The night in Long Island, New York, was wrapped in the Atlantic breeze, so quiet that only the faint sound of waves remained.
At one in the morning, the wrought-iron gates of the Villa slowly slid open, and a black car drove silently into the courtyard, stopping at the Villa’s entrance.
The door opened, and Pepper Potts, wearing stilettos, stepped onto the snow-covered stone path, stumbling slightly before steadying herself.
A week of back-to-back meetings, long flights between Washington and Afghanistan within three days, and the massive weight that had been pressing on her heart for over two months had drained almost all her strength.
She took off her coat, which was speckled with snow, and tossed it onto the entryway rack.
Leaning against the cold wall in the pitch darkness, she reached out to feel for the light switch.
Her fingertips touched the cold plastic panel, but the light didn’t turn on.
It wasn’t a power outage; the Villa’s security system was still running with a low hum, but the main light in the living room wasn’t responding.
Pepper’s fingertips paused, and her heart instantly tightened—this Villa’s security system was of the highest specifications from Stark Industries.
Unless there was a system failure, such a situation was impossible.
She instinctively reached for the pepper spray in her bag while pulling out her phone with her other hand.
The moment the screen lit up, it wasn’t her familiar lock screen, but an incoming call.
The caller ID showed a string of zeros—no origin, no number information, like a piece of random code that had appeared out of nowhere in the system.
What made her skin crawl even more was that she hadn’t answered the call at all.
Before her finger even touched the screen, the call had automatically connected, and speakerphone mode was active.
In the quiet entryway, a voice-modulated female voice, steady and devoid of any emotion, suddenly rang out.
Her age and feelings were impossible to discern.
“Good evening, Miss Potts.” Pepper’s back instantly pressed against the wall, her fingertips gripping the phone tightly.
Her voice was wary, yet she maintained her basic composure: “Who are you?
How did you hack into my phone?
What do you want?” To bypass Stark Industries’ security system and forcibly connect to her private encrypted phone, the owner of this number was definitely not some ordinary prankster.
The person on the other end seemed to chuckle softly, their tone remaining steady and without a hint of malice: “Don’t be nervous, Miss Potts.
I’m just an ordinary hacker who saw the reward notice posted by Stark Industries in the newspapers and news—anyone who can provide valid clues regarding Mr.
Tony Stark’s disappearance will receive a substantial reward, correct?” Pepper’s breath hitched.
It had been over two months.
Ever since Tony was attacked and went missing in Afghanistan, Stark Industries and the Military had searched every inch of the mountains in Afghanistan, yet they couldn’t find a single valid clue.
The board of directors pressured her daily, the Military only spoke in official platitudes, and she had been running around like a headless chicken, exhausting every contact and posting every possible reward notice, but she had never received a single truly valuable call.
Every call so far had been either a scam or an opportunist looking for a quick buck.
But this call was different.
To be able to forcibly connect to her private encrypted phone and bypass Stark Industries’ security system, this person’s technical skills were far beyond those of ordinary scammers.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart.
The business negotiation instincts she had honed over years of following Tony instantly took over.
She let go of the pepper spray, stood up straight, and her tone returned to its professional efficiency and calm, even carrying a hint of unquestionable authority: “That’s correct, Stark Industries does have a reward.
Provided that the information you provide is real and valid, and can help us find Tony’s whereabouts.” She paused and offered a price directly, without any hesitation: “As long as the clues you provide can help us narrow down an effective range, I can pay you a three-million-dollar deposit right now.
If the Military successfully finds Tony based on your clues, I will pay the remaining seven-million-dollar balance.” Suddenly, there was dead silence on the other end of the phone.