"Smart choice," Luke said, reading Jorghan's hesitation correctly.

"Now listen carefully. The family will be held in a secure location. Unharmed, just detained. You get one chance to negotiate for their release. Come to the Moorne Estate tomorrow at noon, alone and unarmed, and we'll discuss terms."

"Terms," Jorghan repeated, and the word came out dripping with contempt.

"Terms," Luke confirmed.

"You want the family back? You want Grace? Then you negotiate like a civilized person instead of massacring your way through everyone who opposes you."

While Luke spoke, keeping Jorghan's attention focused forward, the contractors moved with practiced speed. They loaded the one who wasn't dead.

Luke backed toward a third vehicle, his eyes never leaving Jorghan, his body tense and ready to flee at the first sign of attack.

"Tomorrow," Luke repeated.

"Noon. The Moorne Estate. You'll receive coordinates. Come alone, or the family dies. Attack anyone before then and the family dies. Try to track us and the family dies. Are we clear?"

Jorghan said nothing, but his expression spoke volumes. Rage barely contained. Hatred that went beyond words. The promise of violence was so profound it made Luke's blood run cold despite the distance between them.

"I'll take that as a yes," Luke said, climbing into the vehicle.

The contractors pulled away with professional coordination, three vehicles departing in different directions, making pursuit or tracking difficult. Within thirty seconds, they were gone, disappearing into the night, taking the Chen family and the surviving S-Rank awakeners with them.

Jorghan stood alone in the street surrounded by bodies. Four dead S-Rank awakeners. Fifteen dead Raed circle soldiers. And the family he'd promised to protect, now captured because he'd been distracted by combat.

He'd failed.

Again.

The Tracker

But Jorghan hadn't been entirely distracted.

When Luke had stepped into the light to deliver his threats, when his attention had been focused on keeping Jorghan stationary, he'd missed something crucial.

Blood essence could be manifested in forms too small for normal perception. Microscopic droplets suspended in air. Particles that attached to skin without being felt. Trackers that required no technology, just Jorghan's will maintaining their existence and his Bloodhound Creed ability recognizing their signature across any distance.

Jorghan had tagged Luke the moment his half-brother appeared. A single droplet of blood essence, no larger than a grain of sand, adhered to Luke's collar, where it would remain active for hours.

Through his bond with Gorva, the Bloodhound Creed connection that let him track any essence signature he'd marked, Jorghan could sense Luke's location with perfect precision. The vehicle's direction, its speed, and the exact route it traveled.

The Moorne Estate.

Northwestern district, approximately fifteen miles from the city center. A massive compound built on land that had been agricultural before the Convergence, now converted into a private fortress complete with advanced security and defensive awakeners.

Jorghan smiled, and the expression held no warmth whatsoever.

Luke thought he'd bought time. Thought he'd created leverage by taking hostages and establishing terms for negotiation.

Luke was wrong.

*

Jorghan turned his attention to more immediate concerns.

Robert, Lizbeth's pathetic husband who'd sold his own daughter, had fled during the battle but wouldn't have gone far. The man was a coward who valued his own skin above all else, which meant he'd seek shelter somewhere he felt safe.

Jorghan closed his eyes and extended his senses, using Sanguine Will to detect blood signatures in the surrounding area. Hundreds of civilians hiding in their homes, their hearts beating with fear. Scattered criminals and gang members drawn by the sounds of battle but wise enough to stay clear. And one signature that carried the specific resonance Jorghan had memorized during their earlier encounter.

Robert.

Three blocks away, hiding in what felt like a commercial building, his heart rate elevated with terror, his blood pressure spiking with stress.

Jorghan walked toward the location with measured steps, his blood essence retracting back into his body, his transformation fading to appear more human. No need for intimidation displays. This would be quick and efficient.

The building was an abandoned office complex, its windows dark, its interior stripped of valuable equipment. Robert had broken in through a side door and was huddled in what had once been a reception area, his phone clutched in shaking hands, trying to call someone who might help him.

Jorghan entered through the front door, not bothering with stealth. His footsteps echoed through the empty building, each one deliberate, letting Robert know someone was coming.

"Please," Robert called out, his voice breaking.

"Whoever you are, I have money. I can pay you. Just please don't—"

He saw Jorghan emerge from the darkness, and the words died in his throat.

"You sold your daughter," Jorghan said conversationally, walking closer with unhurried purpose. "Gave her to criminals. All for money and personal protection."

"I didn't have a choice!" Robert protested, scrambling backward until he hit a wall.

"The Raed circle would have killed me if I refused! They wanted awakened children, and Lily manifested abilities, so I had to—"

"You had a choice," Jorghan interrupted.

"You could have protected her. Hidden her. Fought to keep her safe even if it cost your own life. That's what fathers do. What you did was save yourself and sacrifice her."

Robert's face crumpled, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was scared! I didn't think—"

"No, you didn't think," Jorghan agreed.

"You acted on cowardice and greed. And now you're going to pay for that choice."

"Please," Robert begged.

"Please, I'll make it right. I'll help you get the family back. I'll testify against the Raed circle. Whatever you need, just please don't kill me."

Jorghan considered the offer for approximately three seconds.

"No. You're too much of a liability. You've proven you'll betray anyone to save yourself, which makes you worthless as an ally. And letting you live sends the wrong message about what happens to people who harm children."

Blood essence manifested as a thin blade.

"Wait! WAIT!" Robert screamed.

"I can tell you about the Moorne Estate! About their defenses, their security systems, everything! Just let me—"

The blade pierced his heart with surgical precision. Robert's desperate words cut off mid-sentence, his eyes going wide with shock, his body collapsing as death came faster than his brain could process.

Jorghan's system activated automatically, absorbing the blood of Robert. It wasn't much, barely enough to register, but the waste was inefficient.

[BLOOD ABSORPTION: MINOR ABSORPTION]

Target: Human (Non-Awakened)

Blood extracted: 3 units

Total reserves: 2,097 units

Jorghan left the body where it fell and returned to the street where the battle had occurred. Emergency services hadn't arrived yet, probably because multiple reports of superhuman combat had made them cautious about approaching without heavily armed backup.

He found Lizbeth's parents' house, now thoroughly destroyed by the battle, and searched through the rubble until he located what he needed.

A map showing the city's major districts.

A tablet device with internet access. Contact information Lizbeth had compiled information about various power players in the post-Convergence world.

He memorized the Moorne Estate's location, cross-referenced it with Luke's tracked movement to confirm his half-brother was indeed heading there, and planned his approach.

The Moorne Mansion

But first, he had a promise to keep.

Jorghan made his way across the city on foot, avoiding main roads, moving through shadows and abandoned areas where his presence wouldn't draw attention. It took ninety minutes to reach the neighborhood where the Moorne family's city mansion stood, the same building where he'd first landed on Earth, where Grace had once lived before being taken to the Estate.

The mansion was dark and empty, just as it had been before. The caretaker he'd encountered earlier was nowhere to be seen, probably having fled after witnessing a crimson-eyed stranger breaking in through the front door.

Jorghan waited in the shadows across the street, his senses extended, monitoring the area for any sign of the Chen family's arrival.

It took another hour before a vehicle appeared, not one of the contractor's tactical vans, but a civilian car driven by someone who appeared nervous and uncertain. The car pulled up to the mansion's gate, and a few figures emerged.

Lizbeth, Lily, and Lizbeth's parents, Margaret and David.

They looked terrified, confused, clearly not understanding why they'd been released or where they were being taken.

Lizbeth held Lily close, her eyes scanning the darkness for threats, her body positioned to shield her daughter from any danger.

Jorghan stepped out of the shadows.

Lizbeth gasped, recognizing him immediately.

"Jorghan! How did you—what's happening? They just let us go and told us to come here. Is this a trap?"

"No trap," Jorghan replied.

"I arranged your release. You're safe now."

"Arranged our release?" Lizbeth repeated, disbelief evident in her voice.

"Those men worked for the Moorne Corporation. They took us to some kind of holding facility, kept us for hours, and then just... released us? That doesn't make sense."

It didn't make sense because Jorghan was lying. Luke hadn't released the family. The contractors hadn't received orders to free their hostages.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.