“No signal. What’s going on?” Hawk’s face darkened as the communication cut off.
Bill quickly checked and his face went from serious to stone cold, “Magnetic interference. All signals are blocked.”
Cobra kicked over the coffee table in frustration. Cutting off their escape route was one thing; they had planes, and leaving wouldn’t have been an issue.
The drawbridge didn’t matter much to them, but now, with this interference, they were completely blind. No orders could go out, and no information was coming in. It was an airtight situation.
Ryan’s expression hardened as he said coldly, “Get me King George and the others.”
Cobra responded with a sharp nod and immediately headed for Kevin’s room, where King George and the others were being held.
It wasn’t that King George and the others were completely innocent. If they hadn’t made a mistake, there’s no way someone would have been able to make a move under their watch. And they were far from careless. These seasoned foxes wouldn’t make such an error. The only explanation was that they were involved in some way-whether they knew it or not, they weren’t clean.
Bill quickly followed Cobra. The strength of the interference wasn’t something you could achieve with a simple computer hack. Something in the area had caused such a powerful disruption. At this point, it didn’t matter who was behind it. What mattered was finding it and dealing with it-fast. That was the priority now.
“Mr. Ryan, Mr. Ryan…” The chaotic voices grew louder, with hurried footsteps and anxious tones.
There was a sense of panic in the air as everyone rushed in. It seemed like everyone had noticed something was wrong.
Hawk immediately turned and stepped out of the room, blocking the others from coming in. It wasn’t clear whether they were friends or enemies, and in times like these, caution was key.
“What’s going on? Mr. Ryan, did you figure something out?”
“Mr. Ryan, something’s off here…”
The gangsters who had been invited weren’t idiots. They didn’t just buy the explanation that it was an accident caused by the explosion, as King George and the others had claimed. Smart people had the advantage of quickly considering all possibilities. If something was wrong, they’d notice it first.
Given the situation, the people backed by the Dark family immediately thought of Ryan and rushed toward him. In times of uncertainty and danger, aligning with the stronger party was always a smart move.
Hawk kept the door shut, blocking the various voices from getting through. Inside, Ryan furrowed his brows, continuously talking to Adolph. It was clear that this night wouldn’t end quietly.
Next door, Kevin also stayed behind closed doors, isolating himself from those who relied on him, sending his subordinates to deal with things outside.
Inside Kevin’s room, his face twisted with arrogance, contempt, and a murderous aura as he coldly toyed with a glass of liquor. He muttered, “So it’s them. No wonder they had the guts to pull this off.”
Kevin wasn’t stupid. With just a bit of time to think, it didn’t take long to figure out what was going on. Several countries had teamed up to take them down, and with him and Ryan facing off, it all lined up-timing, geography, and the right allies. No wonder they had the courage to strike.
Aaron furrowed his brows. “This doesn’t look good. If it’s them, their methods will be ruthless. They’ve already blocked all communication-something big is coming.”
Kevin nodded slightly. “Shadow, go find the source of the interference.”
The man standing across from Kevin, with Eastern blood, nodded and left the room. He was the one who had taken Echo before.
Aaron asked, “What’s our next move?”
Kevin, with a bloodthirsty grin, whispered his orders.
Meanwhile, in the dark room, Echo was startled awake by the sound of the explosions. Then she heard the rising noise of people outside. The voices were distant and unclear, but the explosion-she couldn’t have mistaken that. There was no way it was just a random accident.
No one answered, and there was no change in the air around her. Echo scanned her surroundings, noting that the feeling of being watched was gone. Though the person who had been keeping an eye on her never showed up in person, she had the instinct of a skilled thief-and right now, that feeling of being monitored was completely gone.
After a moment of puzzling over this, she wasn’t so surprised anymore. If Kevin had planned for her to escape, then he wouldn’t be the leader of the Street family. No one got away from him without a well-thought-out plan.
Suddenly, the door creaked open.
Echo looked up and asked, “What’s going on…”
When she saw who it was, her eyes widened in surprise. It was Edward, the one she knew to be unpredictable and dangerous.
“Still alive?” Edward flashed into the room, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Echo, a smile playing on his lips. It was hard to tell if his tone was mocking or just factual.
Echo immediately glared at him and snapped, “Where the hell have you been?”
Edward looked down at her, his expression neither calm nor cold, somewhere in between. In a low, serious voice, he asked, “Aren’t you afraid I was the one who did this?”
Echo studied his angelic face for a moment, then slowly shook her head. Even though she hadn’t seen the person’s face, she was sure from the height and strength that it wasn’t Edward. Though she had briefly considered it, something about her gut told her he wasn’t the one behind it. It was a terrifyingly accurate intuition.
Seeing her firm denial, Edward’s expression tightened, the trust in her words clearly visible, though his annoyance was undeniable.
He muttered under his breath, half mocking, half angry, “I really don’t want to deal with you. People like you should’ve died sooner.” He then roughly helped her to her feet.
“What are you doing? Where are we…”
“Stop talking so much. Move,” Edward interrupted her, his tone fiery as he gripped her waist, pulling her out of the room.
Echo knew that despite Edward being younger, he was always cautious and calculating. So, she kept quiet, leaning on him for support as they headed out. She had a million questions, but now wasn’t the time.
As they quickly exited, Echo realized that she had been in a kitchen-one that had never been used, not a hint of cooking smell anywhere. No wonder she hadn’t noticed before; it didn’t even look like a kitchen until she stepped out and saw the layout.
“Kid, where are we going?” Echo asked when she noticed Edward wasn’t leading her outside but was instead pushing through a wall outside the kitchen.
The wall looked completely unmarked, but when he touched a knife on the shelf, a hidden doorway appeared with a dark passage beyond.
Edward muttered sharply, “Quit talking, just move,” as he pulled Echo toward the passageway, his grip tight around her waist.
Echo glanced at the dark sky outside, the night pressing in through the window. The sounds of the crowd outside were so loud, it felt like they were right next to her, filled with urgency and anger. She could hear every word clearly. But seeing how Edward was acting, it was obvious he wasn’t planning to take her out there. Instead, he was forcing her into the tunnel.
“Why aren’t we leaving?” she asked as Edward quickly shut the tunnel door behind them.
Edward flicked on a lighter to illuminate the space. Hearing her question, he gave her a disdainful look and replied, “Leave? You think this is just anyone’s territory? Fine, go ahead. You leave.”
He let go of her, standing there as if he was giving her the freedom to decide, though his tone made it clear he didn’t think she’d be going anywhere.