Cross froze, his smile faltering. He glanced at Frost, confusion written all over his face. "Didn’t we confirm he didn’t take anything?"

  Frost didn’t bother explaining. His tone was calm but stern. "Make sure it's foolproof."

  Cross’s expression turned pale, then a deep shade of blue. Though he was getting paid well by Wolfe for the job, the casual talk about murder in front of him left a sour taste in his mouth. It felt like Wolfe didn’t even care him.

  "We can’t do that now," Cross said, his voice laced with hesitation. "He just made the newspaper and got into the special training class at Brookhaven High. The timing’s too sensitive."

  Frost considered this for a moment. He had just had his men dig into Axel’s background. The special training class was legit, but Axel's Force level was only 90—just scraping by. The pariah didn’t have a real shot at awakening on the Awakening Day.

  So, if Axel didn’t awaken, Brookhaven wouldn’t be interested in him much after graduation. He’d just be another ordinary kid. Frost nodded.

  "After this is dealt with, I...," Cross started.

  "Boss will handle it."

  Cross nodded, his smile returning. He seemed satisfied with the arrangement. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned in and whispered, "What is Wolfe actually after? It won’t end up in the hands of law enforcement, right?"

  Cross knew Wolfe well. He controlled a hell of a lot—businesses above and below the law. His connections were solid, so he wasn’t concerned with the rumors about him. But whatever Wolfe was so desperate to find must be something big.

  Frost’s expression didn’t change. "Don’t ask what you don’t need to know." He looked into the slums and checked Axel's home address again before turning and walking away.

  "Such a cold bastard," Cross muttered under his breath.

  .....

  Axel had searched everywhere but nothing. If whatever they were looking for had been in the house, Annabelle would’ve found it before. She was obsessed with cleanliness.

  "No," he muttered. Even though Frost and Cross had left, Axel couldn’t shake the unease gnawing at him. Drayke’s gossip and Frost’s attitude kept him on edge.

  "Annabelle, pack up your things. We need to leave for a while." Axel’s voice was calm, but his mind was racing. Leaving would make them look strange, but staying here? It was too dangerous. The slums were a graveyard for people like him. Living in the city, even if they had to sleep under a bridge, would be safer. Cameras were everywhere.

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  "Brother, are we in danger?" Annabelle asked, still wearing the new dress Axel had bought her. She looked every bit the innocent girl, but her face was filled with worry.

  Axel's heart softened. He forced a smile, trying to reassure her. "It’s just so it’s easier to get to school. Soon, I’ll be admitted to the War Academy."

  The War Academy. If he could make it into one of the top four academies, that would be the key to his future. The status alone would be his ticket out of here.

  Annabelle nodded, then went to pack her things. Axel decided to check again. The body had melted, but if the item wasn’t on the body, it had to be somewhere along the path Annabelle had taken to the garbage dump.

  Taking advantage of the night, Axel went back out to search again. But he found nothing.

  When he returned home, Annabelle had packed two suitcases and several small bags. She was dragging a large suitcase and carrying a smaller bag, looking like a child was about to wander.

  "Brother, it's packed." Annabelle smiled warmly, her small hands gently holding Axel’s cold ones.

  Her touch sent a comfort through him. For years, they'd lived a hard life, but Annabelle never once complained or cried. And now, in this moment, she was the one who calmed him down, just when he needed it most.

  Axel was about to head out the door when something caught his eye—something in the corner of the sofa. A pile of old linen sheets stacked haphazardly. It was the same pile they had used to wrap the body that day... They hadn’t thrown it out yet, figuring they could wash it and use it again later.

  Axel froze. He walked over, unfolded the sheets, and shook them out. A black card fell to the ground.

  His heart skipped. He bent down to pick it up, and the two of them stared at the small memory card inside. It wouldn’t be readable on a regular phone, but Axel’s old phone—the one he kept for no reason other than it still worked—was just right for the job.

  He slotted the card into the phone, and the screen blinked to life. It displayed a table, listing several names and their profiles:

  "Bloodworth, 69-year-old male, early-stage first-level awakening, right leg shattered and fractured. Current residence..."

  "Reid, 72-year-old male..."

  There were over a dozen names. The common thread? All were older awakened individuals, most of them disabled or seriously ill.

  At the bottom of the list, there were small notes written in red: Rejected or Accepted.

  Axel’s mind raced as he quickly copied the table to his phone and backed it up, then sat back to think.

  Old, disabled, or sick... awakeners? The list felt important, but Axel couldn't make sense of it. What the hell were these people tied to?

  “Wait... These two names look familiar,” Axel muttered, scanning the list again.

  Phoenix, Quinn.

  He had seen those names before, maybe from somewhere in passing, but couldn’t place them. It was a fleeting feeling, but it nagged at him.

  “What now...?” Axel thought, staring at his phone. He quickly discarded the idea of taking it to the police. If even a deputy director like Cross had come to question him, there was no way he was sending this information into the lion’s den. They’d chew him up and spit him out.

  So, who could he trust? His thoughts were racing when his phone rang, cutting through the silence of the dark room. The ringtone—gentle, almost too soft—felt jarring against the stillness of the night.

  "Hello?" Axel answered, unsure who it was.

  "It's Skye," came the voice on the other end. "Did someone named Wolfe send people after you today?"

  Skye. The captain of the law enforcement team. Axel’s feelings about him were complicated. On the one hand, he had fought beside him against the infected, his bravery still clear in Axel’s mind. And he had paid Axel handsomely with rough stones and cash.

  On the other hand, Axel knew Skye wasn’t just some careless grunt. The man was meticulous, calculating. And with Annabelle’s special identity, Axel had been avoiding dealing with him.

  But now? Now, it seemed like he had no choice.