"I know their game," Aylin continued. "I get how they encrypt stuff. This is clearly Ghost Net’s signature."

Leo crossed his arms, glancing back and forth between Aylin and Zayden. "But why does Azalea want to meet with Lunel and Hazard King? What’s she after?"

Liam chimed in, "She probably wants to talk about Alpha Dark. Maybe she’s looking to team up with Lunel and Hazard King to take him down together."

Aylin frowned. "But I thought I was already part of Ghost Net. At least, that’s what I believed."

Reyes straightened up. "That was back then, Aylin. You haven’t reached out to Ghost Net since you moved here. Remember, you were working with Black Panther, not Ghost Net directly. What did Black tell you?"

Aylin’s eyes went wide. "Wait, oh my God. Yeah, you’re right. I thought that job was from Ghost Net because the server belonged to them, but it turns out Black Panther was the one sending me the gigs. Wow, I completely forgot about that."

"Exactly," Reyes said. "So, Azalea might not have realized you were Lunel back then. She’s only finding that out now."

Liam glanced at his phone again. "And she said she knows Aylin is Lunel and that Lunel works with HK. That’s some pretty specific info. I gave her that; like I told you all before, I used to work for her."

Leo suddenly smirked. "But here’s the twist: Azalea doesn’t know we know. She sent us this message, thinking she was flying under the radar, thinking we had no idea who she is. But we know she’s Ghost Net."

Zayden leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Let’s play her game."

Everyone turned to him.

"She wants to meet Hazard King?" Zayden went on. "Cool. Hazard King will meet her, but on his terms, not hers."

Aylin got it right away and gave a slight smile. "Take control of the situation."

"Exactly," Zayden agreed. "If we pick the spot, the timing, and the rules, we keep the upper hand."

Liam nodded slowly. "And if she actually has information about Alpha that we can use, we want to hear it. I know she has connections; last I heard, she’s linked to someone on the Alpha team."

Reyes spoke up, "What about the photo? Someone was actually following Aylin. That means they were on the ground, not just watching digitally."

"Airport security footage," Leo suggested. "Or someone who was really there."

"Azalea has resources," Zayden said. "She could’ve had people watching the airport, waiting for anyone who looked like Aylin."

"That’s a lot of effort," Liam noted.

"Which means Alpha Dark is really important to her," Aylin pointed out quietly. "Like, personal."

Zayden stood up and went behind Aylin’s chair, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Aylin, sweetheart, type a message."

She looked up at him, then nodded and moved to the laptop linked to the encrypted server.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. "What should I say?"

"Keep it short," Zayden directed. "Make it clear that Hazard King is in charge."

Leo leaned over her shoulder. "Add something about the threat. Make her realize that threatening Lunel was a mistake."

"But don’t be too aggressive," Liam warned. "We still need her to actually show up."

"Hazard King doesn’t like threats against his people," Reyes added. "But he’s willing to listen if it’s worth it. Make that clear."

Aylin typed, deleted, and rewrote the message a few times. Finally, she leaned back.

"Read it back to us," Zayden said.

She read it aloud, and everyone listened closely. Leo grinned, Liam nodded, and Reyes looked satisfied.

"Perfect," Zayden said. "Hit send."

Aylin clicked "send." The message vanished into the encrypted space.

"Now we wait," she said.

Zayden squeezed her shoulder. "And get ready. If we’re meeting Azalea, we do it right, full security and escape plans."

"I’ll start planning," Reyes said.

"She’ll respond fast," Aylin noted. "Ghost Net is always watching. I’d say within the hour."

Zayden’s hand stayed on Aylin’s shoulder. She reached up and covered it with her own.

Whatever was coming, they would face it together.

*****

Across the city, Azalea Cole Virelli was hitting it hard in her penthouse gym. The music was blasting as her fists pounded the heavy bag in a solid rhythm: jab, cross, hook. Jab, cross, hook. Sweat was pouring down her face, but she didn’t give a damn.

She’d sent that message eighteen hours ago.

And nothing.

Part of her expected that, though. Hazard King and Lunel were super careful—almost too careful, really. They’d take their time to check out any threats, make sure everything was legit, and then think about replying.

But man, the waiting was driving her insane.

Azalea threw a hard punch, and the bag swung wildly.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed from the bench across the room.

She froze mid-punch.

Her laptop was upstairs, connected to the Ghost Net server, but she had alerts set up on her phone. If anyone replied to that specific encrypted channel, she’d know right away.

Azalea walked over slowly, peeling off her gloves. Her hands were shaking a bit, whether from the workout or the anticipation, she wasn’t sure.

She grabbed her phone.

One new notification.

Encrypted message received.

Her heart started racing harder than it had during her whole workout.

She didn’t exactly sprint upstairs, but it was close.

Her laptop was sitting on the desk in her study, exactly where she’d left it after giving up on staring at the screen and opting to blow off steam through exercise instead.

Azalea dropped into the chair and pulled up the Ghost Net server, her fingers still a little shaky.

One new message.

From: Hazard King

She clicked it open.

Read.

Then read it again.

A slow, fierce smile spread across her face.

"Deal," she whispered to the empty room. "We’ll meet—but on your terms."

The message from Hazard King was direct and calm, just what she’d expected from the most dangerous guy in the underworld. Little did she know... the most dangerous man in the underworld was her own brother.