Darkness.

  Not peaceful darkness.

  Industrial darkness.

  Metal walls. Engine vibration. The faint smell of oil and rubber.

  Sid didn’t move.

  His eyes were open.

  But he stayed limp.

  Hands zip-tied behind him.

  Feet bound.

  Two men in the front seats.

  Unmarked van.

  No insignia.

  Not Light’s style.

  Not Jian’s either.

  Too sloppy for them.

  Good.

  That meant chaos.

  And chaos?

  Was easier to exploit.

  He flexed his wrists subtly.

  Plastic tie.

  Cheap.

  He waited.

  The van slowed.

  Turned.

  Gravel under tires.

  Warehouse.

  Predictable.

  The doors opened.

  Cold night air hit his face.

  “Get him out.”

  Rough voice.

  Not trained military.

  Not corporate security.

  Contractors.

  He let them drag him.

  Head slightly down.

  Counting steps.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Turn.

  Metal door.

  Echo.

  Big space.

  Warehouse confirmed.

  They dropped him into a metal chair.

  Zip-ties reinforced.

  A bright light flicked on.

  He squinted slightly.

  Three men.

  And one woman.

  She stepped forward.

  He recognized her immediately.

  Black Circle.

  Upper tier.

  Codename: Raven.

  “You wake up fast,” she said calmly.

  Sid didn’t answer.

  She tilted her head.

  “You’ve grown.”

  Still silent.

  She smiled faintly.

  “I prefer Arin.”

  “Don’t,” he said quietly.

  Her smile widened slightly.

  “There he is.”

  She circled him slowly.

  “You’ve caused quite a disturbance.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “You kidnapped me to say that?”

  “You’ve aligned yourself with Light’s daughter.”

  “I didn’t align. I chose.”

  She laughed softly.

  “That’s adorable.”

  She leaned closer.

  “Did you think you escaped us?”

  “I did.”

  “You were twelve.”

  “So?”

  She crouched slightly to meet his eyes.

  “You don’t get recruited at seven and simply walk away.”

  He didn’t flinch.

  “You let me go.”

  “We repositioned you.”

  That word again.

  Placed.

  Monitored.

  Used.

  His jaw tightened.

  “You built a new identity. Bakery family. Scholarship genius. Romantic rebellion.”

  Her eyes sharpened.

  “But you were always being watched.”

  “By Light?”

  “Partially.”

  His stomach tightened.

  So it was real.

  The underground arena wasn’t separate from Light’s empire.

  It was adjacent.

  Connected through shadows.

  “You’re valuable,” she continued.

  “How?”

  “Because you don’t belong fully to any side.”

  She stood.

  “And that makes you dangerous.”

  He tested the chair legs subtly.

  Steel bolted to floor.

  Annoying.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  She smiled.

  “Clarity.”

  Su didn’t panic.

  She refused to.

  Panic was what powerless people did.

  She wasn’t powerless.

  She just had never used power.

  She stormed into her father’s estate office without appointment.

  Security hesitated.

  She didn’t.

  The doors opened.

  Light looked up calmly.

  “You’re emotional,” he observed.

  “Sid was taken.”

  “Yes.”

  Her breath hitched.

  “You knew?”

  “I suspected.”

  “Who?”

  “Not Jian.”

  Her fists clenched.

  “Then who?!”

  Light stood slowly.

  “People who prefer instability.”

  “Black Circle?” she whispered.

  Light didn’t confirm.

  Didn’t deny.

  Her chest rose rapidly.

  “Bring him back.”

  “That depends.”

  Her eyes burned.

  “On what?”

  “On him.”

  That answer infuriated her.

  “He’s not a pawn!”

  Light’s expression sharpened slightly.

  “Everyone is.”

  She stepped closer.

  “I am not.”

  Silence.

  He studied her.

  And for the first time—

  There was the smallest flicker of acknowledgment.

  “Then prove it.”

  Raven placed a tablet in front of Sid.

  On screen:

  Live footage.

  Su entering her father’s office.

  Audio included.

  “She came to negotiate,” Raven said.

  “She shouldn’t.”

  “She chose to.”

  Sid’s pulse quickened slightly.

  Raven watched carefully.

  “Ah.”

  He masked it quickly.

  Too late.

  “You care.”

  He didn’t respond.

  She leaned against the table.

  “Good.”

  “For what?”

  “Leverage.”

  His eyes hardened.

  “Touch her and—”

  “And what?”

  She leaned in closer.

  “You’re zip-tied to a chair.”

  He inhaled slowly.

  Controlled.

  She studied him for a moment.

  Then spoke quietly.

  “Light and Lee merging would create a power block that destabilizes multiple markets.”

  “So?”

  “So we need disruption.”

  “You want me to sabotage them.”

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  Her expression didn’t change.

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “Watch me.”

  She smiled faintly.

  “You misunderstand.”

  She tapped the tablet.

  Another video loaded.

  The bakery.

  His mother.

  A delivery truck braking suddenly.

  Too close.

  Near collision.

  Warning.

  Not action.

  But threat.

  His breathing slowed further.

  Dangerous calm.

  “You threaten civilians to recruit me?”

  She straightened.

  “We apply pressure where it works.”

  He flexed his wrists again.

  Plastic strained slightly.

  “You trained me better than that.”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “What does that mean?”

  It snapped.

  The zip-tie broke.

  She reacted instantly—

  But he was already moving.

  Chair tipped backward.

  He twisted mid-fall.

  Leg wrapped around her ankle.

  Pulled.

  She hit the ground hard.

  Gun drawn from one of the guards—

  Sid kicked the wrist.

  Gun skidded across the floor.

  One punch.

  Precise.

  Nerve cluster.

  Second guard down.

  Third hesitated—

  Mistake.

  Sid lunged.

  Disarmed.

  Controlled choke.

  Unconscious.

  Warehouse silent.

  Raven stood slowly.

  Unbothered.

  “Good,” she said.

  He froze.

  “What?”

  She dusted off her coat.

  “You’re sharper than I hoped.”

  This wasn’t a kidnapping.

  It was evaluation.

  Again.

  Everyone evaluating him.

  “Enough,” he said coldly.

  She smiled slightly.

  “You’re not angry at us.”

  He didn’t blink.

  “You’re angry you weren’t told.”

  Silence.

  That hit.

  She walked toward the exit.

  “We don’t want Light or Lee controlling Asia’s economic core.”

  “And you think I can stop it?”

  “Yes.”

  “I won’t.”

  “You already are.”

  She paused at the door.

  “You don’t see the board clearly yet.”

  “Then explain.”

  She looked over her shoulder.

  “There is a fourth player.”

  His stomach tightened.

  “Who?”

  She smiled faintly.

  “You.”

  The lights shut off.

  Darkness.

  By the time emergency backup lights flickered on—

  She was gone.

  Back at the estate—

  Su stood across from her father.

  “I want access.”

  “To what?”

  “To the full report on Sid.”

  Light watched her carefully.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re not telling me everything.”

  He didn’t deny it.

  “You are emotionally compromised.”

  “Maybe.”

  She stepped closer.

  “But I am not stupid.”

  Silence.

  He handed her a file.

  “Read.”

  She opened it.

  Arin.

  Black Circle.

  Recruitment age: 7.

  Specialization: strategic combat, financial infiltration.

  Status: inactive but monitored.

  Her heart pounded.

  “He was a child.”

  “Yes.”

  “You let this happen.”

  “Correction.”

  Light’s eyes hardened slightly.

  “I funded the training program.”

  Her breath stopped.

  “What?”

  “It identifies talent early.”

  “You turned children into weapons.”

  “Into assets.”

  Her voice shook.

  “He was seven.”

  Light’s tone remained steady.

  “And exceptional.”

  She looked at the file again.

  “He doesn’t know you were involved.”

  “No.”

  “And you’re testing him now.”

  “Yes.”

  Her chest tightened.

  “You’re disgusting.”

  He didn’t react.

  “Emotion clouds judgment.”

  She closed the file slowly.

  “I choose him.”

  Silence.

  Final.

  Light studied her carefully.

  “Then prepare to lose him.”

  Sid walked alone through the empty street outside the warehouse.

  No pursuit.

  Too clean.

  Too deliberate.

  This wasn’t about elimination.

  It was about positioning.

  He pulled out his phone.

  One new message.

  Unknown sender.

  Different number.

  No encryption.

  Just a simple text:

  “You survived Phase One.”

  His blood ran cold.

  Phase One?

  The phone buzzed again.

  A photo.

  Su.

  Standing on a rooftop.

  Not alone.

  Someone behind her.

  Watching.

  The message below:

  “Phase Two begins with her.”

  Sid stopped walking.

  For the first time since childhood—

  His pulse spiked beyond control.

  Not fear.

  Something worse.

  Uncertainty.

  Above him—

  On a nearby building—

  A silhouette lowered a camera lens.

  Focused.

  Zoomed.

  And somewhere, in a room filled with monitors—

  A distorted voice spoke calmly.

  “Let’s see who he chooses.”

  Black screen.