A Face Off

"Hello, Charles. It's been a while."

Immediately Charles's blood ran cold.

The past That he had dropped had just knocked on his door.

Laura Gray, of the Gray family fortune whom Charles had a history, is back.

Charles stood frozen to the spot, gripping his phone tightly his knuckles Turing almost white. He hadn't heard that voice in many years.

"Laura Gray", Charles finally said, his voice betraying nothing. "I thought you were dead!"

A soft chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Oh!, Charles you should know by now, I don't die that easily.

Charles closed his eyes, flashes of their past romantic lifetime together hitting him like a straight bullet to the chest.

Laura Gray, his closet friend, his sweet Cherry, his greatest taste of time, and his once everything. Have suddenly reappeared out of tiny air.

"What do you want?" Charles asked coldly.

"I think we both know the answer to that," Laura replied smoothly. I hear you have been doing well for yourself in York City. Expanding, making moves, and others." A brief pause " But you and I both know Charles.... Unfinished business always comes knocking when they can.

Laura laughs inward.

Charles clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth. "Where are you?"

Laura chuckled at his question and said softly "You will see me soon enough Mr. Charles."

Without waiting for a response from Charles. The line went dead.

The night was still, save for the distant hum of York City beyond the glass windows of Charles Hudson penthouse. He sat in his dimly lit study, the amber glow of his whiskey casting long shadows across the mahogany desk. His grip on the glass was tight, his knuckles white.

A name from the past had shattered the careful order he had built. Charles replay the conversation in his head.

"Hello, Charles. It's been a while."

Laura Gray.

For a moment, time had frozen. Her voice, smooth as ever, slithered through the years of silence as if they had spoken just yesterday.

"Oh, Charles… you should know by now, I don't die that easily." He said with a mocking voice.

His past had knocked on his door.

Now, he had to decide whether to open it or burn it down.

He finished his drink in one swallow and picked up his phone and dialed Pete.

The other man quickly pick, and wait patiently for a response.

"Pete. Get everyone here. Now."

An hour later, Charles's most trusted men were seated around a sleek, polished conference table in one of his private offices. The tension was thick. Each man knew that if the boss had called a late-night meeting, it wasn't for idle conversation.

Pete, his right-hand man, was the first to break the silence. "Boss, what's going on?"

At first he was a bit hesitant. Charles tossed his phone onto the table and said. "Laura Gray called last night."

A heavy silence followed.

Luca Moretti, a ruthless enforcer with a penchant for violence, grunted. "Your woman is still alive after all these years?"

Victor Kane, the strategist of the group, folded his arms and added. "If she's back, it's not for a social visit. She must want something."

Charles nodded. "We need to find out what she up to and where she been all this year's."

Pete exhaled sharply. "This could be good or bad. The last time you two crossed paths, the city almost burned."

Charles's gaze darkened. "Then we'll make sure she doesn't succeed this time with what ever she is planning."

He turned to Victor and ordered. "Find out who she's been in contact with."

To Pete: "Double security at all our businesses and strongholds. No one moves without my knowledge."

To Luca: "Keep an eye on the Gray family's dealings. Report anything suspicious."

Luca smirked. "Understood, boss."

Finally, Charles turned to Grant, his most trusted enforcer. "Get the boys ready. Keep watch over my kids."

"As good as done."

As the meeting ended, Charles lingered by the window, staring out at the incredible York City's skyline.

Laura's return wasn't just a coincidence.

It was a storm waiting to break at anytime.

Across the city, in an upscale nightclub on the Westside, Laura Gray sat in a private booth, sipping champagne. The dim lights flickered, the bass of the music thrumming beneath her skin.

Beside her sat a young man—Jason by name.

Charles's son.

Jason had no idea who she really was. To him, she was just an intriguing and breathtaking woman who had taken an interest in him.

But to Laura, he was a pawn. A means to an end.

She studied him, her expression unreadable.

The past couldn't be undone.

But the future? That was hers to shape.

Outside, a black SUV pulled up to the curb. The tinted window rolled down just enough for Laura to see the driver.

It was time.

She turned to Jason and smiled. "Let's take a drive."

Charles didn't sleep that night. His mind was running at full speed, calculating every possible angle of Laura's return.

The past wasn't dead, it had just walked back into his life, dressed in power and ambition.

The next morning, Charles try to still his mind that he was already moving on and has no time for games.

Pete walked in, handing him a folder and said. "We found her."

Charles gave Pete a long look before taking the folder and flipped it open. Photographs. Reports. Laura had been back for months, climbing the ranks of the Gray family, In Rico city while consolidating her power.

"I see!" Charles thought.

She wasn't just back.

She was making her move.

Charles clenched his jaw and use two fingers to rubbed his temples.

She had always been dangerous. But this time, she wasn't playing by the old rules.

This time, she wanted everything.

And he would be damned if he let her take it. This is his territory and no one move without his notice.

Charles flipped through the photos of Laura, each one a reminder of the woman who had once stood beside him.

A woman who had helped him rise.

A woman who had also betrayed him.

Pete leaned against the desk. "She's been moving quietly, but not without purpose. She's gained control of several Gray family businesses. Word is, she's not just following orders, she's calling the shots."

Charles's grip on the folder tightened. That meant one thing.

Laura wasn't just back. She was here to challenge him.

And she wasn't coming empty-handed.

Pete hesitated before speaking again. "There's one more thing."

Charles looked up, his blue eyes sharp.

Pete slid a photograph across the desk.

It was Jason.

With Laura.

Charles's blood turned ice-cold.

"She has my son," he said, his voice deathly calm.

Pete nodded grimly. "And that, boss, means this just got personal."

Elsewhere, Laura sat in a luxury penthouse, staring out at Rico City's amazing structures.

Jason sat across from her, unaware of the storm he was in the middle of.

"So, You knew my father?" he asked.

Laura smirked, sipping her red wine, in a lazy tone she replied. "Oh, Jason. I didn't just know your father. I made him."

Jason frowned, a confused look on his white face. "What do you mean?"

Laura leaned forward, her voice smooth as silk.

"I gave him power. And when he no longer needed me, he let me go."

Jason shook his head. "No. That's not how he talks about you."

Laura chuckled. "And how does he talk about me then?"

Jason hesitated for a moment before saying. "Like you were the only woman who ever mattered."

For the first time, Laura's smirk faltered.

She placed her glass down and stood. "Then maybe it's time I remind him what we started."

Charles stormed into his private armory, Pete and Luca following close behind.

"She has my son," Charles growled, loading a gun.

Luca grinned. "Looks like we're going to war, just the way I like it."

Pete crossed his arms and asked. "Are you sure you're ready for this, boss? This isn't just business as usual. This is Laura we are talking about."

Charles locked eyes with him and replied.

"I don't care if it's her. I don't care what we had. If she's coming for my family, she's made her choice."

He cocked the gun.

"And now, I'm making mine."

Charles's men moved fast. Within hours, every Gray stronghold was locked down, every Gray family business under surveillance.

Pete and Luca stood by as Charles loaded his weapons, his expression cold, controlled.

"She wants to play games?" Charles muttered. "Fine. Let's remind her who built this city."

Pete nodded. "So We take the hit first?"

Charles didn't hesitate. "We hit hard."

"Alright boss, just give the order and am done." Lucas flex his knuckles and jump in excitement, he was really bored and needed something fun to do.

Across the city, in a high-end casino owned by the Grays, Laura walked through the private VIP lounge, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

Her phone buzzed.

A message from one of her men.

"Charles crew just hit our docks. Two shipments gone. No survivors."

Laura smirked.

So, Charles wants to dance?

She turned to her top lieutenant. "Burn one of his clubs to the ground spare no one. Tonight."

Laura thought back at the time she was with Charles but quickly shook off the nonsense.

Years ago, Charles and Laura had been unstoppable.

Late nights in smoky back rooms, planning their empire.

Blood on their hands, but always together.

She had been his fire, his equal—the one person who understood his hunger for power.

Then, one night, everything changed.

A deal gone wrong. A bullet meant for Charles.

Laura had taken the shot.

When she woke up, she was on a plane out of York City.

Banished.

Now, she was back.

And this time, she wouldn't take a bullet for him.

She'd put one in him if she had to.

That night, an explosion rocked York City.

One of Charles's most profitable clubs gone like it never existed.

He watched the flames from his car, jaw clenched.

Pete spoke first. "She's not backing down."

Charles nodded. "Good. Neither am I."

He picked up his phone.

"Get me Vincent Kane."

It was time to bring in a ghost from the past.

A man with his own scores to settle.