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Meanwhile, far from the city's turmoil, the nature reserve stretched out like an isolated sanctuary.
But behind the towering trees lay far more than a simple forest: a modern hamlet, almost a private village, where glass-and-steel houses stood in sharp contrast to the raw wilderness surrounding them.
State-of-the-art facilities.
Impeccable organization.
Nothing here was left to chance.
Among all the residences, one stood out unmistakably—
massive, imposing, almost intimidating.
It was the central estate.
The place where important decisions were made.
Upstairs, in a room isolated from the rest of the building, a meeting was underway.
About a dozen people sat together, all wearing grave expressions, speaking in hushed tones.
Something serious.
Something dangerous.
The atmosphere was heavy, almost suffocating—
until a phone vibrated sharply, cutting through the silence.
Every gaze turned toward the young man sitting near the window.
Jackson.
Flushing from the sudden attention, he stood immediately and slipped out of the room under the dark glare of the older man—
his father.
Once in the hallway, he pulled out his phone.
The name on the screen made his brows knit together.
Claire.
Not the type to call.
More the type to send biting, sarcastic texts.
"Claire?"
He barely had time to speak before she launched in, tense, breathless.
"I don't have time to explain. I need your help. Now, Jackson."
---
Jackson's POV
I froze for a moment.
Claire… panicking?
That never happened.
She told me she couldn't reach Avery, and that it was starting to worry her.
I tried to reassure her, but it was like talking to a wall.
"Go check on her. Right now," she ordered sharply.
I tried one last time to reason with her.
It was useless.
With a sigh, I finally gave in.
As soon as she hung up, I called Kevin.
My best friend—and the one who'd been helping me for days to keep an eye on Avery.
It wasn't very ethical, I knew that…
But ever since my encounter at the hospital with the nameless man—the one who came out of nowhere and kept hovering around her—I hadn't been able to rest easy.
So I'd had her watched.
To reassure myself.
To be warned if something went wrong.
But Kevin didn't answer.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
By the fourth call, anxiety tightened in my throat.
He always answers.
Always.
I clenched my phone, took a deep breath, then headed back toward the meeting room to grab my things.
But I'd barely stepped inside when someone grabbed my arm.
"And where do you think you're going? The meeting isn't over," my uncle Harry snapped, pulling me back into the room.
"I have… something important to take care of."
He narrowed his eyes.
Then, seeing my expression, he understood immediately.
"Don't tell me this is about that girl again," he muttered, leaning closer.
"It's important, Uncle."
He rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"I knew it. We have someone roaming our territory, leaving bodies behind—and you? All you care about is that girl."
"Uncle Henry—"
"Jackson. You'll be our leader soon. So get yourself together. Finish this meeting. Is that clear, my boy?" he said, tapping my cheek as if I were five years old.
I swallowed my words and slowly put my things down.
Technically, he was right.
But the tightness in my chest didn't fade.
I tried to focus.
In vain.
The voices, the debates, the strategies… it all blurred into background noise.
I had a bad feeling.
A very bad one.
Finally, I stood up abruptly.
Without a word.
Under the surprised—some disapproving—stares of the council members.
And under my uncle's furious glare.
But I had no choice anymore.
Something was wrong.
And Avery…
Avery might be in danger.
---