The Romanov mansion's control room dimmed, bathed in the dull amber hue of emergency lights. Harper’s voice crackled over the loudspeakers as she patched into all sectors of the estate.“Enemy strike force confirmed. Approaching from all known sectors north, east, and the hidden creek path. Coordinated pattern. They’re not probing. They’re coming.”Aiden stood at the center, his silhouette cast against the main screen where Orlov’s face, twisted by age and vengeance, dominated the feed. The man who once tried to eradicate the Romanovs now marched beside Zain the traitorous blood who once swore loyalty as family.“They want to bury our name in the ashes of betrayal,” Aiden muttered. “But they’ve underestimated the fire they’ve just walked into.”Lorenzo entered, dressed in tactical armor, still regal despite the weight of the years.“They’ve surrounded the estate, but they don’t know we’re expecting them,” he said. “Let’s give them a welcome worthy of the Romanov legacy.”Silvana, stan

The smoke that choked the underground vault still hadn’t cleared.Chunks of concrete were strewn across the corridor. Wires sparked from the ceiling like angry snakes, and the flickering emergency lights cast an eerie glow over the destruction.From the shattered remains of the security vault, a low groan echoed.Aiden Romanov was alive.Buried under rubble, bloodied and barely conscious, Aiden clawed his way free, coughing violently. The blast had ripped through the entire East wing of the mansion’s substructure. Had it not been for Silvana’s last-second warning and Gregory’s rerouted security system, he’d have been vaporized in the core detonation.“Sir he’s here!” came a distant voice.It was Romanov security a strike team that had been combing through the wreckage since the breach. They rushed forward, pulling Aiden from the rubble. Blood trickled down his temple. His ribs were likely cracked. But he was breathing.He was alive.Silvana, who had refused to leave the search zone d

The Romanov mansion was quieter than usual, but the silence wasn't peaceful, it was analytical. At the heart of the estate, deep in the strategy room hidden behind the east wing's library, Aiden, Silvana, Lorenzo, Harper, and now Gregory sat huddled around a long table. Projectors threw enlarged images onto the sleek walls. the charred remnants of the vault, a burned insignia, the identical mark found beneath Braise’s holding cell, and now most disturbingly etched in blood on the box that had arrived earlier with the shattered chess knight. The black knight had been a symbol Aiden's father once used in clandestine operations: a move made when negotiations had failed, and power alone remained. But this mark predated all of them. Aiden leaned forward, his voice low and razor-sharp. “You’re certain this symbol has no traceable origin?” Harper crossed his arms. “I’ve gone through every intelligence file, ancient family logs, secret Romanov vaults, even old KGB blacklists. Nothing. But

The air beneath the Romanov estate was colder than usual heavier, as though the walls were holding their breath. Aiden descended the spiral stone staircase leading to the Old Romanov Crypt, flanked closely by Gregory and Harper. Silvana had pleaded to come, but Aiden refused he wouldn’t risk her or the child. Zia was fast asleep, unaware that just meters beneath her dreams, ghosts of the past were stirring.Each step echoed, sharp against the stillness. This crypt had once been a sacred space built generations ago by Aiden's great-grandfather to store the relics and secrets of the Romanov bloodline. Most believed it had been sealed permanently after the death of Aiden’s father. But tonight, something or someone had triggered the motion sensor Harper had embedded in its deepest chamber.Gregory's flashlight flickered against the damp stone walls. “This place is older than the estate itself.”“It predates the estate by nearly two centuries,” Harper added, scanning the hallway with a han

The Romanov estate was silent, too silent. The aftermath of the failed summoning ritual left behind scorched ash circles, broken bodies, and more questions than answers. The intruders had vanished as if swallowed by the void. But Aiden couldn’t shake one thought: There were thirteen… and one was never part of the ritual. Harper's voice buzzed through the comm-link. “Confirmed. Thirteenth figure bypassed the circle. Went straight to the vault, then vanished. We recovered a symbol… the knight painted gold.” Aiden stood in the nursery, watching Silvana gently rock Zia back to sleep. Her hand rested protectively on her rounded belly, her eyes still reflecting the adrenaline of the night's horror. He clenched his fists. “That gold knight wasn’t a message. It was a declaration.” Lorenzo joined him, bearing a new dossier. “We cross-referenced every known symbol used by the Circle of Ash… none include the gold knight. Someone’s mimicking their patterns but leaving their own mark.”