1. DeathCall
987 Words
Kai Daenerys was nine hundred and eighty-seven years old, and he had never been ordinary.
Time had changed the world around him but had left him untouched. His body was tall and lean, built with precision rather than excess. His shoulders were broad beneath his tailored suit, his movements measured and quiet. His face held sharp lines that never softened with age. Dark hair, worn back neatly. Skin smooth and unmarked. No scars. No signs of weakness.
People assumed he was in his late thirties. They were always wrong.
What unsettled them were his eyes.
They were dark, steady, and unblinking. When Kai looked at someone, he did not glance or scan. He focused. His gaze held weight. Men who had negotiated wars found themselves choosing words carefully around him. Liars felt exposed. Confident people faltered.
Kai sat at the head of a long conference table on the top floor of a private building in Manhattan. The room was sealed, guarded, and soundproofed. Twelve men surrounded him. All powerful. All wealthy. All convinced they were safe.
Kai held a glass of red wine loosely between his fingers. He did not drink it. He rarely drank wine for pleasure. Tonight it was a habit. Something to do with his hands.
A man to his right spoke. “The merger will give us complete control of the shipping routes by next year.”
Lucien rotated the glass slowly.
Another man nodded. “Once we move capital offshore, regulators won’t touch us.”
Kai said nothing.
They continued anyway. They always did. People mistook silence for permission.
“Mr. Vale,” one of them said carefully, “your role will remain advisory, of course. Your stake is substantial, but—”
Kai lifted his eyes.
The man stopped speaking.
“You misunderstand your position,” Kai said. His voice was calm, low, controlled. “I do not advise. I decide.”
A few men shifted in their chairs.
One laughed softly. “Let’s not pretend this isn’t a partnership.”
Kai studied him. He saw the man’s thoughts clearly. Fear under confidence. Greed under charm. Plans already forming.
“You planned to move the funds without me,” Kai said.
The man stiffened. “That’s not true.”
“You discussed it last Thursday,” Kai replied. “Private office. Your assistant recorded the call. You said I was ‘old money’ and easy to replace.”
The room went silent.
“That’s impossible,” the man said. “You weren’t there.”
Kai leaned back slightly. “You are correct. I wasn’t.”
The man’s breathing changed.
Kai turned his attention to another. “You planned to leak the deal to the press. You thought panic would lower my valuation.”
The man shook his head. “No.”
Kai looked at a third. “You hired security tonight because you suspected I would find out.”
Sweat appeared along the man’s hairline.
Kai set the wine glass down.
“I gave you opportunities,” he said. “You chose betrayal.”
One of them stood abruptly. “This is ridiculous. We’re done here.”
Kai did not move.
The man took one step back and froze. His body locked in place. His eyes widened in terror.
Kai stood.
The air in the room shifted. Not in temperature. In pressure. Several men struggled to breathe.
Kai walked toward the man who had tried to leave.
“Sit,” Kai said.
The man dropped back into his chair, shaking.
Kai turned his gaze fully on him.
The man screamed.
Blood poured from his nose and ears as he clutched his head. His body convulsed once, then went still.
Panic exploded across the room.
Chairs fell. Men shouted. One reached for a gun beneath his jacket.
Kai moved faster than sight.
The gun was in Kai’s hand before the man realized it was gone. Kai fired once, point-blank. The man collapsed.
Another tried to run. Jai grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the floor. Bones snapped under his grip. He dropped the body without looking back.
Two men begged. One prayed. One offered money.
Kai ignored them.
He moved with precision. No wasted effort. No anger. Just completion.
Within minutes, the room was quiet.
Kai adjusted his cufflinks. Straightened his jacket. He glanced once at the bodies, then back to the table.
The wine glass remained untouched.
Kai picked it up, considered it, then set dropped it on the floor making a crashing sound “oops! Someone needs to clean this up”.
He walked out.
The hallway lights brightened automatically. Cameras shut off as he passed. No alarms sounded. The building obeyed him.
The elevator doors opened. He stepped inside alone.
His car waited below. Black. Discreet. Engine running.
Kai slid into the back seat.
“Home,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” the driver replied.
The city passed outside the window. Kai’s thoughts were already elsewhere. The meeting bored him. The deaths meant nothing.
Thirty years ago, someone he cared about had died.
That still mattered.
His phone rang.
Kai looked at the screen and answered.
“Yes, Mother,” he said.
“You promised restraint, Kaiden Valedinate”her voice said sharply.
“They broke the agreement,” Lucien replied. “I responded.”
“You killed them.”
“They were temporary.”
Silence filled the phone.
Then she spoke again. “She has returned.”
Kai’s eyes narrowed.
“Say it clearly,” he said.
“The soul,” his mother said. “Reborn into the same bloodline.”
Kai closed his eyes briefly.
“Where,” he asked.
“She doesn’t know who she is yet,” his mother said. “And Kaiden—this time, she is not gentle.”
Kai opened his eyes.
“Good,” he said. “Neither am I.”
The car continued toward home.
- Writer
