41. Small margin
Author: Esther Ernest
last update2026-02-06 22:36:35

Election Day finally dawned and the city was tense with voters, every thing not minding the look of the sky that seemed to rain but held back.

Polls opened at 6 a.m., and by 6:15, lines had formed in every borough, in Manhattan, doormen were in wool coats shuffling forward, in Brooklyn, families with strollers in tow, in Queens, commuters were clutching coffee cups, in Bronx, residents were chatting in Spanish, and in Staten Island, homeowners were debating local issues under overcast skies.

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  • 62. Tying loose ends

    Leo Jordan hung up the phone with a sharp click, the sound echoing in the empty warehouse where he had been waiting since dispatching the drive-by team. The space was cold and industrial with rusted beams overhead and concrete floors stained with years of neglect. The distant hum of the city was barely penetrating the thick walls. He had chosen it deliberately because it was far from the estate and has no ties to the family. It was a place where loose ends could be tied without witnesses. The call from Victoria and Lucas had been a storm of rage with demands for him to report home immediately. But Leo’s voice was steady despite the fury bubbling inside. ‘I can't. I'm handling something important. We'll talk later.’He pocketed the phone as the initial tremor of defiance was gone and his hands were steady now. Victoria's anger didn't scare him anymore. Not after the primary loss, not after Bradley's resurrection and most especially not after seeing the family name dragged through whis

  • 61. Son of a bitch

    A couple of hours after the drive-by attempt, Lucas Stevens was pacing in the living room of his Upper East Side penthouse. The clock read 4:37 a.m., but sleep was far removed from his eyes. He had gone to bed hours ago with Evelyn by side but woke to the buzzing of his phone at 3:15 a.m. and since then he had been on the phone. The first buzz was from a discreet source from his network in the NYPD, a sergeant who owed him favors from the mayoral campaign.The text had been short.**There was a Drive-by in Forest Hills and the target was Bradley Turner. The assailants were captured with no fatalities on his side. Some Cops are still on scene and Fingers are pointing your way, some say it's tied to the Jordans. So Tread carefully**Lucas had stared at the screen for a moment longer than necessary with his rage building like a storm. A drive-by? On Bradley? The man was a senate candidate now, a public figure and would be protected. An attempt like this was clumsy, high-risk and would sp

  • 60. Drive-by ambush

    In the estate’s private gym of the Jordans, Leo Jordan was slamming his fist into the heavy punching bag, the impact echoing off the mirrored walls like a gunshot as Sweat dripped from his brow, mixing with the frustration that had been building for weeks. It was past midnight, the house silent above him and Victoria was fast asleep in her suite. He couldn't stand it anymore and was tired of waiting for the strategic patience Lucas and Victoria had preached. Bradley Turner was getting stronger by the day and more popular. His primary win in District 30 felt like a slap in his face and the city was already whispering of how Bradley had caused Leo's borough president failure last year with the leaks, the donor flips and the amplified meltdown. And now, Bradley's polls showed that he had strong potential of winning the general election. So Leo couldn't tame the anger any longer. Waiting for the go-ahead from Victoria and Lucas appeared to be a weakness therefore he had to act and toni

  • 59. Shadow alliance

    Since the primary was concluded and both Lucas and Bradley had won their nominations pending the general election, the political landscape of New York shifted into a tense standoff. Although they were running for different districts, Lucas in 28 and Bradley in 30, their campaigns were aimed squarely at each other with a proxy war between old money and rising redemption. Lucas's Jordan-backed machine churned ahead, while Bradley's underdog story gained traction in Queens. Yet in the Stevens-Jordan household, the victory felt hollow, shadowed by Bradley's improbable rise.Evelyn Stevens sat alone in the sunlit living room of the Upper East Side penthouse with a half-finished cup of tea cooling on the side table beside her. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of Central Park, but her eyes were unfocused, lost in the swirl of autumn leaves below. Bradley's rise threatened Lucas's campaign, it was a direct challenge, a ghost from her past now haunting her future. She had

  • 58. The primary grind

    As the days went by, Bradley continued his training, experimenting every possible scenario that he might face in coming days.One of the days, Bradley closed the simulation, the virtual debate stage faded from his vision like a dream dissolving at dawn. Sweat cooled on his forehead, the new study in the Forest Hills colonial was still smelling of fresh paint and unpacked boxes. He rubbed his eyes, trying to force sleep off. The new system's skills; Charisma Boost and Debate Mastery were now feeling like second nature after an hour of intense practice. Lucas's AI avatar had thrown everything at him ranging from smears on his Rikers past to jabs at ghost candidates to questions on Jordan ties. But Bradley had countered each time either precisely or persuasively as the boosts dimmed fit,amplifying his delivery to near perfection.He glanced at the clock and it was 12:45 a.m. Maya was asleep upstairs, her purple room was now a sanctuary of unicorns and normalcy. The relocation had been a

  • 57. New skills.

    As Alex left with a nod and a promise to coordinate the Queens endorsements, Bradley closed the door. the new house was settling around him with unfamiliar creaks. The Forest Hills colonial was an upgrade from the Astoria bungalow.Maya was still upstairs with Maria unpacking her unicorn collection in the purple-painted room, her laughter drifting down the stairs like a reminder that life was moving forward. The relocation had been smooth, Isaac's team handling the logistics while Elena Vargas handled the security sweep ensuring there were no bugs or tails. It was truly befitting his new status as a senate candidate and public figure.He walked back to the study, the room was already set up as his war room, desk with dual monitors, whiteboard scrawled with district maps and a secure laptop humming quietly. Maya’s drawing of him at a podium hung on the wall. It truly tells of a child’s colorful vision of his future. He sat down, rubbing his temples as the weight of the primary quest p

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