Dominic's silence was terrifying.
The video played again, looping as if mocking him. Matteo tied to a chair. Bruised but grinning. And that voice—calm, taunting, like the masked bastard on screen knew exactly how deep he had struck. Every king has a weakness. Let's see how far you're willing to go to keep yours breathing.
Aria stood just behind Dominic, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. The room was cold but the chill that ran down her spine had nothing to do with temperature.
Luca hovered nearby, bleeding still, refusing treatment. His eyes burned with fury but he waited for Dominic's orders like a soldier on standby.
"Pause it," Dominic said. His voice was dead calm. Too calm.
Luca obeyed.
Dominic stepped closer to the screen, eyes scanning the frame like a machine. "That curtain. Zoom in."
Luca worked quickly, enhancing the grainy corner of the footage. A velvet curtain. Golden tassel. Faintly visible behind Matteo's chair.
"That's not a warehouse," Dominic muttered.
"It's staged," Luca confirmed.
Dominic's eyes narrowed. "I've seen that curtain before."
"Where?"
"Hotel De Rossi. Presidential suite. Top floor."
Aria's breath caught. "How can you be sure?"
"Because I put a bullet through the wall of that suite five years ago during a hit." He turned to Luca. "Get eyes on that building now. Quiet. No alerts. We do not spook them. If Matteo bleeds out on camera, this entire city will pay for it."
"Yes, boss."
Dominic turned sharply toward the door. Aria stepped in front of him before he could storm out.
"You're going there now?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No," he said firmly, walking around her.
Aria grabbed his arm. "You promised to protect me. But how am I supposed to sit still while people bleed and die because of me?"
His jaw clenched but he did not look at her.
"It's not your fight, Aria."
"It is now. They're doing this to get to you. Through me."
Dominic turned slowly, and for a moment his mask slipped. She saw the storm beneath. Pain. Guilt. Rage.
"I can't focus on killing them if I have to worry about keeping you alive," he said.
"Then teach me how to survive."
Dominic stared at her, long and hard. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Fine. But if anything happens, you do what I say. No arguments."
"Deal."
He turned to Luca. "Get her gear. Lightweight, bulletproof. And arm her."
Aria's stomach turned. "A gun?"
"You want in?" Dominic said. "Then learn the rules. Rule number one—never walk into a war zone empty-handed."
---
Thirty minutes later, the black SUV cut through the city like a ghost. The streets were slick from an earlier rain, and the neon lights reflected off puddles like blood under moonlight.
Aria sat beside Dominic in the backseat, wearing dark jeans, a black tactical vest under a hoodie, and a small pistol holstered against her thigh. Her fingers itched every time she moved. She had never held a weapon before today, but the weight of it grounded her.
"You okay?" Dominic asked without looking at her.
"No."
He glanced at her.
"But I'm ready," she added quickly.
He gave a single nod.
They reached the alley behind Hotel De Rossi. It loomed above them like a sleeping beast. Dominic's men were already in place—silent shadows waiting for his signal. Luca handed out earpieces and silencers.
"This is a ghost op," Dominic said. "No bullets unless fired upon. We get in. We get Matteo. We get out."
"And if they've moved him?" Luca asked.
Dominic's voice dropped. "Then we turn this place into a graveyard."
---
They moved like phantoms through service elevators and emergency stairwells. The building was half under renovation, which gave them cover. Aria stayed close to Dominic, every step echoing like thunder in her ears.
They reached the penthouse floor. Two guards stood outside the double doors.
Luca took the one on the left. Dominic silenced the other with swift efficiency. Aria watched them fall, one after the other, like puppets cut from their strings.
The door creaked open.
Inside, silence.
Then a voice.
"Took you long enough."
Matteo's voice.
They rushed in.
The room was lavish. Marble floors, velvet drapes, crystal chandelier. And in the center—Matteo, bloodied, tied to a steel chair. Smirking.
Dominic strode to him, knife drawn. He sliced the ropes with a single motion.
"You alright?"
Matteo coughed. "Could use a drink. Or three."
Luca was already scanning the room. "This is too easy."
"Where's the masked bastard?" Dominic asked.
Before Matteo could answer, the lights exploded above them. Smoke burst into the air. Aria gasped, stumbling backward. Gunfire erupted from the far wall.
"Down!" Dominic shouted, shielding her as bullets ripped through the air.
Two men burst through hidden panels in the wall. Dominic fired. One fell. Luca tackled the second.
Matteo grabbed a loose pistol and joined in, limping toward the back.
Smoke filled the room. Alarms blared.
Dominic pulled Aria toward the door.
Then a voice came from the far end of the room, distorted again, but this time not from a screen.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"
Aria turned toward the voice and froze.
A man stood at the far wall, mask off now. His face was familiar. Strikingly so.
Dominic's gun raised. His hand trembled for the first time.
"You," he said.
The man grinned.
"Well, hello, cousin."
Aria's heart stopped.
Dominic's voice dropped into a growl. "Adrian."
The masked man—Adrian—smiled coldly. "Thought you buried me years ago, didn't you?"
Aria stepped back, confused.
"Who is he?" she whispered.
Dominic didn't answer. His entire body was coiled like a wire stretched to the point of snapping.
"You're supposed to be dead," he said.
Adrian chuckled. "Oh, I was. Until the fire brought me back. Now I want everything you've built."
Dominic fired. Adrian ducked and disappeared through the smoke.
Luca dragged Matteo toward the exit.
Dominic grabbed Aria's hand. "We're not done," he snarled under his breath.
But the real war had just begun.