The morning breeze off the Black Forest blew cool across the high balcony of Castle Valdemar. Chris stood by the stone railing, watching the mist clear over the green pine trees below.​Beside him, Adrian was tapping away on his tablet screen, reviewing the final numbers from the morning's digital integration.​"Every single account from the remaining four territories is locked into our system," Adrian reported, looking up from his screen. "Lord Chen, Lord Rossi, Lord Silva, and Lord Kamau have all completed their uploads. The transition is ninety percent complete."​"Good," Chris said smoothly. "Ensure there are no delays on our end."​The heavy door leading onto the balcony creaked open. The Godfather stepped out onto the terrace, He stopped beside Chris, looking out at the mountain view.​"The Blood Oath is registered in the ledger, Chris," the Godfather said, his voice calm. "You have secured the loyalty of the remaining Lords, and the three rebellious territories are under your

The heavy velvet curtain pulled back. Chris stepped into the main sanctuary of the Sovereign Cathedral. Michelle walked right beside him, her hand resting firmly on his arm.The main sanctuary was massive. Rows of dark wooden pews stretched all the way down to the central altar. High above, warm sunlight poured through stained-glass windows, hitting the white marble floor. Hundreds of eyes locked onto Chris the moment he appeared in the archway. On the left side sat the regional commanders, On the right side sat the corporate executives of Greene Global. In the front two rows sat the surviving Lords of the Syndicate Council.Lord DeLuca of the advisory council was sitting in the very front row. His face was tense. His hands were clasped over his silver walking stick, his knuckles white. Lord Vane of the advisory council sat two seats down from him, his eyes cold. Chris kept his pace steady. He did not look at the crowd. He kept his eyes locked straight ahead on the altar steps.Michel

Chris turned his body and walked three deliberate steps toward the second row of the council section and stopped directly in front of Lord Vane. Vane sat stiffly in his wooden pew. His face was pale. A thin bead of sweat trickled down his temple, running past his ear and into his collar. His fingers twitched against his thighs."Lord Vane," Chris said. His voice was low, smooth, and carried straight through the quiet hall.Vane practically leaped out of his seat. He stood up straight, keeping his hands visible in front of him, and bowed his head deeply."Mr. Greene. Supreme Leader," Vane said quickly. His voice trembled just a fraction before he managed to pull it under control.Chris tilted his head slightly, studying the older man's face. "You sat right next to DeLuca for three straight hours today. You shared a private shuttle with him from the airfield this morning."Vane swallowed hard. "Yes, Supreme Leader. That is correct.""Tell me, Vane," Chris said, taking one step closer un

Chris stood at the head of the long table. He rested his right hand on the Dragon Scepter standing beside his chair. "Look at screen three," Chris said, pointing toward the left side of the room. The thirty corporate executives and division heads turned their heads toward screen three."That is the central allocation log for the eastern shipping ports," Chris continued. "It shows four million dollars moving out of the central vault every month for port maintenance. Who signs off on that disbursement?"A thin man in a grey suit sitting near the middle of the table stood up quickly. He adjusted his glasses with a shaking finger."I do, Mr. Greene," the man said. His voice was tight. "I am Thomas, the Director of Eastern Logistics. Those funds pay for the port guards, fuel storage, and dock repairs."Chris turned his eyes to Linda. "Linda, pull up the actual dock receipts for the last six months."Linda tapped her tablet. A new set of red numbers appeared right next to the blue columns o

Chris walked fast down the basement corridor, his Michelle stayed right at his side. Gideon followed two steps behind, holding his radio up to his mouth."Team Four, move to the main server room on floor thirty-eight right now," Gideon commanded into his radio, his voice low and firm. "Lock down all exits. Do not let Eric Mercer leave his desk.""Understood, Gideon," a voice replied through the static. "Team Four is on the elevator now."Chris immediately reached into his suit pocket as he walked through the gate at the end of the hall, pulled out his phone and called Linda. “We have a traitor on the inside. His name is Eric Mercer. I need you to keep an eye on him right now and check what he's doing on the system.”"How long will it take Eric to notice DeLuca is locked up?" Michelle asked as they stepped into the lift."He already knows," Linda replied. "I just got a notification that Eric just tried to access the central server from his terminal three minutes ago. He saw that DeL