Valemir's skyline yawned beneath the rising sun, golden light spilling across sleek towers and glass windows. The world outside buzzed to life—coffee carts, honking horns, high heels clacking against pavement. But inside the penthouse, time moved slower.
Elsa blinked awake, her eyes adjusting to the soft glow of dawn bleeding through floor-to-ceiling windows. For a moment, she forgot where she was. Then the warmth of a familiar presence pulled her back.
Chess.
He sat on the edge of the coffee table, one hand resting near hers, his black coat still dusted with night's breeze. His expression was unreadable, but there was something different in his eyes—less guarded, more... grounded.
"You stayed," she murmured.
"I did."
"No secret missions?"
"I made time."
A silence stretched, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
Elsa pulled herself upright and leaned her head against the couch cushions. "You know... for someone who's probably been trained to kill a man with a spoon, you're remarkably soft-spoken."
He quirked a brow. "Is that a complaint?"
"No. It's... oddly charming." She paused. "But I still don't know what you are, Chess. I've seen glimpses. A warrior. A strategist. A ghost."
"I'm all those things," he admitted. "And more. Or less. Depends on the day."
Elsa studied him. "You keep too much to yourself."
"I've kept people alive that way."
Her gaze softened. "Well... I don't want survival. I want truth."
Chess looked at her then, really looked. "Truth, huh?"
"Unfiltered. Even if it scares me."
His jaw flexed slightly. Then he stood, walking toward the window. "Truth is, Elsa... I didn't expect to care about anyone again. Not like this."
She stood too, joining him. "Too late."
"Yeah," he said, voice low. "Way too late."
Just as their hands brushed again, her phone buzzed violently on the coffee table. Elsa sighed and turned back.
"Jefferson Global emergency board session. CEO required immediately."
She groaned. "Why do emergencies always happen right after emotionally pivotal moments?"
Chess smirked. "Valemir's cursed like that."
"Care to escort me?" she asked as she slid into her heels.
Chess glanced toward his own comm. "Actually, I've got a few things to settle at Aeris Holdings. My CTO's been sniffing around things he shouldn't."
"Don't kill him," Elsa said with mock sternness.
"No promises."
Elaris Luxe – Two Hours Later
The boardroom of Elaris Luxe, sleek and glass-walled, buzzed with subtle tension. Elsa entered with a calm elegance that belied the fire under her skin.
A young executive, Kip Mandari—bold, charming, and secretly climbing the political ladder—stood near the main display screen, briefing a presentation. He smiled too wide as she approached.
"Ms. Jefferson," he greeted smoothly. "Glad you could join us. I've already begun—"
"I noticed," Elsa cut in, moving to the head of the table. "And I'll finish."
The presentation froze mid-slide. Kip's smile faltered.
"We've got an issue with the Aurora line," she continued, eyes scanning the reports. "There's a breach in product design—blueprints leaking to third-party manufacturers. Tell me, Kip, you were overseeing that channel, weren't you?"
A ripple of discomfort spread across the room.
Kip recovered with impressive speed. "Ms. Jefferson, if you're implying I had something to do with the breach—"
"I'm not implying," Elsa said coldly. "I'm asking if you were sleeping while someone sold us out."
Murmurs erupted around the table.
Kip's jaw clenched. "With respect, I—"
"With respect," Elsa interrupted, "I don't care for excuses. I want containment protocols in place by midnight. And a list of every employee with access to Aurora's internal cloud system."
"Yes... ma'am."
As Kip returned to his seat, Elsa gave him one last, razor-thin smile.
Play games with me again, Kip... I dare you.
Meanwhile – Aeris Holdings, South Tower
Chess leaned against the wall of the sleek tech lab, watching a holographic display shift through layers of Aeris Holdings' recent security breaches.
"I want this combed inside out," he said to Aiden Wu, his interim chief of tech security. "If anything remotely foreign sniffed our firewall, I want to know where it came from, who sent it, and why they had the gall."
Aiden hesitated. "There was something... off. Not an attack. More like a ping."
"A probe?"
"Something deeper. It traced back to old tech protocols. Buried under the central server."
Chess's expression darkened. "Run a dragon-trace. Pull out everything linked to VarnTech's last projects."
"Yes, sir."
As Aiden rushed off, Chess's eyes narrowed.
Old ghosts still linger.
Elsewhere – Shadows Move
A dimly lit chamber somewhere in the industrial district of Valemir. Kip Mandari entered quietly, brushing off dust from his coat.
A hooded figure sat waiting, sipping from a chipped mug.
"She's onto me," Kip said.
"She was always smart," the figure murmured. "But the question is... how much does she know?"
"Enough to make things uncomfortable."
The figure smiled. "Then make her uncomfortable in return."
"What about Chess Golding?"
A pause. Then a cold smile.
"Leave him to me."