2024-10-07 18:55:46The days that followed Luis’s revelation felt surreal like they were moving through a dream where everything was too quiet, too calm.
The storm had not yet broken, but Luis could feel it building on the horizon. He had decided to walk away, to burn down the empire they had built. And yet, there was something inside him that resisted, something that whispered, "Stay."
Maria had grown more distant, her mind occupied with logistics and the careful dismantling of the empire. She had always been a strategist, always thinking several moves ahead.
But now, even she was uncertain about what came next. Once they left, there would be nothing. No power, no control, just the unknown.
“You’re still thinking about it,” Maria said one night as they sat in the penthouse, the city glowing beneath them like a battlefield waiting for the next strike.
Luis didn’t deny it. The city never stopped calling, even when you wanted to leave.
“I am,” he admitted, his voice quiet. “It’s not as simple as walking away.”
Maria sipped her drink, her eyes never leaving him. “It never is.”
Luis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together as if he were holding something fragile. “I keep thinking about everything we’ve built. About what it means to just... walk away.”
Maria set her glass down, her fingers trailing along the rim. “And?”
Luis looked at her, his expression filled with doubt. “And I don’t know if I can do it.”
The silence that followed was thick and heavy with the weight of what they were about to do. The city had taken so much from them—their friends, their enemies, their sense of self. But walking away from it felt like admitting defeat. It felt like surrendering.
Maria stood, crossing the room towards the window, her back to him as she spoke. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll never leave.”
Luis nodded slowly. She was right, of course. The city was a beast, and it didn’t let go easily. If they didn’t walk away now, they would be trapped in this endless cycle of power and destruction until there was nothing left.
“I know,” Luis said, his voice barely above a whisper. “But I can’t shake the feeling that we’re leaving something unfinished.”
Maria turned to face him, her expression sharp. “We’ve finished everything we started. The empire is built, and the enemies are crushed. What more is there?”
Luis stared at her, his heart pounding. What more was there? They had fought for control, for power, and they had won. But now, standing at the top, it all felt... hollow.
“There’s always something,” Luis said quietly. “Always another threat, another challenge.”
Maria crossed her arms, her voice hard. “That’s the city talking. It never stops, Luis. It never will.”
Luis stood, moving towards the window beside her. He could see the city stretching out beneath them, alive with light and movement, always in motion, always hungry.
“And what if we don’t leave?” Luis asked softly. “What if we stay and let it consume us?”
Maria’s eyes narrowed, her voice cold. “Then we lose everything. The city will take us down, piece by piece, just like it does to everyone else.”
Luis nodded, feeling the weight of her words settle over him. She was right. The city would never stop, never let them rest. It would keep taking, keep demanding more. And if they stayed, if they didn’t walk away now, they would lose themselves completely.
“We leave,” Luis said, his voice firm. “We leave tonight.”
Maria’s lips curled into a small, dangerous smile. “Then let’s make sure we disappear without a trace.”
As the night deepened, Luis and Maria began the final steps of their plan. Everything was in place—the accounts drained, the businesses quietly shut down, the alliances severed. By the time the city realised what was happening, they would be gone.
The phone buzzed in Luis’s pocket. He glanced at the screen—Bones, his most trusted enforcer.
“It’s done,” Bones said, his voice gruff. “The Southside is already feeling the heat. Dockyard’s next.”
Luis nodded, a cold satisfaction settling in his chest. It was all falling apart. Just as they had planned.
“And Miguel?” Luis asked, his tone clipped.
“Handled,” Bones replied. “He won’t be a problem.”
Luis ended the call, slipping the phone back into his pocket. He turned to Maria, his expression unreadable.
“It’s time.”
Maria nodded, her eyes glinting with anticipation. “Then let’s go.”
As they stepped out of the penthouse and into the night, the city burning beneath them, Luis felt a strange sense of relief. The beast they had fought so hard to control was still hungry, still demanding more. But they were no longer its prisoners.
They were finally free.
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Chapter 118
The city had an eerie calm, like the moment before a storm.Luis and Maria knew it well—it was the silence that came before the retaliation. Orlov hadn’t made a move yet, but they both felt it in the air. He was waiting, preparing, and biding his time to strike when they least expected it.Luis stood in front of the massive windows of the penthouse, the city sprawled beneath him like a glittering maze of power and corruption. His mind raced, going over the steps they’d taken to weaken Orlov, but something nagbed at him.They had hit him hard, taken out his warehouses, and disrupted his supply lines, but it didn’t feel like enough. Orlov was too smart, too calculated, to be brought down so easily.“We’ve got eyes on his remaining assets,” Maria said, stepping into the room, her tone clipped but focused. She held a tablet in her hand, showing a live feed from one of their surveillance teams.Luis glanced at her, his jaw tight. “Any movement?”Maria shook her head, frustration flashing i
Chapter 117
The city was alive with whispers and murmurs of a new force rising in the shadows.Luis and Maria had thought they’d crushed Avernus, but in the days following their attack, it had become clear that their victory was only temporary. A larger force was at play, one more organised and dangerous than anything they had faced before.Luis sat at his desk in the penthouse, fingers drumming against the polished wood. The city sprawled out beneath him, a glittering beast that never slept. The calm after the storm always felt like a trap, and he could feel the tension in the air.Bones entered the room, his face grim. “We’ve got a name.”Luis looked up sharply, the tension in his jaw visible. “Who is it?”Bones tossed a file onto the desk. “Nikolai Orlov. He’s the one pulling the strings.”Maria, seated across from Luis, raised an eyebrow. The name wasn’t familiar, but the weight of it hung heavy in the air. She flipped open the file, scanning the details. “He’s Russian. Former military ties t
Chapter 116
Luis leaned back in his chair, staring at the map laid out before him. The Westside was a web of power and influence, but Avernus was at the centre of it now.They had been patient, slowly building their empire in the shadows, but now they were emerging. And Luis knew they had to be stopped.“They’re moving fast,” Bones said, standing beside him. “Buying up properties, making connections. They’ve got political backing too. The kind that makes it hard to touch them.”Luis’s jaw tightened. Political connections meant trouble. It meant Avernus had protection, the kind that couldn’t be taken down with a bullet. Not easily.Maria entered the room, her eyes scanning the map. “We need leverage. Something that hits them where they can’t hide.”Luis nodded. “We need to make them vulnerable. Expose them for what they are.”Maria’s gaze was sharp, her mind already racing. “We hit their reputation. Politicians won’t back them if they’re too much of a liability.”Bones grunted in agreement. “And o
Chapter 115
The night was cool, but the tension was sucking.Luis and Maria moved with precision, their steps silent as they approached the glass doors of the sleek office building. This was Avernus Holdings’ heart—their new stronghold on the Westside—and tonight, the Borsens were going to cut it out.Luis paused at the entrance, his hand resting lightly on the handle. “Let’s make this quick,” he muttered.Maria, standing beside him, smiled faintly. This was the part she lived for. “Quick. But not too easy.”Luis nodded, his pulse steady despite the danger looming ahead. They weren’t here to negotiate. They weren’t here to talk. They were here to send a message.He pushed the door open. The quiet hum of the building swallowed them as they slipped inside. No alarms. No guards in sight. Too quiet.Maria’s eyes scanned the lobby, her hand hovering over her gun. “Where is everyone?”Luis didn’t answer, but his jaw tightened. It felt wrong. His instincts screaming at him. Something was off.A faint so
Chapter 114
The Westside had always been different from the rest of the city. It was sleek and polished, hiding power beneath wealth.Luis and Maria knew it all too well. But now there was a new force rising in the shadows, trying to take a slice of their empire. Avernus Holdings—the name had come up more than once, whispered in alleys, muttered by informants. It wasn’t just another local gang.This was something bigger. Something more dangerous.Luis leaned against the cool metal railing of the penthouse balcony, his eyes scanning the distant skyline. The city was a living beast, always moving, and shifting. And now the Westside was stirring.“We’ve got a problem,” Maria’s voice cut through the night air. She stepped onto the balcony, her gaze sharp. “Bones just confirmed it. Avernus Holdings has been buying up properties, and making moves. Quietly, but quickly.”Luis didn’t move; his eyes were still fixed on the city below. “How many properties?”“Four, so far. They’re not just snatching up rea
Chapter 113
The city had fallen into an uneasy calm.The Borsens were at the height of their power, with the Southside, Eastside, and now even the edges of the Westside firmly under their control. But Luis and Maria knew better than to mistake calm for peace. Power in the city was always shifting—a fluid, dangerous force that could turn in an instant.Even as they celebrated their victory over Volkov, they were aware that the silence carried with it the weight of anticipation—the sense that something new was on the horizon.Luis sat in his penthouse office, the vast city sprawled out before him through the floor-to-ceiling windows. This was his kingdom, but the view came with a constant reminder: nothing in this city was permanent. He thumbed through the latest reports, detailing the state of their newly expanded empire.The remnants of Santiago’s network had been absorbed, and Volkov’s influence had been erased. For now, no one dared challenge the Borsens’ reign.But Luis knew that peace in this
Chapter 112
The city stretched out beneath them, a sea of glittering lights and shadows.From the balcony of the penthouse, Luis could see the whole expanse—his empire. But its weight pressed down on him. Every building, every street, every deal made in dark alleys was a piece of the puzzle he and Maria had put together.And now, it felt fragile, like the wrong move could shatter everything.Maria joined him, her silhouette sharp against the backdrop of the city. She leaned on the railing, eyes scanning the skyline. There was no satisfaction in her gaze, only calculation. They had fought too hard to get here, and she knew just as well as Luis did that the fight was far from over."Volkov's people are scattered," she said. Her voice was steady, but there was an edge to it. "We've taken them down, piece by piece."Luis nodded, though his mind was elsewhere. They had crushed Volkov’s network, wiped out his loyalists, and dismantled his empire. But something about it all felt unfinished. Volkov’s dea
Chapter 111
The air felt heavy. Tense. The city held its breath.Luis and Maria stood together in the penthouse, their eyes scanning the streets below. Everything was quiet, but they knew it wouldn’t last. Volkov’s final move was coming, and it wouldn’t be subtle. He had gathered his forces and brought in mercenaries, and now it was only a matter of time before the fight came to them.Luis checked his weapon for the third time that night. The weight of the gun in his hand felt reassuring, but there was an edge to his thoughts that couldn’t be shaken. This was the moment they had been preparing for—a final, bloody confrontation. And while they had won every battle so far, Luis knew this one would be different.“He’ll come with everything,” Maria said, standing beside him. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp. “Volkov won’t leave anything to chance. He can’t afford to.”Luis nodded. They had hit Volkov hard, taken out his resources, and crippled his network. But now, backed into a corner, Vo
Chapter 110
The city was a battlefield, and now, with Nicholas Volkov in the mix, the stakes had grown even higher. Santiago had been a local threat, a power player on the Westside, but Volkov was something else entirely—an international force with resources and connections that extended far beyond the city’s limits. And now he had set his sights on the Borsens’ empire.Luis stood on the balcony of his penthouse, the cold night air biting at his skin as he gazed out over the city. Volkov wasn’t just here to make money—he was here to take control. Santiago had been smart to ally with him, but it wouldn’t be enough. Not with Luis and Maria ready to strike back.Maria joined him on the balcony, her eyes sharp as she stared at the skyline. “Volkov thinks he can just walk into our city and take what’s ours.”Luis nodded, his expression hardening. “We’ll show him he’s wrong.”The war for the city was about to enter its most dangerous phase. And Luis and Maria were ready.The city hummed with dangerous
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