Vonn Smith did not send a formal letter, nor did he use one of the official channels.He simply called.Thea Walton picked up, her expression unreadable as she held the phone to her ear."Lady Walton," his voice came deep and relaxed. "I would like to meet. Tonight.""You’ve just arrived in the city, and you’re already asking for meetings?""Time is precious. You and I are important people. Let’s not waste it."Thea’s brows drew slightly, but her voice remained calm. "Location?"Vonn gave the name of a hotel."Understood," she said and ended the call.She had already gotten word of the Smith brothers and their intent. Riss had come first, trying to dazzle her with rare medicines and poetic arrogance. She hadn’t liked it. But Vonn, she suspected, would be different.And perhaps worse.An hour later, Thea stepped into the private restaurant room Vonn had reserved. Two stewards stood at the door. They bowed but did not speak.Thea entered alone.Vonn was already seated.Unlike Riss, who

The warehouse was dimly lit, thick with dust and the sour stench of cheap cigarettes. The five men stood in a line, their injuries visible even beneath their clothes. One had a swollen eye, another limped, and a third still clutched his broken wrist. They looked like they had crawled out of a street war, not a five-on-one ambush.Victor Miller stood in front of them, silent.Too silent.He turned slowly, poured himself a drink. The clink of glass echoed through the space. Then he took a slow sip, set the glass down, and exploded."Useless!"The word cracked like a whip.None of the men responded. What could they say?Victor walked up to the man with the swollen eye and slapped him across the face with the back of his hand."You said you had a military background. Special ops, wasn’t it? What happened? Did you mistake a street doctor for a demon?"He turned to the man with the broken wrist."You. You said you could snap a grown man’s spine in three seconds. You couldn’t even hold your

Tina lay sprawled across the edge of her velvet couch, one leg dangling, a half-finished glass of wine resting on the floor.She hadn’t called anyone.Not since the hotel.Not since Alex left.The silence in her penthouse was loud. She’d been trying to work all morning, but her mind kept circling the same point. That moment… the shift in his eyes… the way he stood up and left without looking back.She hated the way it lingered.He had said it would ruin the date.Maybe it already had.Her phone buzzed again. She ignored it.It wasn’t until a second call came through, then a third, that she finally picked up."Ena. What?"Her best friend's voice came through the speaker, sharp as ever. "You sound like trash. What happened?"Tina grunted. "Nothing. Go back to whatever brunch you’re ruining.""I already did. And I noticed you’re avoiding my messages. So? Talk."Tina sighed and sat up, dragging the throw blanket over her legs. "I went on a date with Alex.""The hot doctor? The one you mad

The morning sun had just begun its slow climb, casting honey-colored rays upon the bustling roads of Trim City. Inside the luxury sedan, the air was silent, save for the soft hum of the engine and the occasional shift of tires on asphalt.Tina Snow sat beside Alex Cole with a demure expression, her hands folded on her lap, her posture elegant and composed. She wore a soft fragrance today, something faint and unfamiliar. The kind of scent that did not announce itself but lingered gently, just enough to be remembered.She had spoken only once since he entered the car.“I’m taking you somewhere,” she said, a mysterious smile playing on her lips. “But you’ll have to wait and see.”He did not press for details. He simply leaned back in his seat and allowed the silence to stretch between them like a fragile thread. His eyes occasionally drifted to her reflection in the window. She was dressed like no version of Tina Snow he had seen before. No bright lipstick. No high heels sharp enough to

The dining hall of the Smith estate was a temple of wealth and power. Golden chandeliers dripped light from above like molten stars. The table beneath them was a stretch of mahogany longer than most banquet halls in the city, polished to the point where one's reflection could be seen in its surface. At the head of it all, Wade Smith sat like an emperor enthroned.Trim City's wealthiest medical tycoon. A man with power not only in hospitals and pharmaceuticals but also across underground networks and private research organizations that stretched beyond Mericania’s borders.His three sons sat along the table, each one radiating a different flavor of ambition.Riss Smith, the eldest, with his golden cufflinks and prideful eyes. He wore his tailored suit like it was armor. Vonn Smith, the second, was more refined, quieter, but with a sharpness in his gaze that betrayed a calculating nature. And then, there was King, the youngest, but the most brash. His smile could disarm any woman, but h