Levan never liked unexpected calls. Especially not from the past he'd spent years trying to bury.
But this one was different.
His phone buzzed. The name flashed across the screen.
[Rayzen]Alea's gone.No clue where. I think she's hiding from both of us.
Levan froze.
Not Alea.
His little sister—stubborn, strong-willed, but always honest. The one person who made him believe he could be more than what he once was.
He called back immediately, and Rayzen's voice answered, tense and low.
"She's off the grid," Rayzen said. "No phone. No dorm. No friends. It's like she disappeared."
Levan's jaw tightened. "When did you last see her?"
"Right after I fought Kael. She was there. Then she was gone."
Silence.
Memories he had buried clawed their way back—his mother's blood, her final breath, the promise he made as she died.
Alea will not be next.
"Listen, Rayzen. I'll find her," Levan said coldly. "But if you're part of the reason she's gone… I'll find you too."
Rayzen didn't argue.
After ending the call, Levan opened his drawer. Inside, an old photo—his mother, a younger Alea, and himself back when he ruled the streets of Westbridge.
He used to be the shadow of this city.
Now, he would be the light—at least for the only family he had left.
He grabbed his badge and holstered his weapon.
It was time to return to the streets.
Not as Levan the gang leader.
But as a brother.A protector.And Alea's last line of defense.