushing over the bills. “Well, well,” he murmured. “You’ve all done far better than I expected.”The crew exchanged grins, their chests swelling with pride. Each of them felt a thrill at hearing Nathan’s praise. Lord Cloud’s approval was worth more than any amount of money.Tom leaned in with a smirk. “We were this close to them catching on, but I worked my charm.”Nathan’s gaze shifted to Tom, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Tom, I’ll admit, when I heard about your part in this plan, I had my doubts.”The crew considered Tom to be the unserious one in the group, but he had saved them today. They would

As the mechanic had them all occupied with the tire change, two other figures appeared in the video, slipping into view from the opposite side of the parking lot.One of them opened the rear of the SUV, his motions swift and practiced. He lifted the suitcase filled with cash and passed it to his partner, who carried an identical suitcase in his other hand.One after the other, in a silent exchange, they swapped the cases, replacing the one with money with a case filled with water bottles.They worked with precision, and in a matter of seconds, the switch was complete. The two men disappeared back into the shadows, as invisible as ghosts.Watching it all unfold, Malik could feel his rage building. They’d been duped, not just by a single man but by a team who had anticipated every step of their plan.“It was a setup from the start,” he growled, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the desk.The other men watched in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. It was all there, playi

The rain fell heavily, as if the clouds were crying.Thick clouds covered the sky, casting a gloomy shadow over the cemetery.They had just buried Tom.Among the people standing by was Tom’s mother, Eleanor, clutching her son’s photo in trembling hands.Her cries were the loudest, and she could barely control the tears streaming down her face.Nathan stood a few paces behind her, silent and unyielding as stone. He watched Eleanor with a hollow gaze.Tom had been one of his most loyal men—a friend, even—and now he was gone, snatched from the world in a brutal display of Darius's cruelty.The memory of that bloodstained bag, of Tom's severed head, still played in his mind.Eleanor fell to her knees by her son’s casket, continuing to cry and wail.Her voice cracked as she whispered to her son, as if he could still hear her. “My boy… my beautiful boy…”Nathan took a step forward, his heart heavy with grief.Eleanor looked up at him, her tear-streaked face etched with grief and helpless ra

The next morning, Prescott was buzzing. News anchors conveyed the shocking announcement across every major network, and newspapers bore bold headlines that electrified the streets: **Darius Royal Enters Presidential Race with Liam Smith as Vice President. The city hadn’t seen a political shakeup like this in years.Across social media, reactions poured in, flooding timelines and feeds with heated debates. “Can’t believe Darius is running. A guy like that, in charge of the whole country?” one tweet read. Others were even sharper: This is a slap in the face to Prescott’s integrity. Darius and his vice are unfit for office.But just as quickly, supporters flooded in. Comment sections exploded with praise for Darius’s “Daring Character.”To some, he was the figure who could bring real change, someone who wasn’t afraid to challenge the establishment, especially since they had seen him stand up to one of the most powerful men in Prescott.The reactions of political figures were equally mixe

The political campaign had barely begun, but Darius and Liam were already making waves with their bold promises.And like Darius said, he had a plan to gain the people's trust, and he was going to do that by making just one promise: to address the abandoned factory site that had plagued Prescott’s eastern district for decades.Polluted and toxic, it had been a breeding ground for illness, with families watching loved ones grow sick, even die, from the contaminated air and soil.For years, politicians had refused to address the issue.The cleanup would require millions, and for some dark reasons, they had kept it as it was.But now, Darius and Liam claimed they would be the ones to finally dismantle it. Not only that, they were going to build a central park on top of it.As the promise spread, it was as though a spark had been lit among the people.“Darius is finally taking a stand where others have failed,” said one commentator on the evening news. Images of the factory—its rusted gat