The jet's cabin door opened with a sharp sound yet not eerie letting in the heavy breeze of the city . Milan Vanquez adjusted her sunglasses, standing at the very top of the jet door, her posture carried grace and command. Milan looked at the private runway a sense of nostalgia hit her. The wind hit her face as she stared at the once familiar environment but strange now. Behind her, she held unto the hand of a boy of seven, as he followed her—sharp-eyed, quiet, and far too composed for his age.
Liam Vanquez...Her son....Her secret.
As they walked towards the departing gate, she perceived the air which carried a scent she had not forgotten—rain, smoke, and the faint perfume of the familiar corruption that ruled her hometown.
It's been Years since she had walked this ground, yet the entrance of the airport still bore the Milwaukee crest at its tallest peak, as if mocking her absence.
Liam looked around trying to engrave every part of it into his memory. He always had a keen sense of things. Making him way...smarter than other kids.
A row of bodyguard stood before the entrance close to a black SUV.
"Welcome back, Lady Vanquez," the body guards greeted, bowing their head's.
Milan's lips curved faintly. "I wasn't gone," she said. "I was simply watching from a higher place." she stated frankly.
"Mom!!!" Liam slightly tapped her, a sign of reproach.
"What!!! Just stating facts. Milan shrugged, her haughty demeanor changing for a split second.
The sound of her heels struck the ground as she descended the entrance steps. Two black Sedan waited at the front of the airport gaining attention, tinted windows were gleaming. Liam trailed behind, clutching his small digital tablet as though it were a toy—but everyone around him knew better than to touch it.
Inside the car, Milan's mind were a wild train of thoughts, layered, and dangerous.
The car moved on a relatively high speed. Milan looked out the window lost in thought.
She had rebuilt everything the moment she left Ryan Milwaukee. From ashes to empire. Now she was the next in line to the Milwaukee empire, making sure the irony wasn't lost on her.
Ryan's name still stirred something deep in her, though she'd taught herself to always surpress it. Love was weakness in their world. And she had already bled once.
"Mummy," Liam childish voice sounded, breaking the silence. His voice was calm, yet playful. "Can I use the restroom before we reach home?"
Milan turned to him. " Baby, we'll arrive in twenty minutes. Can it wait?"
Liam gently shook his head, motioning it couldn't wait. That gentle stubbornness yet subtle reminded her of his father's defiance. "Please."....he begged, seeing his mother not responding.
She sighed. "Fine. Antonio, pull over at the lounge near the expressway."
The car came to a halt a few minutes later. Liam stepped out quietly yet swiftly, clutching his small backpack. The guard followed at a distance.
While Milan watched him disappear inside. Her phone buzzed—another business update, another empire to manage. She was already thinking about tonight's meeting when the guard's shout shattered her focus.
"Lady Vanquez! Master—he's gone!"
Her head snapped up. "What did you just say?!" Her voice restrained
"Time was far gone and he hasn't come out so I went over to check, he slipped past the back exit. I checked everywhere—he's not in the building!"
For a second, time stopped. Milan felt her chest tighten, her carefully maintained calm demeanor faltering. "Check the security feed," she ordered. "Track his device!" she yelled.
"Mi Lady, his tracking system has been switched off."
"What! Milan scramble to get her computer, her hands shaking from fear, she was panicking. Liam's tablet was no longer showing on her system. It was gone from every digital trace she had access to.
Then suddenly, a thin line formed between her brows. The fear was there—but so was realization. Her son had done something she never expected.
Meanwhile, Inside a half-lit café, Liam sat at a corner booth, his small fingers dancing over his tablet's holographic keyboard. Lines of code flowed, his face illuminated by the blue light of his screen.
His expression were too calm for a child, eyes sharp like Milan's—eyes that saw patterns in everything.
The Milwaukee Headquarters became visible on his screen—a digital fire wall built by his father's empire for years.
Tsk.....tsk....is this what he calls a system? Any hacker could hack into it," Liam muttered.
The mockery in his voice were obvious.
And he was breaking through it.
He broke into the outer firewall with a decoy ping to their logistics branch, then slipped into the system through a buried code in their fleet database. His small lips curved upward.
"Dad," he murmured, "let's see if you still like to be in control."
A string of encrypted data showed up and an alert pinged across the Milwaukee server room downtown.
Security systems blinked red.Vehicle tracking data scrambled.
"who is behind it?" Ryan asked his right hand man, his voice commanding and powerful.
And in the heart of the city, Ryan Milwaukee's convoy slowed to a halt on the highway, engines dead. His guards scrambled to reboot the system, their signals erupting in static.
Ryan stepped out of the car, tall and calm despite the chaos, his tailored black suit absorbing the heat, His jaw tightened and brows furrowed.
"Find out who did that," he ordered.
His right-hand man nodded, typing frantically into a mobile terminal. "Sir, it looks like a remote breach. From the east sector… it's—it's coming from inside the city."
Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly anger brewing underneath his eyes. "Then trace it."
But by the time the trace completed, the signal was gone—wiped clean. All that remained was a single message flashing on his car's console:
'See you soon, Dad.'
For the first time in years, Ryan Milwaukee froze. His throat went dry. His heart stumbled. It couldn't be.
Soon after Milan's command center was in full motion. Her headquarters security team got to work immediately. Their screens filled with encrypted code, maps, and security footage. The Vanquez estate was a digital fire wall—that cannot be easily hacked yet her son had just made her realize what kind of brilliance she have given birth to.
"Mi lady" Antonio said, "from our investigation, we were able to trace that he accessed Milwaukee's central systems."
Milan stared at the screen bewildered, her disbelief quickly burning into anger—and pride.
"Liam…" she whispered. "He's just seven."
Her assistant hesitated. Then asked, "Should we—alert Mr. Milwaukee?"
Her gaze snapped toward him. "No." The word cut like glass. "He doesn't get to know anything. Not yet."
She turned away, pacing the length of the room. The walls seemed to close in with memory—Ryan's voice, his promises, the way he'd betrayed her when Dira reappeared. That night came rushing back—the one that ended everything. The betrayal. The contract torn in two. The lies whispered behind her back. And the discovery that she was pregnant, immediately after their divorce, branded a traitor by both families and left alone.
She had built her empire on the ruins of that night. Every company, every alliance, every deal was a blade she forged out of heartbreak. And now, fate had brought her back into Ryan's orbit again—through their son.
Her voice steadied. "Prepare the car. We're finding Liam. And if the Milwaukee family interferes…" She smiled thinly. "…remind them who taught Ryan to build an empire."
At the Downtown Milwaukee Tower, Ryan stood before his office full glass window, the skyline reflecting against his glass desk.
"Sir," Maria voice came through the landline, sweet and composed, "the systems are back online. It was a temporary breach. But whoever did it was good. Better than anyone we've seen in years."
Ryan's hands flexed at his sides, grasping the pen a little bit hard until it snapped. "Find them."
"I will. Though I must say," she added with a small laugh, "the hacker left quite a message. It sounded… personal."
He didn't respond. His gaze drifted toward the family portrait on his shelf—a younger version of himself beside Milan, her eyes fierce even then. He had destroyed that once.
Now something—or someone—was forcing him to look back.
"Sir, do you think it's her?" Maria voice ambiguous.
Ryan turned away from the window. His tone was calm, but something in his chest twisted. "No," he said. "It's not her."
But even as he said it, he knew he was lying.
Liam watched the city traffic. His small hands rested on his backpack completely exhausted, his tablet tucked safely inside.
Liam didn't know why he wanted to see his father. Maybe curiosity. Maybe something deeper—an instinct he couldn't name.
But part of him knew this was more than a reunion. This was a test that he needs to overcome if he wants to take revenge for his mummy.
And he'd already passed the first stage.
Meanwhile, Milan stood by the balcony in room watching as the city lights flickered beneath her. The cool air brushed her face, carrying the sound of engines and sirens.
Somewhere out there, her son was walking into the lion's den.
Somewhere out there, Ryan Milwaukee had just realized that the past never really dies.
She closed her eyes, whispering to the night, "If you hurt him, Ryan, I will burn this city to the ground."
The phone on her table buzzed once—a location ping.
Her lips curved slightly. "Found you."