Rowan’s thoughts drifted back to the message, to the implications of what it meant.
Someone was watching them, someone who knew too much. It wasn’t just a coincidence.. it was a threat, a direct challenge. And Rowan wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge. He would find out who was behind this, and when he did, he would make them pay. No one threatened him or the people he cared about and got away with it.
He moved to the window, his eyes scanning the darkened grounds outside. The night was still, the only sound the faint rustling of leaves in the wind. But Rowan knew better than to trust the silence.
There were always eyes watching, always enemies lurking in the shadows. He had learned that lesson a long time ago, and it had kept him alive all these years.
Rowan’s phone buzzed again, a sharp vibration on the desk. He turned back to it, picking it up and reading the new message. His eyes narrowed, his expression darkening. It was another message, this one even more cryptic, but the meaning was clear. Whoever was behind this wanted to play a game, wanted to draw him out.
A cold smile crept across Rowan’s face. If it was a game they wanted, then he would play. But he would play by his own rules. He typed a quick response, his fingers moving swiftly over the keys, then hit send. He would meet their challenge head-on, would draw them out, make them reveal themselves. And when they did, he would be ready.
Rowan turned away from the window, moving back to his desk. He pulled out a map of the city, spreading it out on the desk, his eyes scanning the streets, the alleys, the hidden corners. He needed to be prepared, needed to anticipate their next move. He would need his men, his resources, everything he had at his disposal.
This was a war, and he intended to win.
The study door creaked open, and Harvey stepped back in, a concerned look on his face. “You sure you don’t need anything, bro?” he asked quietly.
Rowan didn’t look up from the map. “I’m fine,” he replied, his voice distant, focused. “Just keep an eye on Amara. Make sure she’s safe.”
Harvey nodded, understanding the dismissal. He turned to leave again but paused at the door, glancing back at his brother. “You know,” he said softly, “you don’t have to do this alone.”
Rowan looked up, his eyes meeting Harvey’s. For a moment, there was a flicker of something in his gaze… gratitude, maybe, or something deeper. But it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by his usual steely resolve. “I know,” he said quietly. “But I need to.”
Harvey nodded, accepting the answer. He knew better than to push. Rowan was stubborn, determined, and once he set his mind to something, there was no changing it. He turned and left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
Rowan watched him go, then turned back to his table.
He sat down, the leather chair creaking slightly under his weight, and opened his laptop. The soft glow of the screen bathed his face in a cold, blue light, casting shadows under his eyes that made him look even more severe.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, quick and precise, as he navigated through layers of encryption and firewalls with practiced ease. This was his territory, his battlefield.
If there was one thing Rowan was as good at as handling a gun, it was hacking.
He was a ghost in the digital world, a shadow that slipped through the cracks and crevices of the internet, unseen and undetected.
The message that had been sent to his phone was brief and it had been sent from an unknown number, the kind that was untraceable by ordinary means. But Rowan was no ordinary man. He wasn’t one to be trifled with, and he certainly wasn’t going to let some nameless coward intimidate him.
His fingers moved faster, opening new programs and windows, his mind running a hundred miles an hour as he tried to trace the number.
He’d done this a thousand times before. Finding hidden trails, tracking down elusive targets. But this time, something was different. This time, he wasn’t getting anywhere.
Minutes turned into half an hour, then an hour.
His frustration mounted with every passing second.
Every lead he followed, every digital footprint he tracked, led to a dead end.
The number was hidden behind layers of VPNs, proxy servers, and scrambled IP addresses. Whoever was behind this knew what they were doing.
They were good… Very good….
Rowan’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched tightly.
His fingers pounded the keys harder, almost as if he could force the answers to appear through sheer willpower. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, his pulse quickening.
He wasn’t used to being outmaneuvered like this.
He wasn’t used to feeling… vulnerable. Whoever this was, they were on the same level as him. Maybe even more dangerous. The thought sent a thrill of anger down his spine, igniting a spark of rage in his chest.
“Come on,” he muttered under his breath, his voice a low growl in the quiet of the room. “Show yourself.” He tried another tactic, diving deeper into the code, sifting through lines of data, looking for any clue, any tiny fragment of information that could give him a hint as to who was behind this.
But there was nothing. Whoever had sent this message was a ghost, just like him.
He sat back in his chair, running a hand through his hair, his expression dark and brooding.
His mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all. Whoever this was had underestimated him, underestimated his tenacity, his willingness to go to any lengths to protect what was his.
Sooner or later, he would find them. He would drag them out of whatever hole they were hiding in and make them pay.
He leaned forward again, staring at the screen with a cold, calculating gaze. There had to be something he was missing, some detail he had overlooked.