Liam was done eating and was currently on his way to the airport, with Daniel seated beside him in the back of the Rolls Royce Ghost Black Badge.

Daniel, however, wasn't enjoying the ride in the slightest, as lines of text scrolled faster than most people could read.

Honestly? He was tired.

The announcement Lucy had posted barely half a day ago had detonated far harder than even he had anticipated. He had expected a bit of exaggerated reaction, but what he didn't expect was this level of desperation.

His Lucid chimed again, as he received another email.

He sighed quietly and opened it.

It was a carefully worded message, dripping with courtesy, restraint, and veiled urgency. A request for a "private discussion." the email has no demands, pressure or arrogance known to those in the same position as the sender.

The email looks like someone filled with just polite curiosity wrote it. But Daniel understood the reason why the person is so polite.

The sender is one of the wealthiest families in Europe.

Daniel didn't even need to read past the third paragraph to know what they wanted.

Confirmation. That was all they were after.

Daniel scoffed softly under his breath.

They had already connected the dots. The private A380's first appearance, Nova Technologies, Lucid, JP Morgan's sudden impenetrable security. The timing. The scale. The impossible competence. You'd have to be willfully blind not to suspect Liam.

But suspicion meant nothing without proof. And proof was exactly what they would never get.

They didn't need Liam to admit anything directly. They just needed to sit across from him, observe him, feel him out. People at that level didn't rely on words. They relied on instincts honed over generations.

Daniel flicked the message closed and issued a silent command.

"Meg," he said quietly, calling his personal AI assistant.

"Yes, master."

"Politely decline all emails requesting any form or level of meetings, or partnership."

"Understood."

The response was drafted, sent, and archived in under a second.

Daniel leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose.

Since Liam left Dubai, more requests for for meetings had started flooding in. And Daniel understood their thought process.

They probably felt that since Liam accepted the invitation from the White House and the three royal families of the Middle East, he will accept theirs.

But they were awfully wrong, as Liam had instructed him to decline everything, with no exceptions, n matter who it is and no matter where it is.

Daniel intended to follow that order to the letter. He glanced sideways at Liam.

Liam was relaxed, gazing out the tinted window as Los Angeles slid by, hands folded loosely in his lap.

It was always like this. The more the world panicked, the calmer Liam seemed.

"You holding up, okay?" Liam asked casually, without looking away from the window.

Daniel blinked, momentarily pulled from his thoughts. "Yes, sir. Nothing I can't handle."

Liam nodded. "Good."

"Brace yourself," Liam added.

Daniel stiffened.

He turned fully toward Liam. "Sir?"

Liam finally looked at him, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"For what I'm about to show you."

A chill crawled down Daniel's spine, as he remembered that tone. That exact, deceptively casual tone.

His mind immediately betrayed him, dredging up memories he would rather forget.

The day the private A380—the Flying Palace—made its appearance. The aftermath. Rhe sleepless nights. The calls. Rhe sheer hell of it.

Daniel swallowed.

"With respect, sir," he said carefully, "I feel like I should be afraid."

Liam chuckled softly. He didn't deny it.

The Rolls-Royce glided smoothly onto airport grounds, security checkpoints opening seamlessly as Nick drove toward the runway where the Black Titan was already waiting.

Even after everything, Daniel still felt a strange sense of unreality every time he saw it. No matter how many times he boarded it, the sheer presence of the aircraft never quite lost its impact.

Nick drove beneath the massive fuselage and aligned the car perfectly on the flat lift platform on the ground.

The mechanism engaged, humming quietly as the entire vehicle rose upward, disappearing into the aircraft's internal garage.

The lift stopped.

Nick stepped out first, followed by Mason. Mason moved around the car and opened Liam's door with practiced precision. Daniel exited from the other side.

Liam glanced around the garage and smiled faintly.

This is actually the first time he has ever made use of the garage that has a parking space for 3 cars.

They ascended the internal stairs and entered the cabin.

Minutes later, the A380 was airborne.

Los Angeles fell away beneath them as the aircraft turned toward open sky.

***

San Careola Keys appeared beneath them hours later, a stretch of blue water broken only by white sand and greenery.

The aircraft touched down smoothly on the private runway. Liam disembarked first, Daniel, Mason, and Nick following behind him.

The island air was warm and clean, carrying the faint scent of salt and vegetation.

Daniel took a breath.

"Sir," he said, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, "may I ask why we're here?"

Liam stopped walking. He turned, then pointed upward.

Daniel frowned and followed his gesture. So did Mason and Nick.

At first, Daniel thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, when he saw a dark shape, that looks like a jet, hovering high above the runway.

It was descending vertically, slow and deliberate, like gravity itself had been negotiated with.

Daniel's heart skipped, as he continued to observed the jet. As it descended even lower, its full appearance finally resolved and he saw that it's actually a spaceship?

"Impossible," he muttered in disbelief.

The spaceship touched down almost soundlessly, save for the howling sound from the wind being violently displaced by it. Then, beneath it, a circular platform lowered smoothly toward the ground.

Silence blanketed the runway.

Daniel's mouth opened slightly, then closed. His brain struggled to process what he was seeing.

What he's looking at isn't experimental aviation. Neither is it classified military tech. This was something that belonged in science fiction.

Liam glanced at him.

"Don't look so shocked," he said lightly. "This isn't the impressive part."

Daniel felt cold sweat form at his temples.

Not the impressive part?

Behind them, the A380 crew—pilots, hostesses, staff—were looking at the spaceship, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. No one spoke or moved.

Mason's jaw clenched. He was struggling to find the words that would express how he's feeling at the moment.

Nick whispered, "Sir… that's a—"

"I know what it is," Daniel interrupted quietly, his voice tight. "I just don't understand why it exists."

Liam smiled and began walking toward the platform, without explaining anything.

Daniel cursed internally and followed, Mason and Nick close behind.

The circular platform rose smoothly once they stepped onto it, lifting them into the belly of the spacecraft. The transition was seamless, as there was no noise or vibration. There was no sensation of movement beyond a gentle shift in gravity.

The circular platform clicked softy with the spaceship, and the hatch closed.

The scene in front of them made Daniel, Mason and Nick to stop breathing for a second.

Daniel swallowed hard.

"This," he said quietly, "is a spacecraft."

"Yes," Liam replied.

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