The city hadn't seen him in years.
Some whispered he was dead. Others swore he ruled the east docks from behind a dozen proxies. His name was a ghost in the streets, spoken only when the lights dimmed and knives came out.
Kade.
And now he was back.
**
Midnight — An Abandoned Theater
The old Marrow Theater sat empty for years. Dust-choked velvet curtains, shattered chandeliers, and fading echoes of a better time. Tonight, however, it breathed again.
A long table stretched across the stage. Men and women — the last of the city's surviving crime families — sat waiting. Nervous. Tense.
The double doors opened.
And Kade strolled in.
Tall. Sharp suit. Black gloves. A face carved by war and time, but eyes bright with cruel amusement.
"Gentlemen," he greeted smoothly. "And ladies. How very kind of you to accept my invitation."
No one spoke.
They didn't have to.
They all knew why they were here.
Graze.
He crossed to the table, setting a single playing card — the King of Hearts — at its center.
"Roman failed," Kade said, his voice silk wrapped around steel. "And in his failure, left a throne for the taking."
He smiled then, and it wasn't kind.
"I intend to take it."
A murmur rippled through the room.
One woman, bold and foolish, spoke. "Graze owns this city now."
Kade chuckled. "Michael Graze was always a soldier pretending to be a king. I've been building this for years. The time for kings is over."
He picked up the card.
"It's time for shadows to rule."
**
Back at Graze Tower
Michael stood over the city map in the war room, eyes scanning territory lines. Connor's old chair sat empty. Hazel perched on the edge of the table, watching him.
"You're restless," she noted.
"I don't like waiting for ghosts."
Hazel hesitated, then placed a hand over his.
"Then let's smoke him out."
Michael glanced up, something fierce in his gaze.
"You're serious?"
Hazel grinned. "You forget who you married?"
His mouth quirked. "The clumsy girl who fell into my arms and turned my world upside down."
She leaned in. "The same girl who killed Roman Crowe and took his crown."
Michael caught her face in his hand, kissing her hard. When he pulled back, his smirk was dangerous.
"Then let's hunt a ghost."
**
A Message from the Dead
The next morning, a box arrived at Graze Tower. No note. No name.
Just a black box with a blood-red ribbon.
Michael's gut twisted.
He opened it carefully.
Inside lay a necklace — delicate silver chain with a single charm. Hazel's mother's locket. The one she lost years ago when her family was attacked.
Hazel went pale when she saw it.
"Where did you…?"
Michael's expression darkened. "It wasn't me."
A folded card lay beneath the locket.
"Some things never stay buried, Hazel. — K"
Hazel's hand shook.
Michael's voice dropped to a deadly growl. "He's playing with us."
Hazel's jaw clenched. "Then let's make him bleed."....