2025-07-19 23:29:44
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Chapter 169: the circle of ash
The alarms screamed.The mansion lit up like a fortress preparing for siege, floodlights sweeping across the grounds yet they did little to pierce the darkness that gathered beyond the walls. Silhouettes moved with purpose. Calm. Controlled. Robes that swayed like whispers. Masks carved from black stone. And beneath their feet circles of ash, perfectly traced.From the east watchtower, Gregory’s voice barked through the comms: “We have twelve confirmed intruders. No weapons drawn yet. But they’re not retreating.”Inside the mansion, Aiden was already moving his handgun holstered, his eyes colder than steel. Harper pulled up surveillance feeds, trying to identify their formation.“They’re not attacking,” he murmured. “They’re… waiting.”“For what?” Lorenzo asked, storming into the control room. “A parley?”“No,” Harper replied. “Something worse. A ritual.”Aiden turned toward the staircase. “Where’s Silvana?”“Safe in the nursery,” Gregory responded. “I locked down the upper floor.”Bu
Chapter 168: The Crypt Below
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
Chapter 167: Echoes in the Bloodline
The Romanov estate had never felt so quiet, yet so alive with tension. After the shocking return of the red-painted chess knight and the mysterious disappearance of Lorenzo's ancient scroll, the family had been on edge. Power had returned, but its absence had left behind an unmistakable trace whoever had infiltrated the estate hadn’t just come to steal. They came to declare war… with precision. Inside the war room, Harper’s fingers danced across the console keyboard, trying to trace the power anomaly and the ghost signal. It was like chasing a phantom in the fog. No doors had been breached, no surveillance had failed, no physical locks compromised yet the scroll had vanished, and in its place, that crimson-painted symbol of impending war sat mockingly. “Whatever force we’re dealing with,” Harper muttered, “they’re not just tech-savvy they’re ritualistic. Psychological. They want us to be afraid.” Aiden stood at the far window, arms folded. His silhouette loomed in the soft moonli
Chapter 166: Symbols in the Silence
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
Chapter 165: Shattered Illusions
The Romanov estate was quiet that morning.Birds chirped beyond the frosted windows, the trees lining the courtyard swayed gently in the breeze, and for once, tranquility hung over the estate like a fragile veil. Inside, the staff moved with less urgency. The alarms were off. Harper hadn’t called for a briefing in over a week. The board hadn’t convened. The guards, though present, now walked their rounds without gripping their rifles like lifelines.It had been months since the last wave of crisis. And for Aiden Romanov, peace—even if fragile—was a gift he had no intention of squandering.Bryden was progressing well. The boy had adapted remarkably, now assisting Gregory with operations and strategy updates. Lorenzo often observed him from the balcony, a faint smile playing on his lips. Forgiveness had not come cheaply, but it had come fueled by the boy's quiet perseverance and sincere efforts.But elsewhere... a storm was quietly building.In the shadows of the estate, Amelia crept o
Chapter 164 – The Ashes and the Vanishing
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
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