The Revenant #3: The Serpent's Throne

The sound of my heels clicking against the marble floor was the only thing keeping me grounded as I walked into the dimly lit nightclub. The air was thick with the scent of expensive cigars, spilled whiskey, and the unmistakable tension that always came with a gathering of men who thought they owned the world. The Volkov Club was one of the Bratva’s safe havens in New York—a place where deals were made, alliances were broken, and people disappeared without a trace. I had spent years in places like this, moving like a shadow between dangerous men, learning how to survive. Some of them underestimated me, mistaking my carefully chosen red dress and soft curls as a sign of weakness. But that was their first mistake. I had built my reputation not on seduction, but on strategy, patience, and knowing when to strike. Tonight was no different. I was here to meet with the DeLucas. The very name made my blood run hot with rage. For years, I had believed the story passed down to me—that my p

I could feel the tension in the air like it had a weight of its own, pushing down on my chest. The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of a few hanging bulbs and the flicker of cigarette smoke swirling lazily above the men sitting around the table. I had walked into this meeting with my usual sense of purpose, prepared to negotiate and handle things with precision. But now, as I looked across the table at Nico Moretti, something in the back of my mind was telling me that this wasn't going to be as straightforward as I had hoped. Nico's eyes never left mine. I could see the flicker of calculation behind them, a sharp intelligence that matched my own. He wasn’t the type to show his hand, not immediately. Everything about him screamed control, and that, more than anything else, made him dangerous. The room was filled with low murmurs from the other men, their voices blending with the steady hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. The DeLucas were already here, waiting for us to beg

The morning came too quickly. It always did, but today it felt worse. My eyes opened to the familiar gray light seeping through the blinds, the soft hum of the city waking up beneath me. I rolled over, staring at the ceiling for a moment, trying to shake off the heaviness that had settled in my chest. I hadn’t slept well, if at all. My thoughts kept circling back to Nico—his eyes, his words, his presence. I tried to push it away, tried to focus on what needed to be done, but the more I thought about him, the more complicated everything felt. The whole situation with the DeLucas was spiraling, I knew that. But this was different. This was personal. I could feel the tension building, the way everything was shifting under the surface. And Nico... Nico was at the center of it all. I swung my legs off the bed, letting my feet hit the cold hardwood floor. The apartment was quiet, the only sound my breathing. I could hear the faint noise of traffic outside—honking cars, people shouting, t