The invisible Groom

Chapter Eight

At 2:14 a.m., the city’s sky lit up with a single flare—red, faint, and almost invisible to ordinary eyes.

But the right people saw it.

Across abandoned buildings, hidden basements, and shuttered factories… shadows shifted.

Doors unlocked.

Lights flickered on.

Weapons were loaded.

Marcus Slate’s most dangerous force—The Black Serpent Unit—was waking up.

Not assassins.

Not mercenaries.

War machines in human form.

Trained for annihilation, not capture.

Used only in full-scale war.

The moment they deployed…

the city would bleed.

MARCUS SLATE’S HEADQUARTERS

Marcus Slate stood before a massive reinforced door. Behind it: a dark room vibrating with low mechanical hums.

His second-in-command swallowed hard.

“Sir… activating Black Serpent means tearing the treaty we made with the Cole family.”

Slate’s smile widened.

“The treaty ends tonight.”

He placed his palm on the biometric scanner.

The metal door split open.

Inside, twelve figures stood in a perfect line—silent, armored, identical black visors reflecting nothing.

Emotionless.

Mindless.

Unbreakable.

Slate stepped forward.

“Your target is Ethan Cole.”

All twelve lifted their heads.

Slate continued, voice harsh:

“He returned from exile thinking the city still belongs to him.”

He clenched his fist.

“Show him it belongs to me.”

The twelve figures bowed in unison.

Black Serpent Unit: activated.

ETHAN’S TEMPORARY SAFE HOUSE

Ethan entered the small apartment Hale secured—empty, dusty, unremarkable. Perfect for hiding. Perfect for confrontation.

Hale locked the door behind them.

“Sir, we intercepted a coded transmission,” Hale said, handing over a tablet. “It’s from Slate’s headquarters.”

Ethan glanced at the screen.

One line of text:

“BS-12 deployed.”

Hale swallowed.

“That’s… Black Serpent, sir.”

Ethan set the tablet down slowly.

“So he chose suicide.”

Hale hesitated.

“Should we bring reinforcements? Alert your father? The Cole board will support you if—”

“No.”

Ethan’s voice cut him off like a blade.

“This is between Slate and me.”

Hale lowered his head immediately.

“But sir… Black Serpent is engineered for full-scale elimination. Twelve soldiers trained to fight platoons. Their success rate is—”

“100%,” Ethan finished calmly.

“I know.”

Hale’s breath hitched.

“Then what do we do?”

Ethan walked to the window, looking out at the city lit with distant danger.

“We end the war THEY started.”

THE DAWSON RESIDENCE — A DISCOVERY

Back at home, Lila stared at the emblem again—the one she found in the envelope.

A metal badge with three sharp lines, almost claw-like. She turned it over, noticing a small engraving on the back:

“Unit 09-Ω — Ghost Division.”

A chill ran through her.

She grabbed her laptop and typed the words.

Nothing.

Every search hit resulted in blocked pages, government seals, or “Classified Document” messages.

Vivian leaned over her shoulder.

“Lila… what exactly are you trying to find?”

Lila whispered,

“I’m trying to understand why someone like Ethan would ever end up here… with us.”

She clicked another link.

Again: “Unauthorized Access.”

Tanya burst into the room.

“There’s someone outside!” she whispered urgently.

The three women hurried to the window.

A black car was parked across the street.

Engine running.

Windows tinted.

Watching their home.

Tanya clutched Lila’s arm.

“What if they’re here for Ethan… or for us?”

Lila exhaled shakily.

In one night, fear had replaced everything she thought she knew.

THE CALL

Back in the safe house, Ethan’s burner phone vibrated.

Only one person in the world had this number.

Ethan answered without speaking.

A familiar voice whispered on the other side:

“Ghost Commander… is it really you?”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

“Reed.”

Reed was once Ethan’s intelligence officer—one of the few men alive who knew the truth about Ethan’s exile.

Reed’s breath trembled through the line.

“I’ve been tracking Slate’s movements. He activated Black Serpent. Ethan… no one survives them.”

Ethan’s reply was quiet:

“I will.”

Reed swallowed.

“Then listen. This attack isn’t about revenge. Slate has information—dangerous information—something tied to your past, your disappearance, and the Cole family.”

Ethan’s grip on the phone tightened.

“What did he find?”

Reed hesitated.

Then:

“He found the file they buried… the one about what happened five years ago.”

Silence.

The kind of silence that freezes blood.

Ethan’s voice dropped into a cold whisper.

“That file was destroyed.”

Reed exhaled shakily.

“Not all of it.”

Ethan closed his eyes.

Reed continued, voice trembling:

“Slate knows the truth about your exile…

about what REALLY happened…

and who betrayed you.”

Ethan didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

Until finally—

“Send me the location.”

Reed’s voice cracked.

“Ethan… if you go there, everything starts again.”

Ethan opened his eyes—icy, lethal, determined.

“It already has.”

FINAL SCENE — THE WAR BEGINS

Across the city, twelve figures in black armor began closing in on Ethan’s location with synchronized precision.

Black Serpent did not run.

Did not fear.

Did not tire.

Their target: Ethan Cole.

Their mission: termination.

Their expectation: success.

But Ethan stepped into the street, adjusting his gloves, breathing steadily.

Commander Hale whispered,

“Sir… they’re coming.”

Ethan’s response was calm.

“Let them.”

The night wind blew.

Twelve shadows moved closer.

And Ethan spoke one final sentence:

“Tonight, Black Serpent falls.”