Chapter 63: A Ghost Among Titans

Chris leaned forward, locking eyes with Ethan. "I'll be there—but not in the way they expect."

Ethan tilted his head. "Meaning?"

Chris smirked. "I'll be outside, watching everything from my convoy. You'll be my voice. Nothing more, nothing less."**

Ethan chuckled. "So I walk into a room full of desperate billionaires and power-hungry executives… and I don't get to talk?"

Chris's expression turned sharp. "You don't have a mouth of your own in that room. You only say what I tell you. Word for word. No improvisation."

Ethan exhaled, shaking his head with amusement. "You really don't trust anyone, do you?"

Chris leaned back, his fingers tapping against the desk. "I trust you to follow orders."

Ethan's smirk faded slightly. "Fair enough. I'll be their punching bag while you observe from the shadows."

Chris glanced at the time. "We leave in three hours. Security detail is already arranged. The convoy will remain mobile. No stops, no detours."

Ethan nodded, glancing at his tablet. "Satellite surveillance is active. Every single person attending that meeting is under watch. Any sudden moves, and we'll know before they do."

Chris's voice was calm, controlled. "Good. Make sure the Council understands this isn't a negotiation. They're here to listen."

Ethan smirked. "And if they don't?"

Chris's gaze darkened. "Then they'll realize how easily I can erase them."

---

Vienna – The Council's Private Summit

The room was lavish—gold-trimmed walls, high ceilings, and a long mahogany table where the most powerful figures in the world sat. The Council members, men and women who had once dictated the flow of industries, now looked uneasy.

Because Blackwood wasn't just in the room.

Blackwood was the room.

Every business they owned, every investment they had, was tied—directly or indirectly—to the man they had underestimated.

And that man? He wasn't even sitting among them.

Ethan entered, dressed in a sharp black suit. He walked to the head of the table and remained standing. The murmurs quieted.

Council Member Hastings cleared his throat. "Where is—"

Ethan held up a hand. "You don't get to ask questions." His voice was calm, but the authority behind it was unmistakable. "You will sit. You will listen. And you will not interrupt."

Silence.

Ethan tapped a small device on the table. The screen at the front of the room flickered to life.

Chris's voice came through. "You requested a meeting. I granted it. But let's be clear—this is not a discussion. This is me deciding how useful you still are."

Some members stiffened. Others clenched their fists.

One dared to scoff. "You think you can—"

Chris's voice cut through him like a blade. "I don't think. I know."

The room fell into dead silence.

Ethan folded his arms, watching them closely.

Chris continued. "You all made the mistake of believing I could be influenced. That I would tolerate your interference. I won't."

His voice was calm but final. "I am not here to negotiate. I am here to dictate."

Ethan smirked as he watched their expressions shift—from arrogance to unease. Chris Blackwood was no longer just a player in their world. He had become the world they played in.