“Marvel, tell me the truth, and I’ll let her walk free,” Landon said, his voice cold but resolute.

Marvel let out a visible sigh of relief. “Jonny is the best thing we’ve ever cloned. Not a single flaw. And right now, he’s got the highest authority in the Mystic Sect.”

Tuff’s face went ghostly pale. “Didn’t we already take down the Mystic Sect?”

“You only wrecked the research department. We’ve still got a crew, all top-tier talent we’ve been picking out from the Kington Gang for years,” Marvel replied.

Tuff felt numb all over. Jonny wasn’t just one guy but a whole organization. Tuff felt his mind go numb. Damn!

“Where are those people?” Landon’s voice grew icier by the second.

Marvel stared at him. Landon was twenty years younger than him, yet he was like some legendary warlord from the old days.

‘Who knows how terrifying he’ll be when he gets to my age?’ Marvel thought, a chill running down his spine. The Mystic Sect went up against him and got crushed.

“That crew answers only to Jonny. He’s the only one who knows where they are,” Marvel said. “Mr. Kingsley, I’ve told you everything I know. Please, don’t hurt Monica anymore.”

“Alright,” Landon replied.

Landon raised his hand, and someone immediately came over to take Monica away. As Monica breathed a sigh of relief for dodging a bullet, she couldn’t help but worry about Marvel’s safety.

“Landon, please don’t hurt Marvel…” Monica pleaded.

With a loud bang, the door slammed shut. Now, only Landon, Tuff, and Marvel were left in the room, facing each other.

The air grew heavier, and Marvel felt his nerves tightening with unease. He felt as exposed as if he’d been stripped bare and left out in the blazing sun, no secrets and no way to fight back.

“She’s your daughter, isn’t she?” Landon lit a cigarette, his eyes half-lidded as he stared at Marvel.

Marvel’s heart skipped a beat, shooting Landon a look of utter disbelief. ‘How the hell did he find out?’ Marvel thought, panic rising in his chest.

“You were in love with Charlee, who knew all about you, didn’t she?” Landon pressed, his tone unrelenting.

Marvel’s last line of defense shattered, terror written all over his face.

“How… How could you possibly know that?” Marvel blurted out, panic flashing in his eyes.

“You care about Monica way more than Monroe ever did,” Tuff said bluntly. Tuff hadn’t even considered it before, but after Landon pointed it out, everything suddenly made sense. Monroe loved his daughter, sure, but his wife always came first. Marvel, though, poured his whole heart into Monica.

The two brothers had spent their entire lives chasing one thing – bringing back the woman they loved, Charlee Montgomery. They finally succeeded, but Charlee ended up with Monroe. Marvel was always the shadow. He never got the chance to be with Micah, the woman he loved.

However, Monica was different. She was his daughter, his real flesh and blood. She was his whole world. She was the only family he could truly call his own in this life.

“Relax. I won’t tell Monroe, at least not for now,” Landon said, offering a rare bit of reassurance after pushing him so hard.

Marvel let out a deep breath, clearly swayed by Landon’s approach. To keep the secret safe, he volunteered, “I’ll hand over everything except the core cloning technology. Promise me you’ll keep Monica’s parentage a secret.”

“Good,” Landon replied, clearly satisfied.

Tuff couldn’t help but ask, “So, besides all those superpowers, does the Mystic Sect also read the stars?”

“Yes,” Marvel nodded. “The Montgomery family’s ancestors were star-readers.”

Tuff was speechless. ‘Damn, they do read the stars! So all that stuff Monroe was talking about – healing powers, resurrection… Could that be real?’ Tuff thought, his mind racing.

“How were you planning to bring Charlee back?” Landon asked.

Marvel paused for a moment before answering, “Science can’t do it…”

“So you were putting your faith in mysticism?” Tuff cut in.

“No, it’s about superpowers,” Marvel said. “There are plenty of gifted people out there, but resurrection is extremely rare. We’ve been waiting for years.”

Tuff shot Landon a look, but Landon just stood there, calm as ever. When they first mentioned the Mystic Sect had people with superpowers, Landon had been just as unfazed.

‘Damn, Landon’s got nerves of steel! No wonder Mr. Rumsfeld always told me to learn from him,’ Tuff thought.

“So resurrection powers are real?” Landon’s brows furrowed, a spark of genuine interest in his eyes.

Tuff, worried Landon might buy into this, nudged his shoulder and shot him a warning look. Landon didn’t even glance at him, just kept his gaze fixed on Marvel.

Marvel said, “If you go by the stars, yeah, it should exist. I mean, healing powers are already a thing.”

“Who’s got it?” Landon pressed.

Tuff, who’d just been worried Landon might get fooled, instantly got interested. If healing powers were real, maybe his beloved wife could be cured!

“It’s a boy, but we don’t know who he is yet,” Marvel said, shaking his head. “He’s still too young and hasn’t shown any powers yet.”

“Oh,” said Tuff, looking deflated.

‘Damn it. My wife is gonna have to keep suffering,’ Tuff thought, his heart sinking. That monthly blood loss was going to wear her down fast. It was eating him up inside.

“Do you know where he is?” Landon asked.

“Norava,” Marvel replied.

Tuff trailed behind Landon like a shadow as they walked out of Project Azureveil.

“You’re not seriously thinking of checking every newborn in Norava, are you? Let me tell you, that’s the kind of thing only a tyrant from the old days would do…” Tuff said, his voice laced with concern.

“I know,” Landon shot him a look, clearly annoyed. He already had someone in mind: Kimsey. With a mother who could read minds, Kimsey had a better shot at having superpowers than most kids. He was planning to go back and give it a shot.

“Well, as long as you know. We’re living in the age of science. Don’t do anything crazy, or you’ll get people talking,” Tuff muttered, still nagging.

Landon didn’t even bother responding. He kept walking, heading straight for the Prescott family’s residence.

As soon as they walked in, they saw Kayla collapse on the couch, looking utterly exhausted. Amelia and Daniel both looked grim.

“Honey, are you feeling unwell?” Tuff rushed over to check on Kayla.

Amelia said, “She’s fine, just completely spent. We’ve been all over town today, making a big show of searching for clues. And sure enough, Jonny called again.”

“What did he say?” Tuff asked.

“He told us to give up and said we’d never find him. And he threatened Kayla again,” Amelia replied.

“Is he seriously going to hurt his son?” Tuff’s anger flared. “He’s a damn lunatic! No humanity at all!”

Amelia sighed. “He’s bluffing. Kayla fired right back at him.”

“How did you clap back?” Landon asked.

“I told him… I’m pregnant and will have another healthy baby…” Kayla said, her voice barely above a whisper as tears streamed down her cheeks. Landen was right there by the phone, bawling his eyes out. Her heart broke again and again.

Tuff gently wiped her tears, his voice soft and full of love. “Don’t worry, when Landen’s back, I’ll spoil him rotten. Even if we have more kids, he’ll always be my number one.”

Kayla buried her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Kayla, Jonny’s not acting alone. He’s got people working for him. Monroe’s no fool. He planned for this a long time ago. You did the right thing by not giving in to his threats. He won’t dare hurt Landen. If he does, he’s got nothing left to use against us,” said Landon.

Kayla trusted Landon’s judgment, but Landen was her son, her whole world. There was no way she could risk anything happening to Landen.

“He wants to trick you into coming over so he can use you as leverage against us. Kayla, thank you for having the guts to stand your ground,” Landon added, his voice full of genuine respect.

“Landon…” Kayla choked out, her voice trembling with emotion. Kayla was so lost in her grief that she could barely think straight, her mind drifting in and out.

“Kayla, this will all be over soon. Trust us, okay?” Landon said softly, trying to comfort her.

“Okay…” said Kayla. She wanted to beg them to hurry up, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She knew everyone was stretched thin and couldn’t pile more on Landon.

“Mr. Zuckerberg, take a look at this book,” Landon said, handing over the tattered book Marvel had given him.

Daniel’s eyes widened in shock. “How the hell did you get your hands on this?”