The Ghost King’s Gambit

Nuel stood alone in a war room that was not bound by walls.

High in the Carpathian highlands, his operations center was built into the belly of a forgotten fortress. Snow buried the stone exterior, but inside, it pulsed with tech and steel.

Screens lined the walls, each pulsing with real-time feeds—Gina's estate, Balkan radar, Elara's transmissions. One camera lingered a moment longer on Davina's face during the last Scorpion ambush.

"She's not just her mother's child," he whispered. "She's more."

His second-in-command, a woman with obsidian eyes named Mirella, stepped in.

"They tried to breach her home," she said. "Failed. But it was loud. The underworld knows now."

"Good," Nuel replied, eyes still on the screen.

"And Elara?"

"She's burning with rage. That's when she's most dangerous… and most predictable."

Mirella handed him a tablet. "We intercepted a transmission from Richard. He's planning something—he's bringing in The Circle."

Nuel stilled. "The Circle of Nine?"

Mirella nodded. "The last ones from the Old Pact. Including—"

"The Broker," Nuel finished. "Damn it. That changes everything."

He tapped his comm line. "Contact Gina. No encryption. I want her to know I'm coming."

"Is that wise?" Mirella asked.

"She needs to know the game just evolved."

---

At the Michaels estate, Gina received the transmission in her study. The message was short:

"The Circle is rising. I'm on my way. —N"

She closed her eyes.

Nuel coming into the field meant the war was tilting beyond criminal. It was heading toward legend.

---

Back in the fortress, Nuel stared at a photo from two decades ago.

A younger him.

His father.

Their financial empire.

Before Richard Lansing sabotaged them. Before the blackmail, the disappearances, and the suicide.

He touched the frame. "I told you I'd end him, Father. I will. Even if I have to burn the world."

Then he turned to Mirella. "Assemble the Revenants. We're going dark."

Lights shut down across the fortress.

And somewhere far below, in locked containment, a vault hissed open.

Inside—war machines, biochemical codes, and ancient weapons that hadn't seen the light in thirty years.

The Ghost King was back.

And this time, he wasn't hiding.