At the center of the room was a long table.
Seated around it were the ones who had ruled from the shadows for centuries.
The Council.
No one knew their real names.
No one knew their origins.
But everyone knew their power.
These were the men and women who controlled global banks, oil empires, military-industrial complexes, and intelligence agencies.
And now, two new seats had been prepared.
One for Anastasia Raventhorn Vasiliev.
One for Vincent Blackwood.
A Silent War Begins
The meeting was not an introduction.
It was a test.
The moment Anastasia and Vincent took their seats, the real game began.
A man with cold blue eyes leaned forward.
"You're both young," he said. "And yet, here you are. I have to wonder—do you truly belong at this table?"
A woman with silver hair smirked. "Or are you simply the latest entertainment for us?"
Anastasia smiled, leaning back in her chair.
"If we don't belong here," she said, "then why did you invite us?"
Vincent didn't even spare them a glance.
Instead, he calmly adjusted his cufflinks.
"You invited us because you're afraid," he said. "And fear, in our world, means one thing—"
His green eyes met the man's cold blue ones.
"You're already losing."
Silence fell over the room.
And in that moment, the first shot of the war had been fired.
Anastasia and Vincent were no longer guests.
They were threats.
And now, the true battle for control had begun.