Chapter 2 - THE GHOST AWAKENS
The first guard didn’t even see the strike.
Elias pivoted, his boot splashing through the freezing puddle as his palm struck the man’s throat. A sickening crunch echoed through the alley. The guard crumpled, his weapon clattering against the wet cobblestone.
The other three hesitated. That fraction of a second was all Elias needed.
He moved with a terrifying, mechanical fluidity. He grabbed the wrist of the second man, twisting it until a sharp snap rang out, using the man’s body as a shield just as the third guard drew his firearm.
A single shot went wide, shattering a nearby window.
Elias kicked the knee of the man he held, sending him crashing into the shooter. Before the fourth man could even unholster his blade, Elias closed the distance. A quick, brutal strike to the solar plexus left the man gasping for air on the muddy ground.
In less than ten seconds, four elite enforcers lay incapacitated in the rain.
Nathan staggered backward. The billionaire’s tailored cashmere coat was now splattered with mud and his own men’s blood. The arrogant smirk was gone, replaced by raw, unadulterated terror.
He realized now that the rumors were true. The Ghost wasn’t a myth. He was standing right in front of him.
“You can’t hide her forever,” Nathan spat, his voice trembling as he backed toward the idling town cars. “I own the police. I own the ports. You’re a dead man.”
Elias didn’t reply. He didn’t chase the billionaire. He simply stepped back, placing his body firmly between Nathan’s retreating vehicles and the shivering little girl behind him.
When the taillights faded into the stormy night, Elias turned. Elara was staring at the fallen men, her small chest heaving. She wasn’t crying. Her shock had paralyzed her tears.
“Are you hurt?” Elias asked, his voice softening instantly.
She shook her head slowly, clutching the torn leather ledger tighter against her chest.
“We have to move. He’ll send more, and they won’t underestimate me next time.” Elias shrugged off his heavy, dry inner jacket and wrapped it around her tiny shoulders. It swallowed her whole, but it stopped her shivering.
He led her through the labyrinth of back alleys, navigating by memory toward a safehouse he hadn’t used in five years. As they walked, Elias glanced at the worn ledger in her hands. He knew it held the financial records of Nathan’s hostile takeover of her father’s company.
But as they stepped under the flickering light of a streetlamp, Elara tripped. The ledger slipped from her grasp, splashing into a shallow puddle.
Elias knelt quickly to retrieve it. As he wiped the dirty water from the cover, the binding separated slightly. A piece of folded, heavy-stock paper slipped out and fluttered to the ground.
Elias picked it up. It wasn’t a financial record.
It was a photograph.
It showed two men, standing shoulder to shoulder in military fatigues. One was Elara’s father, smiling brightly.
The other was Elias.
Elara peered over his arm, her small finger pointing to the back of the photo. Written in faded ink were three words.
To keep him safe.
Elias felt the air leave his lungs. He hadn’t seen Elara’s father in a decade. He thought his past was buried. But as he turned the photograph over again, he noticed something he had missed. A small, red wax seal in the corner of the picture. The mark of the syndicate he used to kill for.
“Who are those men?” Elara whispered, looking up at him.
May you like
“I don’t know yet,” Elias lied, his voice tight. “But we’re going to find out.”
He opened the ledger to the first page. The list of names didn’t start with investors. It started with targets. And Elias’s real name was at the very top.
