Chapter 125: The Price of Betrayal
The blade pressed cold against Ochieng's throat.
Sharp. Precise.
The kind of weapon that ended wars with a single stroke.
The ballroom was dead silent now.
The Gilded Reapers had won.
Lucien Rykov raised his glass, swirling the blood-red wine. "You put up a good fight, Ochieng."
The Black Widow stood beside Lord Darius Blackthorne, her expression unreadable.
Ochieng's eyes locked onto hers.
"Why?" His voice was raw, edged with betrayal.
She didn't answer.
She simply looked away.
---
Lucien exhaled dramatically. "You know, there's something poetic about this."
He gestured to the opulent ballroom—the shattered glass, the bodies, the crimson-stained marble floor.
"The last heir of the Ochieng Empire... executed in the very city his ancestors built."
The blade at Ochieng's throat tightened.
Lucien leaned in. "Say something. A last word, maybe?"
Ochieng's lips curled into a smirk.
"You should have brought an army."
---
BOOM!
The walls exploded inward.
Gunfire erupted from every angle.
The Black Guard had arrived.
Men in obsidian-black suits stormed the ballroom, firing with ruthless precision.
Lucien cursed. Darius vanished.
And the Black Widow?
She hesitated—just for a second.
Ochieng didn't.
He moved.
His hand shot up, grabbing the blade at his throat. A twist—snap—blood sprayed.
The Reaper fell.
Ochieng was free.
---
He didn't hesitate.
He went for Lucien first.
A bullet grazed his arm—he ignored it.
One step.
Lucien turned, eyes wide.
Two steps.
Ochieng grabbed a broken bottle from the floor.
Three steps.
Lucien raised his gun—too late.
Ochieng drove the bottle deep into his throat.
Blood. Gurgling. Choking.
Lucien fell to his knees.
His reign was over.
---
Ochieng turned.
The Black Widow stood still.
Her hands trembled.
He could see it—the war inside her.
Ochieng took a step closer.
"Are you with me?"
She didn't answer.
Then—she raised her gun.
---
A Shot in the Dark
BANG!
Pain tore through Ochieng's side.
His vision blurred.
The Black Widow's gun smoked.
She had shot him.
---
But not to kill.
---
She whispered as he fell to his knees.
"Run."
Then she turned and vanished into the chaos.
Ochieng clutched his bleeding side, eyes burning with fury.
This wasn't over.
---
As sirens howled in the distance, as bodies lay cold on the floor—one thing was clear.
Ochieng had just declared war on the entire underworld.
And he would not lose.
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