Forbidden Pursuit

Chapter One — The Hunt Begins

The Impossible Case

Everyone in the meeting hall looked tense.

They had gathered to discuss a major case, yet despite hours of discussion, they were no closer to finding a solution. The room was filled with quiet murmurs as the officers desperately searched for an answer to a problem that had already defeated them for months.

Every idea they came up with seemed to lead to another dead end.

Suddenly, the door opened.

The Army Chief entered, flanked by two soldiers.

The entire hall fell silent.

The displeasure on the Chief’s face was unmistakable. Clearly, he was far from satisfied with his team.

“Have you found a solution to my problem, or not?” he asked calmly.

His voice was composed, but the anger beneath it was impossible to miss.

Everyone lowered their heads.

No one had an answer.

“All of you are fools. Nothing more,” he said furiously, glaring at their lowered heads.

His fist slammed against the table.

The sharp bang echoed through the hall, making everyone flinch.

“What have you been doing for the past few months?” he demanded. “All we need is one clue about that man. Just one clue that can expose his crimes and everything he has done. Yet you couldn’t find even a single crime we can use against him.”

His voice grew colder.

“Meanwhile, he continues to walk our streets without fear, carrying all those crimes with him as though he has nothing to worry about.”

The officers lowered their heads even further, ashamed of their failure.

The Chief glared at them, his eyes burning with frustration.

Before he could say another word, the door suddenly swung open with a loud bang.

Everyone turned toward it.

A young man stood in the doorway, struggling to pull the door shut after his abrupt entrance.

The Chief narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you?”

The young man finally managed to close the door and turned toward him with a polite smile.

“Sir, I’m Elias Wren,” he introduced himself. “I’m a young army officer. I’ve recently been transferred to your team from my previous unit.”

“Oh, you’re late on your very first day,” the Chief remarked with a laugh, clearly teasing him.

“Yes, I’m late, and I admit it,” Elias replied with a smile. “But as punishment, you can give me your case.”

Elias looked directly at the Chief, the same confident smile still playing on his lips.

There was not even a hint of hesitation in his expression.

The unexpected confidence made the Chief laugh.

He clearly couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“The same case that my officers have failed to handle for the past few months?” he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. “You’re saying you can handle it?”

“Yes,” Elias replied confidently. “And I promise that, with the help of my team, I can solve it within a month. I’ll give you a clue that will finally help you arrest the mafia leader, Damian Cross.”

The Chief stared at him for a moment.

Then, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“All right, then. I’ll give the case to you. You have three months to solve it.”

“Thank you, sir,” Elias replied.

“But if you fail, you resign.”

The Chief’s expression suddenly became serious.

Elias paused for a moment, considering the condition.

Then he calmly nodded.

“Okay. I will.”

The Chief stared at Elias for another moment before turning away and leaving the meeting hall.

The officers remained stunned.

They could hardly believe what they had just witnessed—or heard.

Elias looked at them with a faint smile, then quietly turned and walked away.

As soon as he left, murmurs spread throughout the hall.

The officers exchanged stunned glances, quietly discussing what had just happened.

None of them could understand how Elias Wren, on his very first day, had dared to take on the case that had defeated their entire team for months.

The Man Behind the Case

Across the city, far away from the meeting hall, a completely different scene was unfolding.

Damian sat in his chair with his legs crossed, his entire presence radiating the cold authority of a mafia leader.

A man knelt before him, desperately pleading for forgiveness after the chaos he had caused.

“Please forgive me, Master Damian. Please, I beg you.”

Damian remained still.

His cold eyes were fixed on the man before him. There was no mercy in them, nor any emotion on his unreadable face.

He revealed nothing of what was going through his mind.

Slowly, Damian rose from his chair.

He walked toward the kneeling man.

A sinister smile appeared on his face.

“No.”

The single word was enough to seal the man’s fate.

A gunshot suddenly echoed through the room.

The man collapsed onto the marble floor.

Damian stood there calmly, his expression unchanged.

For him, the matter was already over.

He turned and walked toward the main door.

As he approached, the guards immediately opened it for him.

Without saying a word or looking back, Damian walked out.

His calm, commanding presence lingered in the room even after he was gone.

Damian’s men removed the body and disposed of it, making sure no trace of what had happened remained.

The matter was closed.

Death had been the only mercy Damian Cross had shown him.

Had Damian chosen otherwise, the man would have faced a fate far worse than death.

Neither man knew that their paths were about to cross.

One had just accepted a case that could destroy his career.

The other was the very man he had been ordered to bring down.

And neither of them knew what would happen when Elias Wren finally came face-to-face with Damian Cross.