Semua Bab CHAMPAGNE FOR THE DAMNED {MxM}: Bab 71 - Bab 77

Rafaele's POV Hospitals had a way of making even the strongest people feel powerless. The smell of antiseptic clung to everything, sharp enough to sting the back of my throat, while the steady rhythm of monitors reminded everyone in the corridor that life could disappear between one heartbeat and the next. I hated this place. Not because of what it was. Because of who it held. Pierre lay unconscious behind the glass, his skin almost as pale as the sheets beneath him. A bandage disappeared beneath the collar of his hospital gown, another wrapped around one arm, and the machines beside his bed worked harder than he was able to. The doctor had said he would survive. He'd also said the next twenty-four hours would be critical. Those words had repeated in my head for hours. Critical. Stable. Observation. Words that sounded reassuring until you realized none of them promised anything. Imran hadn't left Pierre's side since we'd arrived. He sat beside the bed with both hands cl

Rafaele's POV The first call came before sunrise. I was already awake. Sleep had become a stranger weeks ago, replaced by a habit of watching the ceiling until dawn painted the room gray. My phone vibrated across the nightstand. I answered before the second ring. "There has been... an incident." The hesitation in my security chief's voice told me everything I needed to know. "What happened?" "There are reports coming in from multiple locations." My jaw tightened. "How many?" "We're still confirming." I stood, already reaching for my jacket. "I'll be downstairs in five minutes." The moment the call ended, another came in. Then another. Then another. Each conversation added another piece to the same picture. Damage. Disruption. Fear. By the time I reached the operations room, several members of my team were already gathered around the central table, phones ringing almost continuously, maps spread across the surface, reports arriving faster than anyone could read th

Raffaele's POV I had buried too many people to mistake desperation for courage. The moment our convoy stopped outside the estate, I stepped out into the heavy silence hanging over the property. The mansion looked almost untouched from the outside, its grand walls standing proudly beneath the gray afternoon sky, but I knew better than to trust appearances. Men who believed they had nothing left to lose were always the most dangerous, and the people waiting inside this place knew exactly what failure would cost them. I looked over the men gathered behind me. Not the biggest army I had ever commanded. Not even close. Just the ones who had chosen to stay. Some carried fresh bandages beneath their jackets, others wore exhaustion on their faces after days without proper sleep. None of them complained. None of them asked whether this mission was worth the risk. They already knew the answer. "If we fail today," I said quietly, letting my gaze settle on every face, "he disappears, th

IMRAN'S POV People like to say that the truth always wins. They're wrong. The truth doesn't win on its own. Someone has to protect it. Someone has to carry it. Someone has to refuse to let it die. Several months had passed since everything changed, and every morning I woke up, I still found myself expecting the world to fall apart all over again. Instead, it kept moving. For the first time in years, it moved forward. The evidence we recovered from the estate had done exactly what my father had always believed it would do. One confession led to another. One arrest uncovered ten more names. Secret bank accounts were frozen. Properties were seized. Companies that had existed only to wash dirty money shut their doors. Politicians who once stood proudly behind podiums were escorted into courtrooms in handcuffs. Police officers who had sworn to protect innocent people were exposed for selling justice to the highest bidder. Businessmen who built their fortunes on fear and c