Ethan leaned back against the plush leather seat of the limousine, his fingers idly drumming against the velvet gift box in his lap. He felt a strange, lingering stillness in the air, but he dismissed it. Even with Crul’s omniscient surveillance, the world had momentarily blinked. The Leader of the Union and Truth Seeker had moved with such terrifying velocity—striking and vanishing like ghosts—that not a single electronic signal or panicked distress call had escaped their radius. Two hundred factions had vanished, and the digital world had yet to notice the silence.

"Crul," Ethan said, his voice cutting through the quiet hum of the engine. "Any word on Albert’s mother?"

[Negative, Master] Crul’s voice resonated in his ear. [We have completed the raid on the coordinates Albert provided within the former Scavenger territory. The holding cell was empty. There were signs of a struggle, but no biological remains matching her profile were found. ]

Ethan’s brow furrowed. Albert, the young leader who had defected to Royal, had only one motivation: his mother. Ethan had promised him her safety as part of their contract, a trade of genius for a life.

"It doesn’t make sense," Ethan muttered, looking out at the passing skyline. "The Scavengers were brutal, but they were logical. They kept her as leverage. Why move her? They didn’t even know Albert was with us. To the rest of the world, he’s just another missing casualty of the war."

[[ Analysis suggests three possibilities, ]] Crul responded. [[ Either a third party intercepted her before our arrival, the Scavengers moved her to a secondary ’Black Site’ before their collapse, or... she was never their prisoner to begin with. ]]

"That last one is a dangerous thought," Ethan said, his eyes narrowing. "Albert wouldn’t lie about that. He’s too desperate."

[Master, there is a statistical anomaly, ] Crul added, her holographic interface flickering briefly. [I am detecting a total communication blackout in several sectors of the neutral zones. It is too precise to be a technical failure. It looks like a excision of data. ]

Ethan sat up straight, the luxury of the limousine suddenly feeling like a trap. "Use every resource we have. Reroute the tactical satellites and wake up the sleepers in the Union’s logistics division. If someone is moving under our radar, I want to know who they are and whose head I need to collect next."

[[ Initiating Deep-Scan Protocol. Expanding search parameters to include high-level spiritual masking signatures. ]]

"Do it," Ethan commanded, his nostalgic mood for the party beginning to sour. "There’s a ghost in the machine, Crul. Find it." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Ethan felt a strange, lingering unease, but even in his wildest imagination, he wouldn’t have thought that his lethality had exceeded that of the Outsiders. He didn’t know that the Union had abandoned its global defense lines just to come and hunt him down.

The limousine pulled up to a secluded cluster of warehouses in a remote area on the outskirts of the city. Ethan looked out the window, his instincts screaming. The location was desolate, a place where a trap would be easy to set. If he didn’t trust Lilly so completely, he would have stepped out with the intent to kill whoever was waiting for him.

As the driver shifted the car into park, he reached for the laser rifle resting in the passenger seat. Ethan’s hand clamped down on his wrist.

"Relax," Ethan said, his voice steady. "Everything is fine. I’ll call you when I’m done here."

The driver hesitated, his eyes darting to the dark buildings, but Ethan’s orders were absolute. Since the massacre of the Scavengers, every link in the Royal chain knew their leader was not someone to be questioned. The driver nodded, pulling his hand back.

Ethan stepped out of the car. Crul, does this property belong to us, or is it a third party?

[ This facility was acquired by Royal last month, Master, ] Crul replied. [ Miss Lilly requested the use of it through the logistics department. She specifically asked that you not be informed, citing a ’birthday surprise’ for her mother. ]

Ethan smirked, his tension easing slightly. "Well, anything to keep my girlfriend and my mother-in-law happy."

He approached the heavy metal door and knocked. It swung open to reveal Lilly, wearing a loose, chocolate-brown dress that made her look like a young princess. Ethan pulled her into a brief embrace, kissing her forehead before handing her a small, velvet-wrapped box.

"I brought this small token for your mother," he said.

Lilly let out a muffled giggle, covering her mouth with her hand. "Don’t worry about that, Ethan. She’s been waiting for you."

As Ethan stepped inside, the industrial exterior gave way to a lavishly decorated interior. Martha, Lilly’s mother, was seated gracefully on a velvet sofa. Ethan greeted her warmly, extending the gift. "I hope you don’t mind, Martha. I wanted to bring something special."

"You shouldn’t have gone to such trouble," she replied, though her eyes sparkled.

She opened the box and gasped. Resting on the silk was a necklace of brilliant platinum, centered around a massive, glowing green emerald.

"This is the Veridian Heart of Catherine the Great," Ethan explained smoothly. "It was smuggled out of the Winter Palace during the revolution and held in a private vault in Hong Kong for over a century. It’s worth several billion, but for you, it’s just a bauble. I hope it suits you."

Martha was speechless, her fingers trembling as she touched the cold gem. It was a gift fit for a queen.

Ethan looked around the silent room, confused. "I thought there would be a party. Where are the other guests?"

Lilly stepped behind him, her arms sliding around his waist as she whispered into his ear. "You are the only guest, Ethan. And the only food, too."

Ethan froze. He had always known his mother-in-law was fond of him, but he had maintained a strict line of respect. He viewed her almost as a mother and her husband, Alfred, as a father figure. He owed them far too much.

But then Martha stood up. With a slow, deliberate movement, she let her silk wrap slide off her shoulders, revealing nothing but lace and provocative lingerie that left little to the imagination.

"Martha, I... I can’t," Ethan stammered, his mind racing. "I can’t do this to Uncle Alfred. I can’t betray him."