The car moved through the dimly lit streets of Emerald City, its tires humming softly against the pavement. The skyscrapers loomed above like silent watchers, their glass windows reflecting the neon lights that flickered from the depths of the underworld.
Ochieng sat in the back seat, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery, but his mind was elsewhere. Magdalene's words echoed in his head.
"Your past."
He had buried it. He had sealed it away with iron chains and left it to rot in the darkest corners of his mind.
Yet, it had found him.
Magdalene drove in silence, her fingers gripping the wheel with practiced ease. She was always like this—calm, controlled, unreadable. But tonight, even she seemed unsettled.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she spoke.
"Are you ready for this?"
Ochieng didn't answer immediately.
Ready?
Was anyone ever ready to face the ghosts of their past?
He exhaled slowly. "Drive."
The car pulled into an old district—one untouched by the city's modernization. Narrow streets lined with aging buildings, their walls cracked with time. A place forgotten by the world.
But not by him.
As they stopped in front of a rusted iron gate, Magdalene glanced at him. "He's inside."
Ochieng stepped out. His boots crunched against the gravel, and with each step, something inside him tightened.
The past wasn't a place. It was a scar.
And he was about to rip it open.
---
The door creaked as Ochieng pushed it open.
The air inside was stale, thick with dust and something else—something heavier.
He stepped inside, his sharp eyes scanning the dimly lit room. Old wooden furniture, a shattered mirror hanging loosely from the wall, and in the center of it all…
A man.
Seated in a worn-out chair, his posture relaxed but his presence anything but.
The man looked up, and Ochieng's breath caught.
He wasn't just any man.
He was Nathaniel Kain.
The former king of the underworld.
The man who had once held the city's entire criminal empire in his palm.
The man who had betrayed Ochieng.
And the man who had once called him brother.
Nathaniel smirked, his sharp features untouched by time. "It's been a while."
Ochieng's jaw tightened. "Not long enough."
Nathaniel chuckled. "Still holding grudges, I see."
Ochieng stepped forward, his voice like ice. "You put a knife in my back. You sold me out. You left me for dead."
Nathaniel leaned back, unbothered. "And yet, here you are. Alive. Stronger than ever. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"
Ochieng's fingers twitched. He could kill him. Right now. No hesitation.
But no—Nathaniel was too smart to call him here just to die.
Ochieng narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"
Nathaniel's smirk faded, replaced by something far more dangerous. "War is coming, Ochieng."
Silence.
A war.
Ochieng had spent years climbing out of the pit Nathaniel had thrown him into. He had built power, connections, and respect.
And now, the world wanted to drag him back into the darkness.
"Who?" he asked.
Nathaniel's expression turned cold. "The Seven Titans. The old families. The syndicates. The entire underworld is shifting. And they want you out of the picture."
Ochieng exhaled through his nose. "Let them try."
Nathaniel shook his head. "You don't get it. This isn't just about business. They found out, Ochieng."
Ochieng's eyes flickered with warning. "Found out what?"
Nathaniel leaned forward, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Your real identity."
The world seemed to stop.
Nathaniel held his gaze. "You think you've hidden it well, but the past always finds its way back."
Ochieng's hands curled into fists. "Then I'll burn it down."
Nathaniel smirked. "Good. Because they're already coming for you."
Ochieng turned on his heel. Enough talking.
If war was coming…
Then he would meet it head-on.
---
Outside, Magdalene watched as Ochieng stepped back into the car, his expression unreadable.
She didn't ask. She didn't need to.
Because she already knew.
The world had just declared war on Ochieng.
And Ochieng?
He was about to remind them why they should have left him buried.
---