Victoria’s words hung in the air like a loaded gun.She was playing a bigger game. A game I hadn’t even realized I was part of until now.Lisa, standing beside me, looked as furious as I felt. Harris remained silent, watching like he was waiting for a match to hit gasoline.I folded my arms, keeping my voice steady. “Tell me you’re joking.”Victoria smirked. “Do I look like I’m joking?”Lisa’s fists clenched. “You’re telling us that your grand plan is to take over The Black Hawk? Are you insane?”Victoria let out a soft, almost pitying laugh. “Lisa, I was born into a world of power struggles. You can either fight them head-on and lose, or you can take control from within.”I felt a slow burn of rage in my chest. “You actually believe you can control them? The same people who have spent years trying to destroy us?”Victoria’s eyes glimmered with something sharp. “Yes.”Lisa exhaled, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”I took a step closer. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Victoria.”She

This was it.The endgame.Victoria had fortified The Black Hawk’s new headquarters in an abandoned high-rise outside the city.Getting inside had been a nightmare—armed guards, high-tech security, and a damn sniper nearly taking my head off.But now, standing in the dimly lit war room, it was just the two of us.Siblings. Enemies.Victoria sat behind a sleek, black desk, swirling a glass of whiskey like this wasn’t the end of everything.“You took your time,” she mused. “I almost thought you’d given up.”I tightened my grip on the gun. “You wish.”She sighed, setting the glass down. “You look tired, Ethan. This life is exhausting, isn’t it?”I took a slow step forward. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you.”Victoria smirked. “Then why not let it go? Walk away. Take your people, take your fortune, and leave me to handle things the way they need to be handled.”I laughed, sharp and humorless.“By what? Taking control of a terrorist network? Becoming the queen of criminals? Y

The reinforced steel doors of the Elliot family’s private vault stood wide open, the security alarms still blaring as Ethan strode inside.His sharp eyes swept across the room, taking in the emptied shelves and scattered papers left behind in the thieves’ rush.Lisa was already there, crouched near an overturned filing cabinet, examining the only thing the intruders had left behind—a golden emblem of a coiled serpent.She held it up as Ethan approached.“They left us a message,” she muttered.Ethan took the emblem from her, turning it over in his palm. It was heavy, solid gold, with intricate engravings that felt too precise to be mass-produced. He narrowed his eyes.“They wanted us to know who did this.”Harris, standing near the entrance, scowled.“If they wanted us to know, they should’ve stayed and fought.”Lisa pulled a yellowed newspaper clipping from beside the emblem.“They left this too.”Ethan took it, his pulse quickening as he read the faded print.The article was decades

Ethan stood on the edge of a deserted road as the coordinates burned in his mind—a hidden estate in the middle of nowhere.Against Lisa’s desperate pleas over the phone, he had chosen to go alone.Now, as he stepped out of his car into the cool night air, his pulse quickened with a mix of anticipation and dread."Are you sure about this, Ethan?" Lisa’s voice echoed through his earpiece, laden with worry."Absolutely," he replied curtly."Some battles are meant to be fought alone."The estate loomed ahead, its tall iron gates encrusted with rust and ivy. As Ethan pushed the gate open, he was greeted by the low murmur of voices and the clink of glasses.Inside, an eerie gathering unfolded in a grand hall.Masked figures clad in luxurious robes and ornate masks mingled with one another, toasting with crystal flutes filled with a mysterious amber liquid.A large banner across the ceiling read, in gilded letters, “Next Phase of Human Evolution.”Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the sc

Ethan’s pulse pounded like a war drum as he sat in the quiet darkness of his safehouse, reviewing surveillance footage from the chaotic auction. The grainy video looped repeatedly on his laptop, and he leaned forward, squinting at the image on the screen. His instincts, honed by years of betrayal and battle, told him there was something unmistakably familiar about the masked figure lingering in the background."Harper, enhance that section, will you?" Ethan barked into his comm."On it, boss," Harper replied, her fingers flying over the keyboard.The screen flickered as the software sharpened the image. Ethan’s blood ran cold as the enhanced frame revealed the masked figure’s stance, his height, the slight limp in his walk. It was Lawrence—his imprisoned uncle.Ethan’s mind reeled. Lawrence? I thought he was locked away for good. He clenched his jaw, anger mingling with disbelief.He slammed his laptop shut and grabbed his coat. "I’m heading to the prison," he declared, his tone a mix