Chapter 13 - The Ghost in the Machine and the Shadow of the Volkovs
The victory over the Coles had left a vacuum in the city’s underworld,
and a vacuum in this city was always filled by something worse.
I was sitting in the library of the Moretti estate,
surrounded by the scent of old paper and dust,
when the first warning arrived.
A single black envelope was left on the mahogany desk,
the seal a crest I hadn't seen in years.
A wolf’s head,
dripping with blood.
The Volkovs.
They were a Russian syndicate that had once been the Morettis' greatest rivals,
a family that made my brothers look like choirboys.
I opened the envelope and found a single photo inside.
It was a photo of me,
taken through a long-range lens,
as I was walking into the courthouse.
There was a red 'X' marked over my heart.
"Dominic!"
I shouted,
my voice echoing through the vast house.
My brothers arrived within seconds,
their weapons drawn,
their faces tight with the expectation of an attack.
I showed them the photo.
"They're coming for me,"
I said,
my voice remarkably calm.
"The Volkovs think the Moretti bloodline is weak because of what happened with Adrian."
Dominic took the photo,
his jaw tightening until the muscle ticked.
"They think you’re a liability,
Elena,"
he said.
"They think we’re distracted by your...
situation."
"Then let's show them how distracted we are,"
I said,
standing up.
"I want to handle this."
"No,"
Matteo said,
stepping forward.
"This is a war of soldiers,
Elena.
Not a war of words."
"I am a soldier,"
I countered,
pulling a small,
concealed pistol from my waistband—one that Nico had taught me to use in secret over the last few days.
"I’ve already survived the worst man this city had to offer.
I’m not afraid of a few Russians."
"They aren't 'a few Russians,'
Elena,"
Gabriel said,
his fingers flying across a tablet as he pulled up intelligence reports.
"The Volkovs have been waiting for the Coles to fall.
They wanted the construction contracts too.
By taking them,
we’ve declared war on their primary source of income."
"Then we finish the war,"
I said.
"I want to meet them."
The room went silent.
Meeting a Volkov was like meeting the devil in a dark alley.
"I’ll go as the head of the Cole assets,"
I explained.
"I’ll offer them a 'peace treaty'—a chance to buy back the contracts at a premium.
It’ll be a trap."
Dominic looked at me,
a slow,
predatory smile spreading across his face.
For the first time since the night of the party,
I saw a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
"The Queen’s Gambit,"
he whispered.
"Alright,
Elena.
We do it your way."
We spent the next forty-eight hours preparing.
Nico mapped out the meeting location—an abandoned shipyard on the edge of the river.
Luca prepared the legal documents that would serve as our lure.
Matteo and Gabriel organized the tactical teams that would be hidden in the shipping containers.
And I...
I practiced my aim.
May you like
The woman who had been whipped was gone.
The woman who was left was something else entirely.
