Patient Control

With Defenders’ Flame complete, I devoted the remainder of my time set aside for my Wattpad writing to the next installment of Mounting Tensions. With the series roadmap in place, this entry became a natural pivot that was designed to anchor Rylan’s recent actions to explore the ripples of his growing agenda.

Beneath the shimmer of a city settling into evening, a layer of shifting lights amplifies the conspiratorial exchange between Rylan and his father-in-law. Within that glow, their conversation unfolds behind closed doors. While it should happen in broad daylight but remains confined to back rooms, hemmed in by Liam’s ambition and growing influence.

The power flowing from Liam isn’t loud, but it carries extraordinary patience. It moves in the pauses between words, in the spaces where civility conceals conviction. Sometimes it takes the shape of a smile too measured to be sincere, or a silence held too long, that draws the room into uneasy stillness. The decisions born from such moments rarely appear on any screen, yet their echoes reach across the world.

This story captures one such moment in time. In a private office high above the city, three figures meet, carrying history, guarding secrets, and no side willing to yield. The view outside glows with society’s advancement, but within these walls, that same light feels more like judgment.

When the door opened, a sliver of white light slipped into the office, revealing the polished floor. Rylan turned from the screens mounted on his back wall. With a grin at the newcomer, he locked both external displays, then unlocked the office view. The opaque windows cleared, allowing the city’s light to fill the room.

The towers below pulsed with shifting colors, bathing the city in the soft glow. Each structure stood as a quiet monument to perseverance. Tonight, as his uninvited guest lounged in the entryway, that glow felt more like judgment than a sign of progress.

With a heavy sigh, Rylan turned toward his visitor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. As the seconds ticked by, the looming figure crossed to the open chair while the city chatter seeped inside, bringing a faint din to fill Rylan’s office. With a curt tip of his head, Rylan offered the man a hollow smile. “What can I do for you, Liam?”

Rylan’s former captain dropped into the vacant seat, peering at the dormant screens. A moment later, he leaned back, crossing one ankle over his knee and interlacing his fingers before his chest. In the other seat, Garvin sat rigid, hands folded in his lap. A slight tremor in his fingers hinted at something precious just out of reach.

Liam glanced past Rylan, studying the sprawling city. “Quite a view you’ve got here. It’s tranquil enough to make you forget how fragile the world really is. Don’t you think?”