The night air smelled of gunpowder and rain.
The black SUV slid into the underground garage of WAN EMPIRE like a wounded beast finally finding shelter. The engine cut off, but no one moved immediately.
Inside the car, tension sat thick between them.
Storm—Emerald—was the first to open his door.
"Everyone out," he said calmly, though his jaw was tight. "We'll debrief upstairs."
Danger—Vince—snorted quietly as he stepped out, slamming the door harder than necessary. His knuckles were scraped, blood already drying against his skin. Shooter followed, checking the surroundings out of habit, while Rhoda shut her laptop with a sharp click, eyes already calculating what went wrong.
They had completed the mission.
But it hadn't gone clean.
Inside the briefing room, the atmosphere was cold. A large digital screen still displayed the map of Albany Port, red dots blinking where things had nearly gone south.
"We lost the shipment window by six minutes," Storm said, standing at the head of the table. "Six."
Rhoda leaned back in her chair. "LOS Empire moved faster than expected. Someone tipped them off."
Danger laughed humorlessly. "Or someone underestimated them again."
Storm's eyes flicked to him. "Watch it."
"I'm just saying," Danger replied, arms crossed. "This wasn't random. They knew our route. They knew the decoy."
Silence followed.
That was the problem. He wasn't wrong.
Before Storm could respond, the door opened.
Lady Anna entered.
The room stiffened instantly.
She wore black, as always, her presence swallowing the space. Her sharp eyes swept across them—Shooter standing rigid, Rhoda unreadable, Storm composed… and finally Danger.
Her gaze lingered there a second too long.
"So," she said coolly. "Explain to me why LOS Empire is growing bolder."
Storm bowed his head slightly. "The mission was successful. The money is secured. However—"
"However is another word for excuse," Lady Anna cut in. "And I don't tolerate excuses."
Her eyes snapped to Danger. "You were reckless."
Danger's fists clenched. "I followed the plan."
"You hesitated," she snapped. "That hesitation could have cost us everything."
Storm stepped in immediately. "Mother, the hesitation prevented an ambush. If Danger hadn't—"
"Did I ask you to defend him?" she said sharply.
Storm fell silent.
Danger said nothing. He had learned long ago that defending himself only made things worse.
Lady Anna turned away, walking toward the window. "LOS Empire is getting too close," she said darkly. "And I won't allow history to repeat itself."
That sentence hung strangely in the air.
"Double security," she continued. "No mistakes. Storm, you'll handle the next operation personally."
Her eyes flicked back to Danger. "And you… stay where I can see you."
Danger swallowed.
"Yes, Lady Anna."
She left without another word.
The door shut.
The silence afterward was suffocating.
Storm exhaled slowly. "You alright?"
Danger scoffed. "You mean, am I used to it?"
Rhoda stood. "I'll trace the leak," she said, already walking out. "Someone talked."
Shooter followed her.
Storm lingered, watching his brother carefully. "You saved us back there."
Danger looked away. "Doesn't matter."
It never did.
---
★
Curly scrubbed the marble floor in silence, her thoughts louder than the room.
The empire was restless today—she could feel it. Raised voices earlier. Armed guards moving faster than usual. Something had happened.
She straightened when footsteps approached.
"Curly."
She turned to see Michael, leaning casually against the doorway, hands in his pockets. He wasn't in his usual relaxed mood today.
"Are you supposed to be here?" she asked quietly.
He smiled faintly. "Probably not."
She hesitated, then returned to her cleaning. "Everyone seems on edge."
Michael nodded. "They should be."
That answer sent a chill through her.
Before she could ask more, Lady Anna's voice cut through the corridor. "Michael."
He straightened instantly. "Yes, ma'am."
Lady Anna approached, her eyes landing on Curly.
For a brief moment—just a heartbeat—something unreadable flashed across her face.
Disgust? Fear?
Recognition?
Curly's stomach twisted.
"You," Lady Anna said coldly. "Lift your head."
Curly obeyed, though her hands trembled.
Lady Anna studied her face intently, her gaze sharp enough to peel skin.
"…Interesting," she murmured.
Curly didn't know why, but the word terrified her.
"Get back to work," Lady Anna snapped, turning away.
As she walked off, Curly felt like she couldn't breathe.
Michael lingered, watching Lady Anna disappear down the corridor.
"She looks at you like she's seen a ghost," he muttered.
Curly forced a shaky laugh. "Maybe I just have one of those faces."
But even as she said it, she knew that wasn't true.
---
★
That night, Danger stood alone on the balcony outside his room, cigarette burning between his fingers.
Below, the empire glowed—powerful, untouchable.
And yet, he felt smaller than ever.
Stay where I can see you.
He crushed the cigarette under his heel.
Across the compound, a light flickered on in the slave house. For reasons he didn't understand, his eyes drifted there.
To her window.
Curly.
Something about her unsettled him. Not in the way Lady Anna unsettled him—with fear—but with something quieter. He didn't know why he'd stopped himself that day. Didn't know why the memory of her terrified eyes still followed him.
LOS Empire was closing in. Lady Anna was hiding something. And Curly's presence felt like the beginning of a storm no one was prepared for.
Danger turned away from the railing.
Some cracks, once formed, could never be sealed again.