The private jet cut through the night sky like a blade, its interior cloaked in silence. Riccardo sat beside Camilla, the flickering glow of a laptop screen painting shadows across his face. Opposite them, Yuki pored over satellite tracking logs while Marco and Alexi double-checked weapon inventories. But Camilla? She hadnât said a word since boarding. Her thoughts spun like a hurricane. DCamillan. The man who had once bled beside her in the Brazilian jungleâĶ who pulled her from burning wreckage in NaplesâĶ was a ghost. A lie wrapped in loyalty. And now, he had vanishedâtaking with him whatever remnants of Valentinâs plan were still in motion. âHeâs in Prague,â Yuki finally said, breaking the silence. âOr at least he was.â She turned the laptop toward them. âLast confirmed visual was two hours ago near the Old Town Square. Then he vanished. Again.â Camilla leaned forward. âIf heâs hiding in Prague, itâs not random.â âItâs not,â Marco agreed. âPrague was one of Valentinâs ear
The London sky wept softly, a constant drizzle painting the city in a melancholic haze. In a quiet townhouse tucked between marble façades, the safe house was temporarily calm. But inside, tension thrummed beneath the surface like an untuned wire. Camilla stood at the window, arms crossed as she stared out into the rain. The world had changedâagain. Valentin was dead. His facility was destroyed. But the silence that followed victory always felt the most dangerous. The kind of silence predators thrived in. Behind her, Marco finished cleaning a bloodied knife on a rag. âYou did good, Camilla.â She turned. âWe all did.â âStill.â He studied her with an expression that bordered on wary pride. âYou were the reason we got the drive out. If this network can be tracedââ âWe burn the rest,â she finished for him. Marco nodded. A knock came at the door. Yuki entered with Alexi trailing behind, both of them looking like theyâd run a marathon through hell. Alexiâs shoulder was bandaged, b
The flight to London felt different. Not because of the destination, but because of what they were carrying. Dr. Sian Takahara sat shackled in a reinforced seat, silent and unmoved. Her expression remained unreadable, even when turbulence rattled the plane. She was either fearlessâor completely detached from consequences. Camilla sat opposite her, studying the woman who may have designed the most insidious takeover the underworld had ever seen. âYou donât strike me as a woman who believes in chaos,â Camilla said. Dr. Takahara smiled faintly. âI believe in calculated order. Chaos is for amateurs.â âThen why Valentin?â Camilla asked. âHeâs a warmonger. A manipulator.â âHeâs a visionary,â the doctor replied. âYou mistake fire for destruction, when it can be used to forge steel.â Camilla shook her head. âNo. I know a fire when I see one. And I know whatâs burned in its path.â Takahara leaned forward slightly, chains clinking. âYou think youâre different, Camilla. That youâre pres
The walls of the interrogation room were built to be soundproof. But silence wasnât just a featureâit was a weapon. Vincenzo sat shackled to the chair, his arm tightly bandaged, but his smileâsmug and unwaveringâremained. Across the table, Camilla observed him like a surgeon would a patient before a critical operation. âYouâve been quiet,â Vincenzo mused. âDoes that mean youâre considering my offer?â Camilla didnât respond. She slid a manila folder across the table. Inside were surveillance stills, financial transfers, and classified communications pulled from his servers. âValentinâs been bleeding the Eastern front,â she said calmly. âWe found the safehouses in Warsaw and Budapest. You were coordinating the new nerve gas shipment set for Amsterdam.â âCorrect,â he replied, not even flinching. âAnd?â Camilla leaned forward. âAnd youâre going to give us the names of the handlers. All of them.â Vincenzo tilted his head. âYouâre not here to make a deal, are you?â âIâm here to giv
The train to Prague cut through mist and shadow like a knife. Steel wheels on ancient rails, frost creeping up the windows, and Camillaâs reflection caught in the glassâeyes that hadnât slept in days, a jaw clenched with the weight of choices. She had the Omega file in her coat pocket. A name on a page. But to her, it was more than that. Vincenzo Callas. Her motherâs cousin. Her fatherâs rival. A man who had once lit a fire beneath her familyâs empire, only to vanish into the smog of scandal, prison, and presumed death. And now, he was alive. Under Valentinâs banner. The compartment door slid open. Marco stepped in, shaking off the cold. He hadnât wanted her to come alone. But she had insisted. âYou know if we find him,â Marco said, folding his arms, âthis wonât be a negotiation.â Camilla looked out the window. âIâm not here to make peace.â He sat beside her, voice low. âYou ever ask your mother about him?â âShe said he was brilliant. Ambitious. But broken in ways none of
The fire began in Switzerland. Not a literal oneânot yetâbut the first strike in Riccardo and Camillaâs counterattack ignited within Genevaâs glass-and-steel financial district. Valentinâs safe havens had always hidden behind nationsâ neutrality and institutional blind spots. Not anymore. Camilla sat inside a sleek black SUV parked a block away from the headquarters of a global banking firm that had, for over a decade, quietly funneled untraceable funds to Valentinâs shell companies. Beside her, Isadora adjusted her earpiece. âThe backdoor is open. Iâm in the system.â From the front seat, Marcoâs voice was low but tense. âWe have a ten-minute window. The front desk is clear. Cameras are looped. Guards on the 18th and 20th floors are on a fake fire drill.â Camilla glanced at Riccardo, who sat beside her in silence, his fingers clasped over his knee, gaze hard. He finally spoke. âLetâs take our ghostâs ledger.â They moved fast. Up the service elevator, down a back hall, through