Chapter 36

Sawyer and Damon exchanged a tense look, both clearly unsettled by Sean's absence and the possibility that something might have happened to him.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Damon asked.

Carl answered without hesitation, "After dinner last night. He and I took Lia out shopping. At one point, he said he needed the restroom... and then he never came back. We called his phone, but it wouldn't connect. Figured he was busy, so we went home first.I didn't think for a second he wouldn't come back at all."

Eliana remembered Carl mentioning that Damon was once an elite hacker. "Damon, could you track his phone?" she suggested.

Her question was met with a heavy silence between the men.

She glanced between them, confused. "What is it?"

Carl stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Damon met Brenda during a hacking competition. After what happened... he hasn't touched a computer since." Understanding clicked instantly for Eliana. After a short pause, she turned back to Damon. "Sean's missing. And with everything going on in the family right now, I think it's time to set the past aside-at least until we find him."

Truthfully, Sean's fate didn't stir much in her. But Stella's did. With Stella's fragile health, even a little more stress could make recovery that much harder.

Seated in his wheelchair, Damon lowered his gaze,saying nothing.

"Damon..." Eliana's voice softened but stayed firm."You know the state our family is in. If something's really happened to Sean, what do you think it will do to Mom?"

Carl gave her sleeve a small tug. "Leave it, Lia. I've got a friend who's skilled in hacking-we could get his help instead..."

"No," Eliana interjected sharply. "Our family is already under fire from every direction. If word gets out that Sean's missing too, people will start thinking we're easy prey."

What none of them knew was that Eliana herself ranked among the best hackers in the world. Still,she wanted Damon to take this step-to confront what he'd been avoiding since his accident. Hiding from it forever wasn't an answer.

"Lia..." Sawyer tried to step in, but before he could,Damon's fists tightened in his lap.

"She's right," Damon said, resolve breaking through his hesitation. "My legs might be useless, but my hands aren't. I can't turn my back on Sean just because of my own problems."

"But Damon..." Sawyer's tone was thick with worry.

After his incident, Damon had been left battling more than just physical injury-his PTSD had kept him chained just as tightly as the wheelchair.

Three months ago, a single glance at a hacking competition poster had nearly sent him over the edge.He'd locked himself in his study, skipped meals for days, and shut out the world.

That memory still gnawed at Sawyer, making him wary now.

"Enough," Damon said, cutting through the silence with a force that left no space for debate. "Lia's right.If we don't track down Sean ourselves, the whole city will think we are ripe for the taking."

His eyes fixed on Carl. "Take me to the study." The resolve in his voice made argument pointless.Carl and Sawyer each took a side, practically carrying him up the stairs as his legs hung useless beneath him.

Inside the study, the glow of three dormant monitors faced them like silent sentinels. Damon positioned himself in front of the one in the center. He inhaled deeply before pressing the power button.

Even that small act brought a tremor to his hand and beads of sweat to his brow.

"Damon..." Sawyer's voice carried both worry and hesitation. "If this pushes you too far, we can reach out to my friend. He's skilled-and he wouldn't breathe a word."

"No," Damon said, his tone sharp as a blade. "I'll handle it."

For a moment, Damon let his eyes drift shut, then snapped them open with a new spark of determination.

This wasn't just about finding Sean-it was about reclaiming a part of himself, defending their family's pride, and proving to Eliana that his strength hadn't been buried by tragedy.

Damon's fingertips hovered over the keyboard, the familiar ridges under his skin sending a ripple of tension through him. In the space of a heartbeat, old wounds tore open in his mind-memories sharp enough to slice through his resolve.

Eliana caught the faint tremor in his hands and the sheen of sweat on his brow. Her gaze sharpened.

Without a word, she slipped a silver needle from the lining of her sleeve.

A single, fluid motion sent it sliding into a precise point on Damon's body before anyone could notice.

There was no sting, only a sudden, startling clarity

His breathing steadied. His vision sharpened.

He straightened in his chair and locked onto the task,eyes scanning the screen as his fingers began to move.

Eliana withdrew the needle as silently as she'd placed it.

At first, his keystrokes stumbled, halting and unsure.But within minutes, they picked up speed, his hands sweeping over the keys until they became little more than flickering shadows against the glow of the monitors.

Minutes later, the flashing lines of code led Damon straight to an answer.

"I've got him," he said, a sudden spark lighting his eyes."Sean's phone last pinged at No. 111 Maple Street."

Relief rippled through the room-not just because Sean's trail had been found, but because Damon had pushed past the shadow that had gripped him for so long.

Sawyer leaned forward, curious. "Never heard of it.What kind of place is that?"

Carl, quick to answer, said, "It's the training base for the Fist Guild."

"Fist Guild..." Eliana murmured. The name stirred something in her memory.

That was no ordinary boxing gym. Its members were fighters through and through, honed by brutal training and dangerous bouts.

The founder's fame had been built under the guidance of a world-class boxing champion.

But it wasn't the history that caught her attention-it was the present. Two years ago, the guild changed hands. Its current owner was a greedy opportunist who had once taken a deal to cripple the Onyx Syndicate,leaving several of her people badly injured

Eliana had never forgotten that debt. Circumstances in Eighvale had kept her from paying it back at the time,and by the time she returned, the Fist Guild had vanished back to Qidence.

Carl assumed she might not be familiar with the place and gave a quick rundown. "The Fist Guild's not just a regular gym. Sean's been with them for five years.He used to think before acting, but now... if there's a problem, his first instinct is to throw a punch. He's more hot-headed every year."

Sawyer exhaled heavily. "I've told him more than once to walk away from that place, but he won't hear it."

Carl's jaw tightened. "If he's there now, it's because he chose to be. Still, he could've at least called. We've been climbing the walls with worry."

Damon,who had been silent until then, finally spoke."I know someone inside the guild. He's an old contact.If I see him, I can find out exactly what's going on with Sean." He turned to Sawyer. "Grab the keys. You're driving."

Sawyer didn't hesitate."Let's go."

Without wasting another second, the two slipped out the door.

Eliana told them she hadn't slept well and needed some rest, then made her way back to her room. The moment she stepped inside, she swung open the window, slipped out, and flagged down a taxi headed for the Fist Guild.