The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the master bedroom balcony as Alex sank into the wide cushioned chair, letting the expensive furniture cradle his weight.
From this vantage point, the view stretched endlessly... manicured gardens rolling outward like green waves, the six surrounding villas standing sentinel in their perfect circular arrangement.
It should have been peaceful. Instead, his mind churned with relentless momentum.
He closed his eyes briefly, trying to organize the chaos of the past week.
Nina's crisis had come first... that pale, fragile little girl fighting for her life while her family watched helplessly.
Then the trial. Marcus steele's smug face across the courtroom, the carefully orchestrated theater of justice, and his own calculated performance on the stand.
He'd won that battle, but the war was far from over. Marcus and Pierce wouldn't simply accept defeat... they'd regroup, recalibrate, strike from a different angle.
And now Viktor.
