Back at their mansion, the atmosphere was charged with a mix of anticipation and tension.


    Natalia had gathered everyone in the main strategy room, a space now filled with maps, tactical ns, and an air of focused determination.


    The final coven of the Silent Hand, the ckthorne coven, was their next target, and this meeting was crucial for the sess of their mission.


    Natalia stood at the head of the table, her presencemanding and authoritative.


    Ezra, Olivia, and Gen were seated around the table, their attention fully on Natalia. She nced at each of them, ensuring she had their focus before she began.


    "We''re down to thest coven in the Silent Hand," Natalia started, her voice clear and steady. "The ckthorne coven."


    "This is our final major hurdle, and we must capture them alive and hand them over to Griffin."


    Ezra leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "Why alive? We kept the Maguire coven alive too. Why ckthorne again?"


    "That''s none of your business." Natalia answered pointedly.


    "Wouldn''t it be easier to just eliminate them?" Gen asked.


    Natalia shook her head. "Griffin''s orders are specific. He wants them alive. The why isn''t for us to think about. All we have to do is follow orders."


    "Yes. Killing them would be simpler, but that isn''t our objective nor should it be. Griffin''s orders are to keep them alive."


    Ezra twirled the pen in his hand. "Well, at least it''s easier to keep a dismembered vampire alive."


    Natalia nodded to him. "Our approach must be precise and calcted. The ckthorne coven is well-fortified and prepared for an attack. We need to incapacitate them without striking fatal blows."


    Gen, ever the warrior, cracked her knuckles. "What''s the n?"


    Natalia pointed to arge map spread out on the table, detailing theyout of the ckthorne coven''s stronghold.


    "Unlike the Maguire coven, their base is heavily guarded, withyers of human security. This is so they can im a breach of the Law of Secrecy if the opportunity presents itself."


    "There are security cameras everywhere, ready to catch any evidence of vampire activity, so this would be much harder than fighting the Maguire coven."


    "We''ll need to divide into teams. One team will create a diversion at the main entrance, drawing their forces away. The second team will infiltrate from the rear and take them by surprise."


    Ezra studied the map, his mind already forming strategies. "I''ll lead the infiltration team. Olivia will be with us" He turned to her. "You''ll be using your song to keep them from teleporting away, just like with the Maguire coven."


    Olivia nodded in agreement. "Understood. I''ll make sure they can''t escape."


    Gen grinned, her eyes glinting with excitement. "And I''ll be with Natalia in the diversion team. We''ll have to do something big to pull their guards away, but we''ll be ready to join the main assault once they''re distracted."


    Natalia looked at them, her confidence in their abilities clear. "We''ll need to move quickly and decisively. Timing is critical. Once we have them incapacitated, we''ll secure them and contact Griffin for extraction."


    Ezra met her gaze, his voice firm. "And if things go sideways?"


    "We adapt," Natalia replied without hesitation. "But our primary goal is to capture, not kill. We need to stay focused and execute the n."


    Gen grinned at them. "Let me be in charge of the distraction. What should I do? A big explosion? A truck ramming into the doors at full speed?"


    "A truck?" Ezra stared at her, horrified. "What if it hits an unlucky soldier and he gets sent into another world?"


    Gen stared at him "What the fuck are you talking about? Truck hits man? That''s death. Instant death."


    "You dare disrespect truck-kun?" Ezra leaned forward.


    Olivia sighed. "When will you stop watching those cartoons?"


    "Cartoons?" Ezra choked. "CARTOONS?! You take that back!"


    Natalia watched, confused, as the women shook their head and left the room one after the other, leaving Ezra ranting about trucks and isekais.


    **


    Ezra sat in his office, the soft glow of his deskmp casting long shadows across the room.


    Stacks of documents and reports cluttered his desk, each one a reminder of the responsibilities he managed as the CEO of Ascendant Capital.


    He rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on him. It was hard to always be cautious in his own home.


    Yet, there was no rest for him.


    The stakes were too high, and the yers in their dangerous game were too many. Griffin, Helena, X, the Silent Hand, the Arbiter and now, his new ally.


    He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, his mind drifting back to the recent meeting with Lady Amara.


    The deal they struck would hopefully provide some much-needed leverage against both Griffin and Helena.


    With the final strike of the Silent Hand nned, that problem would soon be gone. He sighed.


    He''d traded one enemy for two. If not for the Silent Hand, he wouldn''t be this involved with Griffin or Helena.


    As his thoughts wandered, the air in the room suddenly grew cold, and a familiar, unsettling presence materialized before him.


    Ezra''s eyes snapped open to see X standing there, his masked face shadowed and his posture tense.


    The intrusion was abrupt but not entirely unexpected.


    Ezra didn''t know he could but he had grown ustomed to X''s unpredictable appearances, each one filled with some form of urgency or madness.


    "X," Ezra greeted, his voice calm but edged with longsuffering. "What now?"


    X took a deep breath, his mask giving nothing away, as always. "Ezra, Ezra, Ezra."


    "Just go straight to the point." Ezra sighed. "What is it?"


    "Haven''t you wondered?" X adopted a thinking pose. "Why does Griffin want all the members of Silent Hand captured alive?"


    "Of course I do wonder." Ezra rolled his eyes. "Not like I could just go to the man himself and ask him."


    "Problem solved." X cried grandly, raising a fist into the air. "I''m here to help!"


    "So, you do know why." Ezra''s interest piqued, he leaned forward. "Go on."


    X nced around, as if checking for unseen listeners, before stepping closer. "The ckthorne coven knows the location of the Ascension Well and Griffin wants that information for himself."