Edge of the Dark

Chapter 30: Chapter 29: The Key Figure in the Fog

The tension in the room thickened with each passing second. The door had crashed open, and there, standing like an apparition in the doorway, was Daniel Zhang—the hacker who had been more of an enigma than anyone had realized. Ethan's mind raced, trying to piece together why Daniel was here, and why now. The last time they had crossed paths, he had been a shadow—a cryptic figure lurking in the background, but one whose presence loomed large.

Daniel's gaze swept the room, landing first on Barron, then on Lila, and finally, settling on Ethan. His expression was unreadable—cold, detached, as if the entire situation was merely a series of events unfolding, one step after another.

"Well, well," Daniel's voice cut through the silence. "Seems I've arrived just in time, haven't I?"

Ethan didn't lower his weapon. The gun was still aimed at Barron, and despite Daniel's sudden appearance, he knew better than to let his guard down. Daniel wasn't a stranger to him, but the hacker had always been a puzzle—an unpredictable variable that could swing either way. He wasn't sure where his loyalties lay. Was he friend or foe? Or, worse yet, was he merely a spectator to this spiraling chaos?

"Daniel..." Ethan's voice was taut. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Daniel shrugged nonchalantly, stepping further into the room, his footsteps echoing in the otherwise silent space. "I could ask you the same question. But then again, it seems like you're a little too busy trying to figure out who's playing who in this little drama. As for me, I'm here because, well, I have my reasons."

Ethan didn't trust him, not in the least. Daniel was a hacker—skilled beyond measure—but his allegiances were as hard to pin down as his motives. The last time they had worked together, it had been under precarious circumstances, and even then, Ethan had felt as though Daniel had been holding something back.

Barron, however, seemed unphased by Daniel's sudden appearance. In fact, there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he observed the interaction.

"Ah, Daniel," Barron said with a smirk. "I should've known you'd be lurking around here. You've always had a knack for timing, haven't you?"

Daniel didn't respond to Barron's taunt. Instead, his eyes flicked back to Ethan. "You don't know who's behind all this yet, do you?"

Ethan's grip tightened on the gun. "What are you talking about?"

Daniel stepped forward, his voice lower now, as though sharing a secret with Ethan. "This isn't just about Barron, or Sophia, or any of the pieces you think you've got figured out. It's bigger than that. There's someone else pulling the strings, someone you wouldn't even believe."

The words hit Ethan like a freight train. He had thought he was getting closer to the heart of the conspiracy—he had assumed that Barron, with all his machinations, was the mastermind. But now, Daniel was suggesting something even more insidious: that Barron wasn't the real puppet master.

"What are you saying?" Ethan's voice was tight with frustration. "You've been sitting on this information for God knows how long, and now you decide to drop it on me?"

Daniel's lips curled into a faint, almost sadistic smile. "I wasn't sure if you were ready for the truth. But you're getting close to a point of no return, Ethan. It's time for you to understand what you're really up against." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Lila, who had been standing silently beside Ethan, spoke up. "Who's behind this, Daniel? Who's the real threat?"

Daniel's eyes flicked toward her, acknowledging her presence but not responding immediately. He looked back at Ethan, his gaze piercing. "You remember the Black Angels, don't you? The international criminal syndicate that Barron's been working with? That's just one part of the puzzle. There's another layer—a much deeper, more dangerous one."

Ethan's mind was spinning. Black Angels had been a thorn in the side of law enforcement for years, but now Daniel was suggesting that they were only a pawn in a much bigger game. A game where the stakes were no longer just money or power, but something far more ominous.

"You're saying there's something even worse than the Black Angels?" Lila asked, her voice sharp.

Daniel's expression hardened. "I'm not just saying it. I'm telling you. The Black Angels are being manipulated by a shadow organization. A secret faction that's been operating in the background for years—if not decades. And the worst part? They're the ones controlling everything."

Ethan felt the ground shift beneath him. The implications of Daniel's words were too vast, too overwhelming. He had been chasing the wrong leads, trusting the wrong people, all while this secret faction had remained hidden in plain sight. The entire investigation, all the lives lost, the people he'd trusted—it had all been part of their plan.

"Who are they?" Ethan demanded.

Daniel's gaze never wavered. "The Crimson Circle."

The name hit Ethan like a punch to the gut. The Crimson Circle was a myth, a whispered rumor among the world's most dangerous criminals and intelligence agencies. No one had ever been able to confirm their existence, let alone their goals. But now, Daniel was telling him that they were real, and they had been pulling the strings all along.

"The Crimson Circle?" Lila echoed, her voice filled with disbelief. "But they're... they're supposed to be a ghost story. No one has ever been able to pin them down."

"That's exactly the point," Daniel said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "They've been careful, precise. They've manipulated governments, corporations, entire systems from behind the scenes. No one knows who they are or what they truly want—except for the fact that they're willing to do anything to get it."

Ethan's mind was reeling. Everything he had believed about the case, everything he had thought he knew, was suddenly in question. Barron, Sophia, even the Black Angels—were they just pawns in a much larger game?

"This is insane," Lila muttered, shaking her head. "If they've been behind all of this, then who's controlling them?"

Daniel's smile faded, replaced by something darker. "That's the one question none of us can answer. But I can tell you this: whoever's pulling their strings isn't someone you want to cross."

The room fell silent. Ethan was no longer thinking about Barron or Sophia. His focus had shifted entirely to the Crimson Circle, a faceless enemy with far-reaching power and influence. The implications were staggering. If they were really behind everything, then this wasn't just about a murder, or even about stopping a criminal syndicate. This was about something much larger, much more dangerous.

"We need to stop them," Ethan said, his voice steady but filled with resolve. "We need to find out who they are and bring them down."

Daniel's expression darkened. "I wish it were that simple. But they're everywhere, Ethan. They've infiltrated every level of power you can imagine. The people you think you can trust? They could be working for the Crimson Circle. There's no safe place anymore."

Ethan's jaw tightened. "So what now? Do we just sit here and wait for them to come after us?"

"Not exactly," Daniel replied, his tone shifting. "I have a plan. But it's dangerous. We'll need to move fast, and we'll need to be careful. If we're going to have any chance of surviving this, we need to take them down before they can take us out."

Ethan exchanged a look with Lila. The situation had just escalated to a level neither of them had anticipated. But if there was one thing Ethan knew, it was that he wasn't going to back down now. Not when the stakes were this high.

"Alright," Ethan said, his voice firm. "Let's hear it."

Daniel's lips curled into a smile—an unsettling one. "Good. It's time we brought the Crimson Circle out of the shadows."

And as he spoke, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that they were stepping into the eye of a storm. But this was no ordinary storm. It was a storm of lies, betrayal, and a power so vast, so uncontrollable, that it could bring the entire world to its knees.

The game was no longer just about survival. It was about taking down an enemy that had already won for far too long.