Chapter 7 - The Blood Bargain
Eleanor's mother looked at Cole with eyes as cold and calculating as a winter storm.
She smoothly ordered her heavily armed guards to lower their tactical weapons.
Cole realized Eleanor's entire supposed working-class background was a carefully constructed lie.
Her family had not just been loyal drivers; they were royalty in the shadows of the city.
The Architect offered Cole a very simple but incredibly dangerous proposition.
She would give him an army of untraceable ghosts to completely wipe out Grant and his mercenaries.
She would help Cole permanently secure his bleeding empire before the morning sun rose.
In exchange, Cole had to legally marry Eleanor and merge their two massive criminal organizations.
Cole looked at his former secretary, seeing the lethal, brilliant queen she truly was.
He realized he didn't just want her for the alliance, he wanted her because she was his absolute equal.
He agreed to the blood bargain without a single moment of hesitation.
Eleanor nodded sharply, immediately pulling up the tactical blueprints of the Mercer tower.
They spent the next hour planning a flawless, utterly devastating siege to reclaim his throne.
Cole's encrypted phone suddenly buzzed violently on the metal war table.
It was an incoming video call from his treacherous cousin.
Cole answered the call, fully prepared to threaten Grant with absolute annihilation.
May you like
Grant smiled wickedly through the screen, holding a bloody knife to the throat of a young girl.
The young girl was Cole's secret, supposedly hidden six-year-old daughter.
