The Sovereign’s Degree

The 100-story Mordrake Headquarters stood like an obsidian needle piercing the clouds of the city skyline. On the 83rd floor, the air was thin, cold, and smelled faintly of ozone and expensive leather. Behind a desk carved from a single slab of volcanic rock, Czar Alexander Mordrake sat as still as a predator in wait.

The Prime Minister of the Atlantic Union sat across from him, his forehead glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. He was a man who commanded armies, yet under Czar’s unwavering gaze, he felt like a moth pinned to a board. Czar didn't speak; he simply stared, his eyes boring into the politician’s soul with a terrifying, silent intensity.

Ten feet away, Rocco, Czar’s lethal left-hand man, stood like a statue, his hand resting near the holster concealed beneath his tailored jacket. He remained at the mandatory "safe distance," a boundary that had defined Czar’s life for thirty years.

"Tell the President," Czar finally spoke, his voice a calm, low vibration that seemed to rattle the windowpane, "that if he really wants to be heard, he knows how to reach me. Now, get out."

The Prime Minister didn't wait for a second invitation. He stood shakily, his knees nearly buckling, and bolted for the exit. He nearly collided with Silas, who was entering with a tablet clutched firmly in his hand.

"Boss," Silas called out, his footsteps echoing in the cavernous office.

Czar didn't look up from the darkened screen of his laptop. "Speak, Silas. What have you found?"

"I have completed the research on the woman from last night," Silas said, stepping into the light. He knew better than to mince words. "Her name is Seraphina Rossi. She is the illegitimate daughter of Harold Rossi and Clarissa Fairchild. Her mother was a mistress, a fact the Rossi family has used to bury them both. Clarissa is currently in a terminal coma at St. Jude’s; she’s scheduled to be evicted within the next forty-eight hours due to unpaid bills."

Czar’s fingers flexed on the desk, his jaw tightening.

"Seraphina is twenty-six," Silas continued. "She’s a rookie actress, but our data suggests Harold Rossi has personally blacklisted her from every major studio in the tri-state area. She’s been living in a tenement in the East District with two roommates."

Silas hesitated, his thumb hovering over the tablet screen.

"Speak, Silas," Czar commanded, his eyes finally snapping up to meet his investigator’s. The intensity in them was enough to make Silas take a half-step back.

"Boss... a rumor has been ignited across all social media platforms. It’s trending globally. The narrative is that Miss Rossi slept with a director named Marcus Thorne last night to secure a role. The Rossi family is already publicly 'distancing' themselves from her 'shameful behavior.'"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Czar stood up slowly, the sheer power of his presence filling the office. His eyes glinted with a cold, predatory anger.

"She was with me last night," Czar said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, silk-thin whisper. "That filth Thorne never laid a finger on her. He drugged her, and her family—the Rossi family—is using his cowardice to destroy the only miracle I have ever known."

He turned to the window, looking out over the empire he ruled, but his mind was on the woman who had survived his touch.

"Rocco," Czar barked.

"Yes, Boss?"

"Gather the entire tech division. I want every single trace of that rumor wiped from the internet. Every post, every tweet, every tabloid headline—I want them gone in the next hour. If a server refuses to comply, buy the company and shut it down."

Czar turned back to Silas, his plans clicking into place like the gears of a lethal machine. "Contact my lawyers. Have them draft a contract. Full medical coverage for Clarissa Fairchild, total debt forgiveness for Seraphina, and a marriage license. Silas, take a team. Bring Seraphina to me. I want her here, in this office, in two hours."

Rocco and Silas bowed their heads in unison. "Yes, Boss."

As they turned to leave, Czar’s voice stopped them at the door. It was no longer a command; it was a warning.

"And Silas? Not a word of this to my mother. If Helena finds out before the ink is dry, it won't just be the Rossi family I destroy today."

"Understood, Boss," they replied, their voices solemn.

The heavy doors clicked shut, leaving Czar alone in his obsidian tower. He looked at his hand—the hand that had touched her skin and didn't wither. He was done being a victim of his own blood. He was the Sovereign, and he was coming for his wife.

The obsidian silence of the office was broken only by the rhythmic hum of the building’s advanced filtration system. As the doors sealed shut behind Silas and Rocco, Czar turned his gaze back to the sprawling horizon. For thirty years, that glass had been his shield and his cage. Now, it felt like a thin veil he was ready to shatter.

"Two hours," he murmured to the empty room. "Two hours for your life to change, Seraphina."

In the sub-levels of the Mordrake Headquarters, the atmosphere shifted from corporate calm to wartime urgency. Silas walked into the Tech Command Center—a room filled with glowing blue monitors and the world’s most elite hackers.

"The Sovereign has issued a Red Directive," Silas announced, his voice echoing over the tapping of keys. "Target: The 'Rossi-Thorne' scandal. Every server, every backup, every cloud-stored image. I want a digital scorched-earth policy. If a news outlet won't pull the story, crash their site. If a social media bot is trending the hashtag, trace the source and bury it."

The lead technician looked up, eyes wide. "Sir, we’re talking about thousands of nodes. It’ll trigger every firewall from here to the capital."

"Then trigger them," Silas replied coldly. "The Boss isn't asking. He’s telling."

Within minutes, the internet began to "glitch." Tabloid articles that had been racking up thousands of views suddenly redirected to 404-error pages. Images of Seraphina leaving the Vault Club turned into static. It was a silent, surgical strike on the truth, executed with the precision of a ghost.

Rocco moved with a different kind of intensity. While Silas fought with code, Rocco fought with steel. He stepped into the elevator, checking his watch.

"Team Alpha, meet at the motorcade," he spoke into his lapel mic. "We’re going to the East District. Lower-tier housing. The target is Miss Seraphina Rossi. We are to secure her with absolute respect, but absolute authority. No one stops us—not the police, and especially not the Rossi family’s private security."

As the blacked-out SUVs roared out of the Mordrake basement, Rocco reviewed the file one last time. He saw the photos of the hospital bills, the blacklisting notices, and the leaked photos of the scandal. He caught a glimpse of Seraphina’s mother, Clarissa—a woman who looked like a faded version of the girl who had breached Czar’s sanctuary.

"You have no idea what’s coming for you, little Rossi," Rocco muttered as the sirens of the lead car began to wail, clearing a path through the afternoon traffic. "You went to sleep a pariah. You’re going to wake up a Queen."