VEIL OF DESTINY :THE HIDDEN HEIR ASSERT

The burning shipping yard cast eerie shadows across the bloodstained ground. The gunfire had died down, but the scent of smoke and betrayal still lingered in the air.

Ochieng stood over Khalid's trembling form, his boot pressing against the traitor's chest. Blood trickled from Khalid's mouth as he coughed, his eyes flickering with desperation.

"O-Ochieng… it wasn't my choice… they forced me—"

Ochieng's expression was ice. "You knew what I do to traitors."

Khalid's fingers twitched as he tried to reach for the gun lying inches away.

Bang.

Ochieng fired a single shot into Khalid's hand, shattering the bones. A scream tore through the air.

"You don't get to make excuses." Ochieng crouched, his voice calm but laced with a deadly promise. "Who gave the order?"

Khalid hesitated, but one look at Ochieng's cold stare shattered his resolve.

"Lucian… Veronica… they planned everything… but there's more. There's someone else… someone above them."

Ochieng's eyes darkened. "Who?"

Khalid coughed again, a bitter smile forming on his lips. "You'll find out soon enough… but you won't like the answer."

Ochieng sighed. "Wrong answer."

A gunshot echoed through the night. Khalid slumped lifelessly to the ground.

"Let's go," Ochieng said, turning to his team. "The real game is just beginning."

---

Far away, in a luxurious penthouse, a man watched the scene through security footage.

He swirled a glass of wine in his hand, his face hidden in the shadows.

"He's as ruthless as they say," he murmured.

A woman in a red dress sat across from him, her lips curling into a smile. "But he still doesn't know who he's really up against."

The man chuckled. "Let's keep it that way… for now."

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