For a week, there was peace.
The city settled like a beast lulled into sleep. No more gang wars, no backroom betrayals, no blood staining the sidewalks by dawn. Graze Tower felt less like a fortress and more like a home.
Michael took to pacing the penthouse like a man unlearning how to fight. Hazel spent long afternoons curled on the balcony with an old book and coffee, sunlight catching the new scar above her eyebrow. They spoke of everything and nothing.
But deep down, both knew peace was a fragile, temporary thing.
And someone was already sharpening a blade in the shadows.
Elsewhere — Unknown Location
In a dimly lit room beneath the city's oldest cathedral, a man in a black suit reviewed a list of names. His face was unreadable, but his eyes were cold.
"They're getting soft," he murmured.
A younger man beside him — pale, anxious — shifted nervously. "Graze won. Roman's dead. There's no one left to challenge them."
The man's lips curled into a smile that wasn't kind.
"Not yet."
He tapped the name at the top of the list.
Hazel Graze.
"Fetch her file. Every weakness, every sin, every secret. I want to know what makes the queen bleed."
The young man swallowed hard. "Yes, Mr. Kade."
Back at Graze Tower
Hazel woke to the sound of rain against the windows. She rolled over, expecting to find Michael still asleep — but his side of the bed was cold.
"Michael?"
No answer.
She grabbed her robe and padded into the living room.
Michael stood at the window, backlit by city lights and storm clouds. He was shirtless, a half-empty glass of whiskey in hand, his expression unreadable.
Hazel came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Couldn't sleep?"
He gave a quiet grunt. "Something feels off."
Hazel rested her chin against his shoulder. "We killed Roman. Took out The Widow. The city's quiet."
"That's what scares me."
Hazel's stomach twisted. She understood it now — peace wasn't safe. It was the silence before another war.
She pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. "Then we stay ready."
He caught her hand, brought it to his lips. "I'll protect you, Hazel."
"I know," she whispered. "But maybe… this time, we protect each other."
Two Days Later — The Letter
The message arrived in the oldest way possible: a sealed envelope slipped beneath the penthouse door.
Michael opened it with a flick of his knife.
Inside was a single playing card.
The King of Hearts.
On the back, written in elegant ink:
"Long live the new empire. See you soon, Hazel."
Michael's face hardened.
Hazel stared at the card, her blood running cold.
"Who the hell…?"
Michael's jaw clenched. "His name's Kade."
"Friend of Roman's?"
Michael shook his head. "Worse. He was the ghost we never found. The man who built the Crowe empire from the shadows. The one even Roman feared."
Hazel felt her stomach twist.
"And he knows my name."
Michael looked at her, every inch the storm she'd met months ago.
"This isn't over."
Hazel swallowed, her heart hammering.
"No," she agreed softly. "It's just beginning."....