Grayson sat at the dining table, quietly eating his breakfast. The windows were shut to keep out the cold, but the curtains had been drawn back, allowing the soft morning light to spill into the room.
Behind him stood a servant holding his long coat and briefcase, waiting silently. Grayson, dressed sharply, scrolled through the latest headlines on his tablet, his attention divided between the screen and the meal before him.
Once he finished, he rose from his seat, put on his coat with practiced ease, took his briefcase from the servant, and—still checking his emails on his phone—made his way toward the front door.
He paused on the steps outside.
His eyes swept across the property with habitual awareness.
To the left, in the beautifully manicured garden, one gardener was watering the plants while another was trimming the grass. At the centre of the garden stood an elegant fountain, its crystal stream of water arcing upward, then cascading down in a rhythmic dance, rising and falling like a heartbeat.
Beyond the garden lay an open, clean road. Cars passed occasionally, the sound muffled by distance. Across the road, dense trees and thick bushes lined the view, giving the illusion of a wild forest. But beyond those trees… if one looked closely… there was a vast, open field blanketed in soft green grass, and from there, the golden morning sun peeked gently over the horizon.
It was a view that calmed the soul.
A moment of quiet beauty before the storm of the day.
Grayson drew in a deep breath, as if inhaling the crisp freshness of the morning straight into his soul. With that quiet composure, he stepped forward.
The driver, standing alert beside the sleek black car, quickly opened the back door. Grayson, unbuttoning his coat with one hand, slid into the back seat with his usual silent grace. A moment later, the car pulled away, merging onto the quiet road ahead.
Upstairs, Lena sat curled on the sofa beside the window, her elbows resting on the sill, her cheek pressed gently against the cool glass. She watched Grayson’s car roll out of the driveway, her expression unreadable. A faint silence clung to her features—half calm, half conflicted.
Behind her, the maid quietly moved around the room, replacing the bedsheets, her presence distant in Lena’s mind. Lena glanced back at her for a brief moment… then turned once again to the window, her gaze trailing after the fading glimpse of Grayson’s car.
Across the street, parked discreetly under the shadow of the trees, was a sleek black Mercedes. As Grayson’s vehicle passed it, the man sitting in its back seat remained motionless, eyes fixed ahead with an icy calm.
Without even shifting his gaze, he spoke in a voice low and detached.
“Stop the car at a spot exactly one house away… where I can see everything.”
The driver gave a silent nod and started the engine. The Mercedes crept forward, finally stopping at a calculated distance from Grayson’s house—close enough to watch… far enough to remain unseen.
The hunt had begun.
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Grayson sat in his agency office, eyes narrowed as he read through the confidential file that documented Lena West’s 28 years of life. Page after page, his expression hardened—each detail unraveling before him was far from pleasant. The flicker in his eyes made it clear: this wasn’t just another case file. This was something else.
After a long, still moment, he rose from his power seat.
Loosening the knot of his tie, he walked slowly toward the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. One hand slipped into his pocket, the other gently resting his clenched fist against his lips. He stood there silently, staring out across the cityscape that sprawled beneath him—ultramodern skyscrapers, cutting-edge architecture, and the pulse of a city that never slowed. From the 8th floor of the OMEGA TASKFORCE headquarters, the view was commanding, but his mind was far from it.
His coat hung neatly on the stand behind him. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark tie, he looked every bit the part of a powerful leader—but the fire in his eyes betrayed something raw and personal.
“So that’s why she panicked last night…” he muttered under his breath, the words low and heavy.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lzmoY69yc
“She was sexually harassed in her teenage years…”
His voice was calm, but it was the dangerous kind of calm—the kind that hides a storm. His jaw clenched tightly, and the veins along his neck and forehead had risen in silent fury.
But whether his rage was for what had happened to Lena… or for the very existence of such cruelty in the world… even Grayson himself didn’t know.
He just stood there.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLgY250pXP
Still.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUUKmp0lyy
Burning on the inside.
Everyone in the agency knew that Grayson had a fierce temper—but over the years, he'd mastered the art of restraint. He no longer lost control without reason. Still, there were exceptions… like Max. Max Bennett could rattle Grayson like no one else.
As a teenager, Grayson was notorious for his violent outbursts. Brawls were a daily occurrence. There was hardly a time when his face wasn’t marked by some fresh cut or bruise. His father, Hudson Blackwood, would always try to reason with him.
“As long as you let your anger control you, son... it’ll keep costing you.”
But Grayson was Grayson. The name came with its own weight—and he wore it like armour. He’d break someone’s nose one day, and someone else’s arm the next.
Even Hudson, a man feared for his own volatile temper, often said,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5pkiXwjLH
“My son is ten steps ahead of me when it comes to rage.”
Grayson lived twenty good years—a privileged, powerful life. But life has its own way of flipping the script.
Hudson Blackwood had many enemies. Powerful ones. They waited for a crack in his fortress, for a moment of vulnerability. One such moment came when he traveled with his wife to another city. There, he was scheduled to meet with a second agency—an affiliate, not as strong as the OMEGA TASKFORCE. He wanted to strengthen its operations. And maybe... just maybe, spend a little time with his wife away from the battlefield of duty.
But that weaker agency could not shield him.
His enemies got hold of the meeting’s location.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrEu5Ay44V
They planted explosives.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KCbAuMQEH
And they blew the place apart.
Hudson died on the spot.
The news reached his wife like a dagger. Without hesitation, she rushed out with her security detail. But she never made it. Hudson’s enemies intercepted her on the road. She was brutally murdered, and her body… set on fire.
Grayson never got to see their bodies. Never got to say goodbye.
When the news reached him, he screamed like a madman. A soul-shattering scream that echoed down every hallway. And then—he went silent.
Completely.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCf4hREMxY
Utterly.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlQJzkF6AV
Silent.
At the time, the agency was under the temporary leadership of Augustus West. But he always believed Hudson’s son would one day take the mantle—and it was time.
Days passed. Then weeks. Grayson’s silence persisted. The loss had burned a hole in him too deep to reach.
It was Max who stood by him through it all.
Max stayed close—talking to him, sitting beside him, trying to fill the void. Grayson would barely reply. Sometimes, he'd just sit in silence. Other times, he'd lash out and hit Max. And then there were moments when he’d just collapse—burying his face in his hands, lost in helplessness.
But Max never left.
He knew Grayson needed him.
Many nights, Grayson would show up unannounced at Max’s door. Max never asked questions. He’d open the door quietly and Grayson would head straight for the bedroom—lie beside him in silence, searching for a moment of peace.
It became a routine.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9TcgLHJKN
Sometimes Max would stay over at Grayson’s.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFfufIwonN
Sometimes, after a fight, he’d go home in a fury—only to find Grayson at his doorstep moments later.
Max had been alone most of his life. Orphaned at five, he grew up in an orphanage until a man named Alex Bennett adopted him. Alex was a solitary man himself, and he wanted a son—someone to end his loneliness and stay by his side in old age. He raised Max with care.
But when Max turned seventeen, Alex passed away after a long battle with cancer.
Max grieved—but he was not unfamiliar with solitude.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBe948KRKR
Twelve more years passed. And Max remained the same—stoic, self-contained, and independent.
He managed Alex’s three luxurious hotels, inherited from the man who had called him son. Max wasn’t one to chase hard work. He’d make a weekly round of each hotel, check on operations, and leave. The elite stayed in those hotels—politicians, dignitaries, and wealthy families.
But his real home was wherever Grayson was.
Both men had lost their parents too young.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY597zSMqW2
And somewhere along the way, they became each other’s entire world.
Their lives began with one another—and ended there too.
They were the only ones who had ever seen each other at their weakest.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpekHWgUnvq
They had picked up each other’s broken pieces more times than they could count.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMEChSHw6z
They weren’t just friends—they were blood in ways that biology could never define.
Their bond was unshakable.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdD7WCdGbEl
Their vow unbreakable.
“We will not leave each other’s side—until death,” they would say.
And anyone who saw them… believed it.
Because it was true.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0foAQBlIaO
Death was the only thing that could ever hope to separate them.
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and then Add to home screen.