FROM RAGS TO THE THRONE

Chapter Seven – The Invitation

The city never truly slept, but at this hour, its heartbeat slowed. Streetlights stretched their glow over wet pavement, neon signs blinked in and out like they were trying to signal something only the desperate could read. From the glass-and-steel fortress of Kane Enterprises, Adrian stood by the 40th-floor window, staring down at the streets far below.

He could feel the city breathing. The pulse was slow tonight, but there was a tension in it, the kind that told him a storm was coming.

Behind him, the operations floor was alive with a controlled chaos. The big screens displayed a rotating cycle of building schematics, surveillance footage, and a live satellite feed of the eastern district. Staff moved quickly, their movements tight, efficient, and silent.

Adrian didn’t turn when Marcus approached, his right arm still in a sling. "You really mean to bring them here?" Marcus asked, his tone edged with disbelief.

Adrian’s reflection in the glass showed only the faintest curve of a smile. "Control the board, control the game. I’m not chasing them through the city on their terms."

Marcus leaned against the window frame, watching him. "And you think Gabriel will walk into the lion’s den?"

"He will if I make him think it’s his idea," Adrian replied.

Vivienne entered then, heels clicking softly against the polished floor. She had changed, gone was the rain-soaked coat, replaced by a sleek black suit with a silk blouse that made her look every inch the strategist she was. She carried a slim folder and set it on the table.

"Blueprints," she said. "And the security grid for the penthouse Gabriel’s holed up in."

Adrian moved to the table, flipping through the documents without looking up. "Good. We’re not going there," he said flatly.

Vivienne arched an eyebrow. "Then why the grid?"

"Because," Adrian said, "I’m going to let him think I’ve found him. I’ll send a message that makes him leave his fortress and come to mine."

Marcus crossed his arms. "And Selena?"

Adrian’s hand paused on the folder. His voice, when it came, was quiet but deliberate. "If she’s in the room, she’s part of the game. That means she’s expendable."

Vivienne gave him a look, sharp and assessing. "You don’t believe that."

Adrian met her gaze. "I believe in winning. Everything else is noise."

They worked for another hour, laying out the bait. Adrian’s plan was as much psychological warfare as it was logistics, an encrypted message leaked through the right channels, suggesting an internal mole had sold Gabriel’s location to Kane Enterprises. The “leak” would be timed perfectly to make Gabriel feel the noose tightening.

Vivienne handled the digital side, feeding the right amount of truth into the lie. Marcus coordinated the ground team, positioning them in ways that seemed random but weren’t, When it was ready, Adrian sent the final confirmation with a single press of a key.

Across the city, in the high-rise penthouse, Gabriel Cross poured himself another drink. Selena lounged on the leather sofa, flipping lazily through her phone.

The secure tablet on Gabriel’s desk chimed. He walked over, picked it up, and read the incoming message. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. Selena noticed. "Something wrong?"

"Apparently," Gabriel said slowly, "our friends at Kane Enterprises think they know where I am."

Selena tilted her head, feigning curiosity. "And do they?"

A smirk curved Gabriel’s lips, but there was no humor in it. "They know exactly what I want them to know."

Back at Kane Enterprises, Adrian watched the progress reports come in. The first piece moved. Then the second. Vivienne came up beside him. "You’re awfully calm for someone poking a hornet’s nest."

Adrian’s eyes didn’t leave the screens. "I’m not poking it. I’m pulling it into my house and sealing the doors."

A tech turned from his station. "Sir, we’ve got a hit. Gabriel’s team is on the move. Two SUVs, heading west."

Marcus leaned forward. "Destination?"

"Unknown. But they’re not heading toward the penthouse."

Adrian’s smile was faint, almost imperceptible. "They will be. Soon."

The city lights blurred by as Gabriel’s convoy wove through the streets. Selena glanced out the tinted windows, her expression unreadable. "You’re sure about this?" she asked.

Gabriel’s voice was calm, almost bored. "Adrian Kane likes to think he’s a step ahead. Tonight, we’ll let him believe it… right up until I take everything from him."

Selena’s gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before she turned back to the window. She knew him well enough to recognize the shift, Gabriel wasn’t coming to talk. He was coming to end something.

In the control room, the movement trackers lit up. Marcus stared at the screen. "They’re coming straight toward us."

Vivienne’s voice was low. "Exactly as planned."

Adrian stepped forward, the city lights behind him casting his silhouette long across the floor. "Lock down the building. Nobody in or out without my say."

The room moved instantly, keypads locking, steel shutters sliding into place over the glass doors on the lower levels. Adrian checked his watch. "We’ve got twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes until Gabriel Cross walked through his front door, Twenty minutes until the first real move in a war ten years in the making. But in wars like these, twenty minutes was enough for everything to change.