Chapter 82: The Secret Warfare.
Inside a stunning, highly secured skyscraper-tucked away in a hidden part of the city where the Sky Regime conducts its most critical business-Scott sat, locked in conversation with his younger brother. The atmosphere in the room was cold, heavy with tension. Something didn't feel right, and Scott could sense it deep in his bones. Something bad was coming... he just didn't know for who.
"Bro, what do you think we should do?" Maxson asked quietly, careful not to agitate his already tense brother. He knew Scott's moods well, and right now wasn't the time to push too hard.
"We don't have much of a choice," Scott replied, his voice calm but firm. "Whatever's coming-we'll face it head-on."
Maxson let out a slow, weighty sigh, his eyes drifting to a bird that had perched on the wide window ledge. His jaw clenched. "What about security? Are we solid on that?"
"That's already in Venom's hands," Scott said with a subtle smirk. "And I trust him. He'll deliver something... beautiful."
After that, silence fell over the hallway outside the room-as if a ghost had passed through. The kind of silence that wraps around your neck and whispers that something is about to shift.
Footsteps soon echoed faintly, approaching with purpose. Two men entered and bowed their heads respectfully before Scott.
"Boss, we owe you," one of them said.
Scott nodded. "Bring me the promising tool."
Without a word, the men dropped their bags and began unpacking a series of advanced hacking devices and tech gear-each item precisely placed and ready for use.
"Begin," came a sharp, commanding voice from behind. It was Venom.
♡♡♡♡
Over on the highway, chaos unfolded.
A screech of tires, a collective gasp from nearby drivers-and then, the terrifying splash. A car had tumbled violently over the edge and crashed into the water below. The bridge fell into a stunned silence. Most drivers quickly sped away, unwilling to witness the aftermath.
Charlotte's heart pounded in her chest. She didn't know how she'd escaped being involved. It could have easily been her car. Her mind raced. What if it had been me? What would've happened to my kids? Who would hold them, love them, raise them...?
The thought was too much.
She stumbled out of her car, her breath coming in sharp, unsteady waves. Her knees buckled as she sat down right there on the side of the highway. Her eyes locked on the water's surface, trying to comprehend the horrifying scene she'd just witnessed.
Someone nearby said it had been a family of four inside the car. Charlotte's throat tightened. Did they survive?
Strangers murmured around her:
"What do we do now?"
"God... why them?"
Some people cried, others just stared. A few turned back to their cars, heading off to their own destinations, shaken but moving on. Charlotte couldn't. She was frozen. Her mind was spiraling, flooded with what-ifs. She tuned out the noise around her, too consumed by the shock to react.
♡♡♡♡
Back in the Regime tower, the hacking interface lit up the room as the two specialists worked rapidly at their stations. Their fingers moved with precision. Venom hovered behind them, eyes sharp and calculating, catching every detail.
Just then, the heavy door to the room opened, and Joel walked in, his expression tense.
He bowed his head slightly before speaking.
"Sir... there's just been a serious accident on the City B highway. And the problem is..." His voice faltered slightly. "Big Madam was at that location."
Scott slowly looked up.
The room froze.
And for a moment, no one moved. No one breathed.
Because sometimes, war doesn't come with sirens.
Sometimes... it begins with silence.
The moment Scott and Maxson heard that Big Madam-their mother-was possibly involved in the highway accident, the air shifted.
Their hearts skipped. For a second, time felt like it stopped.
"What?!" Maxson gasped, panic flashing across his face.
Scott shot up from his seat without another word. The calm, collected aura he always carried dropped like a shattered mirror.
"Joel! Get the car ready-now!" he barked, his voice sharp, already storming toward the exit.
Joel turned immediately, rushing to fulfill the command, but Scott wasn't waiting.
He bolted through the hallway like a man possessed. He wasn't just running-he was flying down the corridor, dread pounding in his chest. The thought that his mother... his own mother... could be lying lifeless somewhere was enough to make his mind spiral.
As Joel fumbled with the car keys near the garage entrance, Scott pushed past him roughly.
"Get off! Don't worry-I'll do it myself!"
Joel staggered backward, startled, but understood. This wasn't just any operation. This was personal.
Scott jumped into the car, started the engine with force, and slammed the door. Tires screeched as he revved the vehicle forward.
Maxson caught up just in time, opening the passenger door and throwing himself into the seat beside his brother.
"Let's go!" he shouted.
Without hesitation, Scott hit the accelerator. The engine roared as the car shot out of the underground garage and sped toward the highway.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was thick with silence-tense, choking silence. No music. No talking. Just the sound of the wind slicing past as they cut through traffic, chasing a nightmare they weren't prepared to face.
Neither of them spoke it aloud... but both were thinking the same thing:
What if they were already too late?
Just as Scott swerved past a sharp bend, his hand reached for his phone. His fingers moved fast, dialing Flora's number.
"Come on... pick up, pick up," he muttered anxiously, placing the phone on speaker.
The number you have dialed is currently not reachable...
"Shit!" Scott cursed, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. His jaw tightened. He tried again. Same response. He tossed the phone into the cupholder, frustration boiling over.
"Why now, Flora? Why are you not picking up?" he said under his breath, worry clouding his vision.
He glanced at Maxson, who was equally tense beside him. But there was no time to explain anything-not about his wife, not about his fear. All that mattered now was reaching the highway, seeing things for himself.
Ten minutes later, Scott pulled over to the side of the road with screeching tires. Sirens, scattered vehicles, and bystanders filled the air with chaos. His eyes darted around as he tried to locate their mother-or any sign of her.
But before stepping out, he grabbed his phone again and sent a short voice message to Flora:
> "Flora, please. Wherever you are, just stay there. Don't move. Don't leave your office. I'm coming to pick you up myself. Please, don't go anywhere until you hear from me."
He ended it, hoping the message would go through whenever her phone came back online.
♡♡♡♡
Meanwhile, at Mainspark Entertainment Company...
Flora's phone lay silent on her office desk-buzzing once, then stopping. The screen lit up with Scott's missed calls and the voice message, but there was no one there to notice.
Inside the IR Ops room, a long, narrow, and modern workspace equipped with advanced systems and displays, Flora stood confidently in front of a mounted projector screen. Her voice was steady, her posture upright, commanding the room with quiet strength.
She had stepped into new responsibilities, and though it was challenging, she handled it with calm precision. Presenting her report to the Internal Relations Operations team-senior officials, department heads, and a few board members-was no small task.
Flora clicked through the slides, explaining her data points and proposals. Some of the board members nodded with impressed expressions, while others observed her closely, watching how she carried herself.
She smiled as she wrapped up the final point. "...And with that, we can expect a 17% operational improvement within the next quarter," she said, her voice ringing out clear.
Applause followed. Soft, but respectful.
She bowed slightly in gratitude, still unaware of the chaos that was unraveling beyond the company walls.
Unaware of the accident...
Unaware of the voice message waiting on her phone...
Unaware that her name might just be the next on someone's list.