As she passed by Charlotte, her steps came to an abrupt halt. Her eyes, cold and deep red, locked on Charlotte with a fury that felt almost tangible.

The chaos finally faded. Lloyd and Dr. David, both grinning from ear to ear, handed Charlotte her award. When the ceremony wrapped up, Charlotte didn’t bother with the reporters. Instead, she tossed the trophy to Dr. David, telling him to take it back to Cabinda, then slipped away quickly while everyone was still distracted.

No one noticed Anthony standing off to the side, quietly tracing the petals of the flowers next to him. A sly, thoughtful smile played on his lips. He watched Charlotte disappear backstage, his gaze growing more intense. He picked up the bouquet, ready to follow her, but then caught sight of a few men in black weaving through the crowd.

Falcon Unit. They were here already?

Anthony’s smile turned sharper. He tightened his hold on the flowers, took a final lingering look in the direction Charlotte had gone, and started moving toward the exit. It was time for him to pay back what he owed N Organization.

Backstage, Jackson and Adonis sat together on a sofa, just finishing up with the competition’s big screens. Suddenly, an S-level defense alert from N Organization popped up on their devices.

Charlotte was just at a competition. What could possibly be so dangerous? S-level alerts hadn’t shown up in years, not since that turf war with X Organization.

While they were still trying to figure it out, Charlotte strode in.

“Charlotte,” they both called out as they stood to greet her. “N Organization sent out an S-level defense alert. They want you back at headquarters right away.”

The last time something like this happened was two years ago, when N Organization and X Organization were fighting over territory. Surely Anthony wasn’t about to launch another attack with X Organization, was he?

“Don’t worry about it,” Charlotte said, shoving her things into her backpack and zipping it closed. Her voice was calm, almost bored. “Let’s grab our stuff from the hotel and head back to Cabinda.”

“Yes, understood,” Adonis replied with a nod.

Now that news of Charlotte being in Solenia was out, the higher-ups at N Organization would definitely try anything to bring her back. Jackson thought it through and figured it was probably just another one of their tricks, so he let it go. Honestly, meeting Anthony felt way more important now.

Out on the edge of Solenia, a black armored SUV tore down the highway. Behind it,

four or five armored Humvees roared in pursuit, gunfire rattling through the air.

Anthony gripped the wheel, eyes

flicking to the rearview mirror. Images of that raid on N

Organization two years ago flashed through his mind. For a split second, he drifted back to that night right as a bullet shattered the glass, whizzing past the back of his head.

He frowned, the hint of a wry smile tugging at his lips. These people hated him with everything they had.

The bullets kept coming, relentless.

Anthony dodged with practiced ease, but the SUV rocked violently nearly flipping more than once. Back when the two organizations were, really going at it, things had been even wilder than this.

Once he figured N Organization had vented enough, Anthony’s eyes went cold. He

steered the car to the side and brought it to a halt.

He stepped out, hands raised, surrendering without a fight.