Jason, respecting the professional boundary he had established, began searching the lower floor for a suitable living space. He found a room tucked away near the back utility entrance—a space clearly intended for staff or temporary workers.
He opened the door and paused. Even this ’utility’ room was astonishing. It was relatively small, furnished with a single bed, a small table, and a television, yet every item was pure luxury. The television was a massive 75-inch screen, Super 4K HD, complete with integrated AI features. The single bed, he recognized with a professional’s eye for detail, was a high-end designer brand, easily worth three thousand dollars. Every piece of furniture was crafted from heavy, polished oak.
This house doesn’t do ’cheap,’ Jason thought, deeply impressed.
He moved to the small closet and carefully hung his new tailored suit, ensuring it wouldn’t wrinkle. Noticing another door, he assud it was an extra storage closet. He opened it to find a dedicated bathroom. It was compact—just a shower and a toilet—but it was sumptuously decorated with marble, seamless glass, and fixtures that he hadn’t even seen during his ti working in Mr. Blake’s executive wing.
Jason felt a swell of profound respect for Ethan’s success. "Boss," he murmured, looking around the opulent little room, the thought directed at the sky. "If Mr. Blake sees this from heaven, he must be very proud of his son. He is doing exceptionally well."
He quickly settled in. With his living arrangents sorted, the years of military discipline took over. He stripped down and went straight into his routine—a rigorous session of stretching, followed by floor exercises to ensure his muscles were loose and ready for tomorrow’s demands. The day’s events, the car chase, the rescue, the brutal transformation at the salon, and the recent discovery of Alpha, demanded absolute physical readiness.
After the exercises, he stepped into the marble shower, letting the hot water sluice away the tension and the lingering gri of his life on the run. Clean, refreshed, and ntally focused, he was in the bed within thirty minutes.
Lying on the ridiculously expensive mattress, Jason closed his eyes, his mind already running scenarios for the bank trip, the MIT eting, and the best way to monitor Vincent Halbert without triggering any alarms. Despite the luxury, his mind was firmly on the mission.
Jason awoke in a panic. He shot upright in bed, heart hamring against his ribs. The mattress was so incredibly comfortable compared to the dumpster he had called ho for months that his body had finally experienced true, restful sleep. For a terrifying mont, he felt as though he had slept for an entire week.
He launched out of bed, splashed his face with cold water, brushed his teeth, snapped on his new tailored trousers and shirt, and bolted out of the small room. He had failed Ethan on his very first mission—sleeping late!
He rushed into the spacious entryway. He saw the sun—it was definitely dayti, but it wasn’t at its peak. He looked frantically toward the windows. The car was still parked where it had been the night before.
Jason quickly scanned the area and spotted Ethan outside, on the sprawling green lawn of the patio, engaged in shadowboxing. Ethan was completely drenched in sweat, but his movents were shocking—they were fluid, sharp, and intensely professional. He looked like a seasoned champion in the middle of a serious sparring session.
Jason was genuinely surprised. Despite Ethan’s young age, his movents suggested years of focused experience.
Jason quickly approached the patio. "Excuse , Boss," he said, his voice tight with guilt. "I overslept. It’s been a long ti since I touched a comfortable bed."
Ethan stopped shadowboxing and smoothly dropped into a set of push-ups without missing a beat. He laughed, a light, genuine sound. "I figured you’d be dead to the world after everything that’s happened. I honestly thought you wouldn’t get up until noon."
Jason apologized again, assuming Ethan was being sarcastic and mocking his lapse in professionalism.
Ethan paused his push-ups, sitting up. He laughed even harder. "Relax, relax. Don’t be nervous. That wasn’t a reproach. Besides, it’s barely 7:00 AM. We have plenty of ti before my eting, hehe."
Jason felt the tension ease from his shoulders. He smiled faintly. "If you permit , Boss, I’d like to take a walk through the neighborhood periter, just to get a feel for the area."
Ethan nodded. "Take your ti. We’ll leave shortly before 9:30."
Jason agreed and walked out of the mansion, heading toward the park. He saw several people—n, won, children, and young adults—running and exercising. He sighed, the sight triggering a painful mory. That had been his life before: waking up, running for a couple of hours, going to work, protecting Mr. Blake, doing more exercise in the park, and sleeping.
A crushing wave of guilt washed over him. He had dropped his guard, and it had cost a good man his life. Jason Carter promised himself, with cold resolve, that he would never make that mistake again.
Jason walked through the wide, manicured path of the park, taking note of the vast, sprawling houses in the distance. He imdiately realized the hos further back were even more expensive than his Boss’s. At every entrance, there were at least two n in suits, wearing dark glasses and openly carrying weapons. So houses even had three or four armored SUVs parked out front.
The security seed excessively paranoid for a private subdivision, but then Jason understood why.
He watched a man erge from one of the ga-mansions—a sitting Congressman. Jason recognized him instantly, despite his exile, from old newspaper clippings. Monts later, he saw a highly renowned movie star leave another house, slipping into a black Escalade. Jason finally understood: he wasn’t just in an exclusive neighborhood; he was in a secure fortress housing the nation’s elite—far more exclusive than he had initially thought.
He stopped, taking in the absurd level of wealth and security.
Suddenly, a voice, smooth and slightly condescending, spoke directly behind him.
"You know, staring at other people’s hos is quite rude."
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