The night wind whispers softly in the backyard of the old house.
Tree leaves shift, casting long shadows across the damp ground.
Yet none of them pay attention to the scene now.
All eyes are fixed on the man standing a few meters in front of Ethan.
Richard Blackwood's right-hand man.
Victor Hale still looks pale.
"I've seen him before," he murmurs.
Daniel does not turn his head.
"Of course you have."
Leonard Graves stands slightly ahead of them now, his body relaxed but his eyes calculating.
The man watches them all with a calm expression.
"My name is Adrian Cole," he says at last.
He looks at Ethan politely.
"Mr. Blackwood asked me to retrieve something from you."
Ethan stands tall.
The flash drive in his pocket feels like the most precious object in the world.
"If he wants it," Ethan says coldly, "he can come himself."
Adrian Cole smiles faintly.
"I suspected you would say that."
Several armed men behind him shift slightly, adjusting their positions.
Daniel counts quickly in his mind.
Six men.
All armed.
Victor whispers,
"We won't win if they attack."
Leonard replies softly without turning around,
"Not all battles are won with bullets."
Adrian takes one step closer.
"Mr. Ethan."
His tone remains polite, but there is something cold beneath it.
"This situation doesn't need to turn ugly."
Ethan stares at him expressionlessly.
"It's already too late for that."
Adrian lets out a small sigh.
"That flash drive contains highly sensitive information."
He continues,
"Information that could destroy many lives."
Leonard laughs softly.
"Including Richard Blackwood's."
Adrian glances slightly at Leonard.
"I've heard your name before."
Leonard bows his head slightly as if accepting praise.
"I'm quite well-known."
Adrian says flatly,
"Not in a good way."
Daniel shifts his position slightly.
His hand is close to his jacket pocket.
Ready to move if needed.
Adrian turns his gaze back to Ethan.
"Mr. Blackwood doesn't want to hurt you."
Victor almost laughs at that.
"He sent armed men!"
Adrian looks at Victor for a moment.
"As a precaution."
Ethan says quietly,
"Enough."
All eyes turn back to him.
Ethan takes one step forward.
"If my father truly wanted to talk…"
he pauses for a moment.
"…why didn't he come himself?"
Adrian answers honestly.
"Because he knows you would try to kill him."
Leonard nods slightly.
"Fair point."
Daniel rolls his eyes.
"This isn't a debate."
Adrian pulls out a phone from his suit pocket.
"Very well."
He presses a few buttons before holding up the phone's screen.
"Then perhaps you'd like to speak with him now."
The phone screen lights up.
A video call is open.
A few seconds later, a man's face appears on the screen.
His hair is starting to turn gray.
His eyes are sharp and commanding.
Richard Blackwood.
Ethan feels something stir in his chest.
It has been years since he last saw his father in person.
But it is not longing that rises up.
It is anger.
Richard stares at the screen with a calm expression.
"Ethan."
His voice is still the same as Ethan remembers.
Calm.
Commanding.
As if the world is always under his control.
Ethan replies coldly.
"You sent your dogs to meet me."
Adrian continues holding the phone without reacting.
Richard lets out a small sigh.
"You've always been stubborn."
Leonard whispers softly to Daniel,
"Quite the family reunion."
Daniel nods.
Richard continues,
"You took something that doesn't belong to you."
Ethan lets out a short laugh.
"Documents about my mother's murder?"
The air seems to grow colder.
Victor stares at Ethan in shock.
Daniel also turns to look at him.
Richard remains calm on the screen.
"Don't be dramatic."
Ethan steps closer to the phone.
"I saw the recordings."
He continues in a lower voice.
"You were in that room when they decided to get rid of Elena Ward."
Richard does not answer immediately.
For a few seconds he just stares at Ethan.
Finally he says,
"The world isn't as simple as you think."
Ethan shakes his head.
"No."
He lifts his chin.
"But murder is still murder."
Richard says in a cold tone,
"Elena made a dangerous decision."
Victor murmurs,
"He doesn't even regret it…"
Daniel clenches his fist.
Richard continues,
"The Helios Project is more important than one person."
Ethan stares at him with full hatred.
"She wasn't just one person."
He says slowly,
"She was my mother."
The night wind blows again across the yard.
No one speaks for several seconds.
Richard finally says quietly,
"I did what needed to be done."
Leonard raises an eyebrow.
"Quite the confession."
Adrian glances slightly at him, but remains silent.
Ethan takes a long breath.
"So that's it then?"
He laughs bitterly.
"You killed my mother for your secret project."
Richard answers calmly,
"I was protecting the future."
Daniel says loudly,
"The future for who?"
Richard does not respond.
He only looks at Ethan again.
"Hand over the flash drive."
Ethan smiles coldly.
"No."
Adrian says quietly,
"Mr. Ethan, this doesn't have to end badly."
Leonard replies,
"Everyone here knows that's a lie."
Richard continues from the screen,
"If that information leaks, many people will die."
Ethan answers without hesitation,
"People have already died."
He stares directly into his father's eyes through the screen.
"My mother."
Richard is silent.
But only for a moment.
"If you publish those files…"
he pauses for a moment.
"…you will destroy our family."
Ethan replies quietly,
"The family was broken a long time ago."
Daniel smiles faintly.
Victor still looks shaken.
Richard finally says,
"You're making a huge mistake."
Ethan says,
"Maybe."
He pulls the flash drive from his pocket.
All eyes immediately fix on the small object.
Adrian says quickly,
"Hand it over and all of this ends."
Ethan looks at the flash drive for a moment.
Then he holds it up slightly.
"This?"
He smiles faintly.
"This is just the beginning."
Richard narrows his eyes on the screen.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan answers calmly,
"Because I've already made copies."
Adrian's face changes for the first time.
Daniel grins widely.
Leonard laughs softly.
Richard says coldly,
"You're lying."
Ethan shakes his head.
"Try me."
He puts the flash drive back into his pocket.
"If anything happens to me tonight…"
he pauses for a moment.
"…the files will be sent all over the world."
The night wind blows again.
The armed men behind Adrian glance at each other.
For the first time, the situation feels not entirely under their control.
Richard stares at Ethan for a long moment through the screen.
Finally he says quietly,
"You really are my son."
Ethan does not smile.
"Not anymore."
A few seconds later the phone screen goes black.
The call is disconnected.
Adrian lowers his phone slowly.
The backyard of the house falls silent again.
But the tension in the air now feels far sharper.
Because everyone there knows one thing.
The war between Ethan Blackwood and his own father…
has only just truly begun.