The city outside Adrian's window was washed clean by rain.Neon signs shimmered on wet asphalt, and car lights streaked through the mist like red veins in a metallic beast.
It was past midnight.The only sound in the penthouse was the faint hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of a clock he'd stopped noticing years ago.
He hadn't slept.
On the table before him, two photos lay side by side — one of his father, Raymond Vance, shaking hands with Taylor Industries' founder, and one of himself and Emily, smiling at a press event from another lifetime.
He stared at them until his coffee went cold.
In the dim light, he could almost see it again — that moment in his previous life when it all came crashing down.
[Flashback]
The boardroom was filled with people he thought were allies.His lawyer, his CFO, even Emily sat beside him, calm and reassuring.
"Just sign it, Adrian," she'd said, her voice soft. "It's just a transfer of shares to stabilize the company."
He had believed her.Believed every trembling word, every tear that fell onto his hand when she whispered, "It's for us, for our future."
The papers he signed that day stripped him of everything.By the time he realized the clauses hidden between the legal jargon, it was too late. His father's company—his legacy—was gone. And Emily… she had already moved on to another man's arm.
He remembered the car accident that followed.The brakes that failed.The crash that burned through his flesh and ended his first life.
And now, reborn with those memories, the guilt weighed heavier than any revenge.
[Present]
He leaned back, rubbing his temples.He had thought he'd buried that pain with his old self.But memories didn't die just because you did.
Adrian turned toward the mirror near the balcony—half fogged from the humidity.His reflection stared back: sharper cheekbones, colder eyes, but the same man beneath.
"You died being a fool," he whispered to it. "Don't be one again."
A soft chime interrupted the silence.An encrypted email had just arrived on his private server.
He frowned. That account had been dormant for years—known only to a few trusted people from before his death.
Sender:RavenSubject:You were right. Your father's death wasn't an accident.
His heartbeat quickened.
He opened the message. It contained a single image: a blurry security still, dated two days before his father's supposed "accident."In the photo, his father was meeting a tall man in a charcoal suit.The file name read:
WARD_CORP_BRANCH-4.mp4
Ward.Elena's surname.
Adrian froze.It couldn't be coincidence.
He clicked for more, but the file was encrypted beyond his access level. Whoever this "Raven" was, they had just given him a thread to pull — one that led straight into the past he thought he understood.
By morning, he was still awake, sitting at the same table.The rain had stopped, but the air felt heavy with electricity.
He opened his laptop again and began writing code — the kind of deep encryption-breaking script he had learned after his rebirth, hidden behind a false consulting identity.
Every line of code he typed was steady, patient, purposeful.When the program finally began to decrypt the video, his screen flickered with static before a grainy image appeared.
The meeting room.His father.And across from him… another figure slowly turning toward the camera.
Adrian leaned forward.Even through the distortion, the profile was unmistakable — poised, confident, and unmistakably Elena Ward.
He closed the laptop.
His pulse thundered, but his expression remained calm.Maybe it wasn't betrayal — maybe it was just business.But he had learned enough to know that in this world, business killed more people than bullets ever did.
A knock came at the door again.The same rhythm as before—soft, deliberate.
He didn't need to ask who it was.
Elena stood there, rain on her coat, the same composed smile on her lips.
"Mr. Vance," she said lightly. "I trust you've had time to consider my offer."
Adrian's gaze lingered on her just a moment longer than usual.He could almost hear the echo of that file name in his head:WARD_CORP_BRANCH-4.
"Yes," he said slowly. "I've been thinking about it all night."
Elena smiled, unaware of the storm that had begun behind his calm eyes.
"Then perhaps," she said, "we should discuss the details over breakfast."
Adrian nodded.
"Breakfast," he repeated softly."Yes… let's talk about details."