The office buzzed with a tension that hadn't been there before. Kian's arrival had shifted something unseen but deeply felt. Everyone tried to act normal, but their eyes occasionally darted to Laga, who sat calmly, mask perfectly in place.
After the meeting, Mara pulled Laga into a quiet corner of the building's rooftop garden. The city stretched beneath them—lights flickering like stars on earth.
"Kian's one of your strongest," Mara said softly, glancing at him. "His influence spans half the country and beyond. But no one knows he follows you."
Laga nodded slowly. "He's loyal. Just like the others." He paused, then added quietly, "Yet each only knows part of me. I never want all of me to be known."
Mara smiled, a little sadly. "That's why you remain Sanda to the world—a fighter, a master who leads from the shadows."
Laga's mind drifted briefly to his past, to the years as a general at the border, the battles that shaped him, and the countless disciples he trained in secret. Each had risen to power, becoming legends in their own right—heads of great companies, feared and respected.
But none had ever met the full Laga. Not Mara, not Kian, not even his own family.
He loved that cloak of mystery. It protected him. And it gave him control.
"Do you think they're ready?" Mara asked.
"For what?" Laga responded, already guessing the answer.
"The fight that's coming. The truth behind the competition. The secrets that will shake everything."
He looked out again, the city's calm surface hiding the turmoil beneath.
"Ready or not," he said slowly, "the world will learn. But on my terms."
---
Back inside the company, whispers floated through the corridors. Some employees talked about Kian's visit. Others speculated on who Laga really was.
But Mara kept quiet. Her loyalty was fierce and absolute.
In the days that followed, Laga threw himself into work, but his mind was elsewhere. The divorce papers still lay untouched on his desk—a silent reminder of how little those closest to him really knew.
He thought of the old man and the promise made: marriage to the granddaughter. A bond forged not by love, but necessity. And still, she did not know who he truly was.
Laga's life was a web of hidden truths, each thread carefully woven to hide the strongest man behind layers of ordinary.
But webs can be broken.
---
Late one evening, as the city slept, Laga received a call from an unknown number. He answered immediately.
"Laga," the voice whispered, "your past is catching up."
No more words. Just silence.
He hung up, heart pounding.
He knew what that meant.
The shadows of his past were moving closer.