Chapter 2

Noah's eyes were locked onto the vital signs monitor.

Sophia's brainwave patterns were completely abnormal.

This was nothing like the typical dormant state of a coma patient.

He didn't need any doctor's diagnosis. With his extensive knowledge of biochemistry, one glance at the data was enough to tell him this was absolutely not some sudden illness.

Sophia was around the same age as Noah.

Brian had treated his only daughter like she was the most precious thing in the world. He'd kept her sheltered her whole life, never letting her anywhere near the dark side of things -- the underground world, the killers, none of it.

She was supposed to be enjoying her youth at an Ivy League school.

But now, this girl showed no signs of life at all. Her heart only kept beating because the machines forced it to.

Noah's eyes went cold. Everything here felt wrong. He spun around, ready to grab Gerald by the tie and demand answers -- but at that moment, the bedroom door was shoved open from outside without so much as a knock.

Gerald, who had been slightly hunched, immediately straightened up.

Even the look of deference on his face vanished as he quickly stepped aside to make room for the newcomers.

"Oh! You must be the old friend Brian mentioned -- Noah Wilson, right?" Two men strolled in like they owned the place, and a slick, greasy voice came from one of them.

The one in front was a heavyset man stuffed into a suit that looked ready to burst at the seams. He wheezed with every breath, his face plastered with a fake smile, and walked straight up to Noah with a pudgy hand outstretched.

"Allow me to introduce myself -- Charlie Wayne. I've been Brian's close friend for years, and his business partner. Now that something's happened to him, I'm taking over his affairs, and of course... looking after poor Sophia."

He let out a fake little sob at the end. But he didn't even wait for Noah to shake his hand -- he pulled it back immediately and shot a look at the young man beside him, who was wearing a loud, flashy shirt.

"Cage, go check on Sophia. The doctors say talking to her might help bring her around."

"Sure, Dad." Cage Wayne grinned, a flash of undisguised greed crossing his eyes, and headed straight for Sophia's bed.

But just as Cage was about to step past Noah, Noah moved first -- planting himself in front of the bed and fixing his gaze on the father and son.

"Get out." Noah's voice was flat. No rise, no fall. Just blunt.

Now it all made sense. This was why Brian had transferred everything into his name. This was why Brian had asked him to come back and look after Sophia.

Brian had been afraid of this man all along -- this fat bastard standing right in front of him.

Gerald had clearly switched sides and thrown in with Charlie.

They hadn't let him walk in out of politeness. They'd lured him -- the sole heir -- onto the estate so they could make him disappear for good and swallow up everything Brian had left behind.

"From now on, I'll be taking care of Sophia myself. You two have no business being here." Noah stared at Charlie, and behind those dark, steady eyes, something lethal was beginning to stir.

The fake smile on Charlie's face froze. The flesh on his heavy face twitched a couple of times, and his brow furrowed tight.

"Mr. Wilson, I don't care what kind of relationship you had with Brian, but this is the Black Estate. I suggest you take some money and walk away before you start causing problems--"

"Are you deaf? I said get the hell out!"

Cage didn't let his father finish. He snapped, lunged forward, and shoved both hands hard into Noah's chest, trying to knock this nuisance flat on the floor.

A dull thud of impact followed.

Noah didn't move an inch. His feet might as well have been bolted to the floor.

He'd lost most of his Metahuman Ability in the accident, but the combat experience built up over countless fights -- and the physical conditioning that ability had given him -- was still very much there.

The instant Cage's hands made contact with his chest, Noah's core muscles locked tight, and he bounced the force straight back -- doubled.

"Ow! Damn it!"

To Cage, it felt like he'd just shoved a wall with everything he had. A sharp, violent pain shot through his wrists. The recoil completely threw off his balance, and he went flying backward, crashing hard onto the floor. The impact crumpled his face in pain.

"Cage!" Charlie's expression shifted instantly. He rushed to help Cage up, then turned back to Noah with a cold, dangerous look in his eyes.

This young man was no ordinary person.

That kind of strength -- he was a serious threat.

The pretense was over. Charlie dropped the act, pulled out his radio, and hit the talk button.

"Security! Everyone to the second-floor bedroom, now! We've got a troublemaker up here -- come armed!"

He set down the radio and jabbed a finger at Noah. "You're not walking out of here alive today!"

Noah didn't even glance at them. As far as he was concerned, calling in security just meant more bodies to deal with.

He turned away and walked straight to Sophia's bedside.

Getting any useful information out of Gerald or Charlie about what had happened to Sophia was clearly not going to happen. He needed to figure out for himself what was going on with her.

Noah pressed two fingers precisely against the artery on Sophia's neck.

This was...

The composed look on Noah's face broke -- sharply. Even his breathing stopped for a moment.

Everything matched exactly what he'd suspected.

This was no accident. Not even close.

Because the moment his fingers touched her skin, something inside him responded -- the Metahuman Ability that had gone silent for a year, the one he'd assumed was gone for good, suddenly surged with a powerful resonance.

A wild, scorching, deeply unstable energy was raging through her body, tearing through her cells and forcing them to change.

This was the energy signature of a Metahuman Ability awakening.

But the energy released during an awakening was enough to tear apart a full-grown grizzly bear. If Sophia had already awakened, how could she possibly be lying here like this -- completely unresponsive?

The only explanation that made sense was that someone had interfered during her awakening. They'd used some extreme method to forcibly suppress her Metahuman Energy, trapping it inside her -- and the pressure had driven her brain into a deep, defensive shutdown.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the bedroom door. Then came the sharp clicks of weapons being readied, and more than a dozen armed security guards flooded the doorway.