VEIL OF DESTINY :THE HIDDEN HEIR ASSERT

The city was alive with whispers. The underworld had felt the tremor of Khalid's execution, but Ochieng knew this was just the surface of a much deeper abyss. He had cut off a limb, but the body remained. And worse—there was a mind controlling everything from the shadows.

Inside a private lounge of one of his hidden estates, Ochieng sat in silence, his fingers drumming against the polished oak table. Magdalene, Tielen, and Ronan stood nearby, each of them tense.

"Lucian and Veronica aren't the real threat," Tielen broke the silence. "Someone else is moving the pieces."

Ochieng exhaled slowly. "Then we find out who."

A soft chime interrupted them. Ronan pulled out his phone, eyes narrowing. "We have a visitor."

Ochieng's gaze sharpened. "Who?"

Ronan hesitated. "You're not going to like this."

---

The last person Ochieng expected to see stood in the dimly lit corridor.

Samantha.

His first love. His biggest regret. The woman who had walked away when he had nothing.

She looked the same—elegant, poised, beautiful in that effortless way that once made his heart race. But her eyes held something new. Fear.

"Ochieng," she whispered. "They're coming for you."

Ochieng leaned back, his expression unreadable. "Who?"

Samantha hesitated, glancing over her shoulder as if she expected someone to emerge from the shadows. "The real power behind Lucian and Veronica… the one who's been waiting for the right moment to strike."

Ochieng tilted his head. "And why are you telling me this?"

She swallowed hard. "Because if they succeed, I'll be next."

For the first time in years, Ochieng saw something in Samantha's eyes that had never been there before.

Desperation.

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