All Chapters of THE MAFIA'S BLOODY POSSESSION: Chapter 221 - Chapter 227

Ivan's PovThe Victor Kane bounty was different from the Aegis broadcast in one specific way that mattered immediately.The Aegis broadcast had been public and had named me publicly. That created pressure on Aegis from journalists and former clients and international commentary. A public move was a move that could be countered publicly.Victor Kane's bounty was private. Distributed through criminal network channels that Lila Chen could not write about. She could not verify them through legitimate sources. Directed at people who operated ins22ide those networks. They would respond to the incentive without any of the accountability that public actions carried."He learned from the broadcast error." Nikolai was reading the Victor Kane communication at the operational table. His shoulder had finally been addressed by the surgeon Rem brought to the third safe house the previous evening."Yes. The public move produced the Lila Chen story. He will not make a public move again.""So the journ

 Ace's Pov The Vanguard financial exchange plaza at noon was exactly the public space Nikolai had described, open on four sides with continuous news media camera coverage from two fixed positions and foot traffic that made any single individual indistinguishable from a distance but completely visible up close. I arrived at eleven fifty-five, my hands in my jacket pockets, my eyes scanning the perimeter with the focus I had learned across the past year. Nikolai was already positioned at the north side of the plaza in a vehicle with Rem. Ivan was at the south entrance with Luca. Luca had taken the assignment without being asked and had positioned himself correctly without instruction. Ghost and Elena and the child were at a location none of the above parties knew. That was the security architecture. The only person who knew where Elena was at this moment was Rem and Rem was not telling any

Ace's PovThe temporary safe house was quiet while the infant slept in the corner and Elena slept beside the infant. Ghost slept on the cot near the door, but Luca remained on the perimeter while Rem remained at the monitoring station while Nikolai remained at the table while Ivan remained at the window while I stood in the center of the room."Sophia's offer.""Yes.""Limited immunity.""Yes.""New identity.""Yes.""Testimony against the Aegis network.""Yes.""Everyone else." I looked at both of them. "Everyone we have worked with and everyone who has helped us and everyone who has been part of this.""Yes.""I want to take the offer."Nikolai looked at me with a steady gaze. "I know.""Elena needs a clean life, the child needs a clean life and Ghost needs a clean life. Luca needs a chance to learn what choosing means, so the only way any of that happens is if we take the offer.""The testimony costs everything else.""The testimony costs the network because the network is the thr