The night was heavy with tension. The kind that settled in the air like an oncoming storm.
Moris Sinclair stood at the edge of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The ground was damp from a recent drizzle, the scent of rust and oil filling the air.
No security. No backup.
At least, that's what Ronan Vale was meant to believe.
Moris adjusted his cufflinks, listening for any movement. He was alone in the open, but in the shadows, Sarah and Caleb were watching through sniper scopes. Nina and Leo had eyes on the security feeds. Isabel had tapped into police frequencies—ready to disrupt communications if things went sideways.
It wasn't just a meeting.
It was a chess match.
And Moris was about to make his move.
The Arrival
A sleek black SUV rolled up, its tires crunching against the gravel. The doors didn't open immediately.
Ronan was watching. Calculating.
Then, slowly, the back door swung open.
And there he was.
Ronan Vale stepped out, wearing the same unsettling smirk. Dressed in an all-black suit, his presence felt like a slow-moving storm.
"You actually came," Ronan mused, his voice smooth as silk.
Moris didn't flinch. "I said I would."
Ronan glanced around. "No bodyguards? No tricks?"
Moris tilted his head. "I don't need them."
A flicker of amusement crossed Ronan's face. "That's where you're wrong."
With a snap of his fingers, four men stepped out of the SUV, armed and watching Moris like wolves.
Sarah's voice crackled in Moris's earpiece. "Four hostiles. Armed. Say the word."
Moris gave the slightest shake of his head. Not yet.
Ronan took slow steps forward. "Tell me, Sinclair—do you know what separates us?"
Moris raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."
Ronan's smile was predatory. "I don't just win. I make sure my enemies never get up again."
A brief silence.
Then Moris smirked. "Funny. That's exactly what I'm about to do."
Checkmate
Before Ronan could react, the warehouse exploded with light.
Drones hummed to life, cameras locking onto Ronan's men. A dozen hidden spotlights illuminated the area, revealing more of Moris's people emerging from the shadows.
Ronan's men hesitated. Their guns were useless now. They were surrounded.
Leo's voice crackled in Ronan's earpiece—the same way Ronan had hacked into Moris's systems before.
"Welcome to the game, Vale," Leo taunted. "We just rewrote the rules."
Nina's voice followed, calm and collected. "We have your accounts frozen. Your safehouses exposed. Your offshore assets flagged. You have nowhere left to run."
Ronan's smirk faltered.
Moris stepped closer, his voice a whisper of steel. "You thought you owned my empire. But you forgot one thing."
Ronan's fists clenched. "And what's that?"
Moris's smile was razor-sharp.
"I don't lose."
Silence.
Then, the sound of sirens in the distance.
The police. The media.
Everything Ronan had built—was about to burn.