Chapter 28: The Bishop’s Gambit
Jayden didn't sleep that night.
Not even for a minute.
Not after staring the Syndicate in the eye and walking away breathing.
Not after hearing the way Cormac Veldt—The Bishop—spoke with that calm, seasoned venom. Like someone who'd broken empires without lifting his voice.
Jayden wasn't naïve. That meeting wasn't the end of it.
It was the opening move.
---
Morning came gray and slow, like the sky itself was holding its breath.
In the Lexington Tower boardroom, Faith, Leo, and Sasha sat in tense silence.
Jayden walked in, face unreadable.
"I spoke to the Bishop," he said, sitting down.
Sasha's eyes widened. "You went there?"
Jayden nodded. "I had to look him in the eye. I had to know if this war was about money… or message."
"And?" Leo asked.
Jayden looked at him.
"It's about control."
---
Faith set a tablet on the table and tapped.
A series of digital maps loaded—stock crashes, silent bank account withdrawals, shadow company movements across Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.
"This is what Cormac's been doing for the last decade," she said. "Toppling systems without drawing blood. He gets inside your infrastructure, makes you doubt your numbers, your team, your mission—until you fall from the inside."
Jayden studied the data. "And now he's targeting us."
Sasha crossed her arms. "We're not just fighting a man… we're fighting a machine."
Jayden exhaled. "Then we build a better machine."
---
Phase One of the counter-strategy began that afternoon.
Jayden divided the council into three cells—each handling a part of the operation.
1. Faith and Nia were in charge of the data traps: setting fake leaks and false acquisitions to confuse Syndicate trackers.
2. Sasha handled corporate liaisons, talking to old-money board members and potential traitors, weeding out moles from within.
3. Leo and Brian were assigned to ground intel—recruiting local eyes in Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kigali to monitor movements, strange meetings, and cash transfers.
Jayden?
He handled the Syndicate's biggest fear:
Public perception.
---
He went live again.
But not with a speech.
With a question.
> "Have you ever wondered who really controls your paycheck?
Your school fees?
The hospital you trust?
The leaders you elect?"
The video went viral.
Not because it was dramatic.
But because it was honest.
Jayden wasn't screaming. He wasn't fighting.
He was inviting people to see.
---
Meanwhile, back at the estate, Leo intercepted a secure package.
No return address.
Inside: a single playing card.
The King of Spades.
And written on the back in perfect script:
> "You've moved your pawn.
Let's see if he can protect the Queen."
Leo swore under his breath.
"It's a threat," he muttered. "They're coming for someone."
Jayden didn't blink.
"Zaria."
---
They found her in the northern hills, staying under a false identity in a retreat center.
Leo and Jayden drove through the night—no security, no lights.
When they arrived, Zaria didn't run.
She was expecting him.
"What do you want, Jayden?" she asked flatly.
He stepped forward. "I think you're in danger."
She raised an eyebrow. "From you?"
"No," he said softly. "From the people who used you."
---
Zaria was still Zaria—cold, sharp, and proud.
But when Jayden showed her the card, her expression cracked.
"…Cormac sent this?"
Jayden nodded. "You're not useful to them anymore. That makes you disposable."
She looked away.
"I thought I was playing them."
"You were," he replied. "But this isn't a game you win by yourself."
---
Back at Lexington Tower, Faith was decoding hidden files planted inside old Lexington subsidiaries.
She paused when one file opened unexpectedly—showing old meeting transcripts between Cormac Veldt… and Richard Lexington.
Faith stared at the screen.
"Jayden needs to see this."
---
That night, Jayden sat alone in his office, reading through the files.
His father hadn't just known the Syndicate.
He'd funded them.
Early-stage investments. Quiet donations. Influence buying.
It had started with a single favor during a currency collapse in 2005.
And then it grew.
Deals.
Protection.
Secrets.
Jayden's hands trembled slightly.
This was bigger than a smear campaign.
It was a legacy of complicity.
---
He called Zaria again.
"I need you to tell me everything you know about the Syndicate," he said. "Not just what they did to you. What they did with my father."
Zaria didn't speak for a long time.
Then, finally:
"Come tomorrow. Bring proof. And come alone."
---
After she hung up, Zaria pulled out an old flash drive from a book spine.
It contained six names.
Six people still inside the system.
All Syndicate-connected.
All silent.
Except one.
---
The next morning, Jayden got another message on his phone.
No name. Just three words:
> "You chose wrong."
Then the news alert came in.
Explosion at a retreat center. One confirmed casualty.
Jayden's phone fell from his hands.
His heart stopped.
---
End of Chapter Twenty-Eight