te was t

n's instincts crawl. A silence born not of calm but o

gunfire had shattered the air two nights ago. The blo

wound

ay the first shot cracked the silence. The direction it came

bullet mark etched in

re...and avoided them. He'd known how long it would take Killian to react, where the g

al. Professio

t, and walked bac

oom – Lowe

rewinding footage for the hundredth time

hing

imeter either disabled the back-end feed or had inside he

led a chair

o over i

hed but cl

is glitch? It's barely noticeable. A 3.7-second delay. Same time

leaned

. Zoom in. South

ien

ker in the shadows. A reflection too s

's using tactic

d an eyebrow

one in this house uses mili

ing. Planning. They knew the layout

Office – P

lian reviewed the rotation sheets of the estate guards. Checked all inco

r perimeter that night. Three called in sick. On

oinci

mes: Rico Castano

ugh to carry sidearms. Not trusted enou

ipment delivery from the back gate the night of

"Lucien. I need Castano and

n't hesita

r n

tion Room

sweated throu

ark than bite. He'd always been the type to l

. Until Killian droppe

You approved a delivery from 'Armadex Supplies.' Except

was on the manifest,

" Killian said coldl

. Delgado said the Don approved it. Swore up and dow

do sai

the back gate that night. Said the Don didn't

for a moment, then

. No one talks to h

d. "What abo

s ne

s Office

s nowhere t

His car was abandoned three blocks f

, where even the hangers were gone.

ucien said

"No. He was taken. Either

"You think thi

ed slowly. "

with Marco D'A

sed to be woken u

in his robe, swirling dark espresso in a sma

, the altered delivery manifest, Rico's

stened i

" he asked at last. "That

ur men has already be

"And Sienna? What if t

at's why I'm not sleeping until I find out

for a moment.

. Shake trees. Burn down every sh

is gaze

you don't f

uarters – L

ootage, cross-referenced lists of al

n, Enzo Milan. Recently promoted to kitchen st

ed the bridge

reach. Someone had infiltrated multiple layers of th

t of entry, someone else wa

in months. It contained a list of ex-military personnel that had defected

e stood

r Sok

s ago. Rumored to be working private contracts for cartel f

l swept Kil

never

hts ago... It wasn't a warning. It

he Estate

h the full moon, pho

o the family's old alliance

was a

oes back to one o

e with history

en Marco's voice

n that list I ever regre

ho

e was gravel

s. The Butcher o

s eyes n

he die i

ristian Revas, took over. Quietly. He was ten years

photo on his phone. A grainy sh

he

Cristian Revas in the p

aring the same watch he a

y, everythi

he inside hel

't just a

a ven