The night air over Manhattan carried a faint chill.
From inside her parked car across the street, Luna Carter kept her silver eyes fixed on the towering glass building.
Her fingers rested tightly on the steering wheel.
Bruce had gone inside again.
The same building.
The same dangerous man.
This was no coincidence anymore.
Her instincts, sharpened by years of living in the shadows of power, screamed one thing.
Bruce was involved in something huge.
And tonight, Luna had no intention of simply watching from afar.
She whispered,
"Sorry, little brother…"
Her gaze hardened.
"…but tonight I'm getting answers."
Across the street, the glass doors of the tower opened.
Bruce stepped out first.
Victor Hale walked beside him.
The city lights reflected across the glass façade, casting both of them in sharp silver and gold.
Luna's breath caught for a second.
The man looked exactly as dangerous as she remembered.
Tall.
Controlled.
The kind of person who carried silence like a weapon.
Victor said something to Bruce.
Bruce answered calmly.
Too calmly.
Luna's eyes narrowed.
That was what disturbed her the most.
Bruce did not look nervous.
He did not look afraid.
He looked like he belonged in that world.
Victor extended his hand.
Bruce shook it.
Luna's fingers tightened harder around the steering wheel.
"A deal."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"You made a deal with him."
Bruce stepped toward the Carter security car waiting nearby.
Victor's black sedan pulled away in the opposite direction.
For a moment, Luna considered going home.
But then she saw Bruce glance briefly across the street.
Toward her car.
Her heartbeat skipped.
"Did he see me?"
Bruce's expression didn't change.
But Luna knew.
He had noticed.
Still, Bruce entered the car without reacting.
Luna made her decision.
She started the engine.
The streets of Manhattan glowed beneath the passing lights.
Luna kept enough distance to avoid being obvious, but not enough to lose sight of Bruce's car.
Her eyes never left the taillights ahead.
"You've noticed me."
She whispered.
"But that's fine."
Bruce had warned her before.
Not to investigate too deeply.
But now it was too late.
She was already inside the storm.
Inside the back seat of the Carter vehicle, Bruce looked calmly at the side mirror.
The reflection showed another car.
Black.
Familiar.
Luna.
Bruce sighed inwardly.
"She really won't stop."
For a moment, Aron Turner's mind calculated several outcomes.
If Luna followed him all the way back to the estate, she would remain suspicious.
If he let her continue…
She might eventually get caught in something far more dangerous.
Bruce tapped lightly on the seat beside him.
A faint system interface appeared in his mind.
He activated the route diversion protocol.
Immediately, the driver received an alternate path notification through the vehicle's navigation system.
The car turned.
Away from the estate.
Into downtown traffic.
Luna frowned.
"That's not the way home."
Her silver eyes sharpened.
"Where are you going?"
She followed.
The streets became busier.
Cars filled the road.
Neon lights flashed from restaurants and hotels.
Bruce's car turned again.
Then again.
Luna kept up.
But suddenly—
A delivery truck cut across the intersection.
For just three seconds.
When the truck moved—
Bruce's car was gone.
Luna's eyes widened.
"What?"
She quickly scanned the streets.
Left.
Right.
No sign of the vehicle.
Her heart began racing.
"That's impossible."
Then she saw it.
A glimpse of familiar taillights disappearing into a narrow side street.
Luna turned sharply and followed.
The alley street was darker.
Quieter.
Only a few scattered lights illuminated the wet pavement.
Luna slowed her car.
Bruce's vehicle stood parked at the end of the lane.
Empty.
Her heartbeat quickened.
"He got out."
Luna stepped out of the car.
The cold night air brushed against her face.
She moved carefully toward the vehicle.
Empty.
No driver.
No Bruce.
No guards.
Her instincts flared.
This felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Then—
A quiet voice came from behind her.
"You really shouldn't follow people at night."
Luna froze.
Slowly, she turned around.
Bruce stood leaning against the wall near the alley entrance.
His small figure was half-covered by shadows.
But his eyes…
His eyes were far too calm.
For a moment, Luna forgot he was ten.
He looked older.
Sharper.
Dangerous.
Luna crossed her arms.
"You made me lose the car on purpose."
Bruce smiled faintly.
"You're observant."
Luna stepped closer.
"Who is Victor Hale?"
Bruce remained silent.
Luna continued.
"What deal did you make?"
Bruce looked at her quietly.
Then, finally, said,
"A business collaboration."
Luna frowned.
"With that man?"
Bruce nodded.
"Yes."
Luna stared at him.
"You're ten."
Bruce almost laughed.
"That doesn't change the market."
Her silver eyes narrowed.
"You keep talking like an adult."
Bruce's smile faded slightly.
"Because the world I'm dealing with isn't built for children."
Those words hit differently.
Luna felt a chill.
For the first time, she understood.
Bruce wasn't pretending.
He truly believed that.
Her voice softened slightly.
"Bruce…"
"…what are you carrying?"
The alley fell silent.
Bruce looked up at the night sky for a moment.
Then back at her.
"Responsibility."
Luna stared at him.
Bruce stepped closer.
His voice was quiet.
"But if you keep following me…"
His eyes grew colder.
"…you'll eventually step into places where I may not be able to protect you."
Luna's heart tightened.
The warning was real.
Bruce turned and walked toward the waiting driver who had reappeared from the shadows.
Before entering the car, he looked back once.
"Go home, Luna."
The car door closed.
The vehicle disappeared into the city lights.
Luna stood alone in the alley.
Her silver eyes filled with frustration.
And worry.
Because for the first time…
She truly believed Bruce.
Something dangerous was moving around him.
And somehow—
He was moving it too.