note there will be some name changes like Lena will become Lena Park
The sun was sinking behind the city skyline, its fading light spilling over glass towers and gilded rooftops like liquid gold.High above the noise and motion of the streets, a single mansion stood quiet — elegant and cold.
In one of its rooms, a girl sat on the edge of her bed, hands clasped tightly in her lap.Lena Park's eyes were red, her cheeks streaked with tears that refused to dry.
She hadn't left her room since the end of her exams. The servants had stopped knocking hours ago.She didn't want to see anyone — not her mother, not her father, not even the soft-spoken maids who pitied her in silence.
The silence pressed down on her chest. The pale light from the window stretched across her floor like a ghost, touching the small photo frame on her nightstand.In it, a younger version of her and Ethan stood under the campus cherry blossoms — laughing, awkward, alive. Even if it just 3 years it felt like it was forever.
She reached out and traced his smile with trembling fingers.
"Ethan…" she whispered.
Her voice broke.
It had been weeks since she walked away from him — weeks since that night she'd told him they couldn't be together.
She'd expected the pain to fade. It hadn't.Instead, it festered, heavy and raw, twisting inside her every time she thought of his face.
And then there was the kiss.
The memory came unbidden: the soft press of his lips against hers in the casino toilet, the faint taste of adrenaline and longing.
It wasn't like before.
Back when they'd been together at St. Helens, Ethan had always been gentle — shy smiles, hesitant touches, the kind of warmth that made her want to protect him from the world.But that kiss… that kiss was different.There had been strength in it — raw, confident, commanding.It had awakened something inside her that she didn't want to name.
She leaned back on her bed, covering her face with her hands. "Why now… why after everything?"
Tomorrow she was supposed to meet Adam Vale for dinner — a "family arrangement" that had already been decided for her.A contract disguised as love.She would sit across from the man she didn't love, smile for the cameras, and pretend her heart wasn't somewhere else entirely.
And the cruelest part? She would still have to go through with it.
Because this wasn't about her.It was about the Park family's partnership with Solaris Tech — about her father's company staying afloat, about political leverage and business alliances.
Her feelings didn't matter.
A soft vibration broke the silence.
Her phone.
She wiped her eyes quickly and picked it up. "Hello?"
A voice came through, crisp and professional."Miss Park. It's me. We found something — about Adam Vale."
Lena sat up straight. "What is it?"
"Information about his recent activities. You might want to hear this privately."
She hesitated, then stood and crossed the room to her window, closing the curtains before lowering her voice. "Tell me."
The voice on the other end paused, as if weighing the words."Two things. First — Adam's been tracking you since last week. Your devices, your routes, even your family's driver logs."
Lena's grip tightened around her phone. "…What?"
"And second — he's the one who ordered Ethan Iver's eviction. He also bribed someone named Roland Halstrom to falsify records at St. Helens Academy."
Her breath caught. "He—what?"
"Miss Park, if you needed proof that he's not the man your family thinks he is—this is it."
Lena said nothing for a long moment. The line went quiet, the only sound her shallow breathing.
Finally, she whispered, "Thank you."
"Be careful, PX."
The name hung there for a heartbeat before the line disconnected.
PX.
She closed her eyes. It had been years since anyone called her that.
Slowly, she stood and crossed to her wardrobe. Inside hung rows of designer dresses, coats, and jewelry — the trappings of a life that had never truly been hers.She reached past them and pulled out a dark hoodie, a short, pleated skirt, and a plain black mask.
When she looked in the mirror, she no longer saw Lena Park, daughter of the Parks.She saw PX — the faceless hacker who had once shaken corporate networks and wiped accounts clean with a few lines of code.
That was how she'd protected Ethan all those years at St. Helens — through quiet manipulation of the academy's database, subtle transfers, erased penalties.He had never known. And she had made sure he never would.
She pulled on her hood, slipped a small earpiece into her ear, and whispered, "Access proxy net — channel seven."
A soft tone replied.[Connection Secure.]
Without another glance at her reflection, she opened her window. The night air rushed in, cool against her face.
"Sorry, Father," she murmured, stepping onto the ledge. "But I'm done following orders."
Then she was gone — disappearing into the dark streets below.
Downtown – 9:42 p.m.
The café sat tucked between two silent shops, its neon sign flickering faintly in the growing dark.Inside, the smell of coffee and faint music mixed in the air.
When the door opened, a few customers looked up — then quickly looked away.
A girl in a hoodie and mask stepped inside. Her presence drew quiet murmurs, but she ignored them, walking straight to the counter.
Behind it stood a tall woman in a crimson dress, her sharp eyes narrowing with recognition.
"Well, if it isn't PX," the woman said, voice laced with amusement. "What brings you back here? Looking to stir up trouble again?"
PX — Lena — lowered her hood slightly. "Not trouble. Information."
The woman smirked. "That's what you said last time. Half of the city's private network nearly collapsed because of your 'information.'"
Lena's voice was calm, but her eyes were hard. "This time, it's different. Someone's targeting Ethan Iver. I need to find out who's funding Adam Vale's moves — and why."
The woman's smile faded slightly. "You really can't let that boy go, can you?"
Lena looked down for a moment. "No. Not when I know what he's walking into."
The café owner studied her for a long second, then turned, gesturing to the back. "Fine. You can use the old terminal. Don't bring the building down again."
"Promise."
Lena slipped past the counter, vanishing into the dim corridor. The faint glow of screens flickered to life in the back room, painting her face in pale blue light.
Her fingers danced over the keyboard, lines of code scrolling faster than the eye could follow.
PX was back.
At the same time – City Park
The world had dimmed to shades of gray and silver. The lamps flickered softly as the night deepened, wind whispering through the leaves.
Ethan stood in the open clearing, his body still and centered.
Before him, the two men adjusted their stances — measured, disciplined, wary.
They had felt the change too.
Ethan's expression was calm, his breathing steady.The earlier panic was gone.He could feel everything — the pressure of the air, the rhythm of their footsteps, even the faint twitch in one man's jaw before he moved.
It wasn't supernatural. It was focus — sharpened by his newly raised perception.
He shifted slightly, lowering his center of gravity.
His mind was already mapping possibilities — angles of attack, reach, terrain.
If they move together, I can't meet them head-on.The one on the left favors kicks; he leads with his hips first. The other's right-dominant — his shoulders give away his strike before he commits.
The woman behind him watched silently, her breath catching each time the wind stirred.
Ethan didn't look back. He didn't need to.
He had a mission now — one that left no room for hesitation.
The taller man rolled his shoulders. "You look calm for someone about to die."
Ethan tilted his head. "You talk too much for someone who hasn't won yet."
For a second, silence. Then the shorter man smirked faintly. "Big words."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Big enough to end this."
His tone wasn't arrogance — it was clarity.
The two men exchanged a glance, subtle and quick, before stepping forward together. Their boots struck the ground in unison, the sound crisp in the still air.
Ethan shifted his stance, his muscles coiling. Every heartbeat, every breath, every flicker of movement in their bodies unfolded before his eyes like pages of an open book.
He was ready.
Far away, in a café lit by screens and shadow, PX found her target.Lines of data cascaded down the monitor, tracing digital trails across banks and communication records.
Her eyes widened slightly as a name flashed across her screen.
"Adam Vale… and Solaris Tech's encrypted fund."
Her jaw tightened. "So it's true."
Her fingers flew across the keys again, launching silent programs into the net — tracing, copying, preparing.
In her mind, she whispered Ethan's name.
Just hold on a little longer.
Back at the park, Ethan's fists clenched at his sides as the men approached.
The cold wind shifted, carrying with it the faint scent of the city — asphalt, smoke, and rain.
The taller man lunged.
Ethan smiled faintly.
Let's see what ten points of strength can really do.
The moment froze — light, shadow, and breath suspended between them.
Then —
They moved.