Chapter 7 - The Mastermind’s ArrivalViktor stepped over the bodies, checking pulses with cold efficiency. Both dead. Professionals, trained by private security firms out of Eastern Europe—contract killers hired through Elena’s syndicate ties.
He tapped his earpiece, switching to a secure, encrypted frequency that bypassed Marcus’s compromised network.
"Vaughn," Viktor said into the comms.
A heavy, gravelly voice answered instantly from a secure safehouse three miles down the coast. "Boss? We saw the perimeter breach on the backup thermal feeds. Are you alive?"
"For now," Viktor said, his voice hard as iron. "Marcus has flipped. The estate is compromised. I need you and the strike team at the west gate in four minutes. Bring heavy ordinance and zip ties."
"On our way," Vaughn replied. "Boss... what about Lady Elena?"
Viktor looked up the basement stairs toward the darkened hallways of the mansion above, where the soft glow of smart-home panels illuminated the walls.
"Elena stays right where she is," Viktor said quietly. "Let her think she won."
He turned back to Rachel, who was sliding a fresh magazine into her MP5 with practiced ease. Her hands were steady now. The adrenaline had taken over, turning her into a cold, focused instrument of survival.
"You're not a maid," Viktor stated flatly, reloading his pistol.
"My name is Captain Rachel Chen," she said, meeting his gaze without flinching. "Former tactical intelligence, Joint Special Operations Command. I was hired six months ago by your late brother’s estate executor to investigate internal leaks within the Kovac syndicate. Elena Vance was my primary target from day one."
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Viktor stared at her, a dark, dangerous smile slowly spreading across his lips. "My brother hired you before he died?"
"Before he was poisoned," Rachel corrected softly. "By the same woman who is currently pouring herself a glass of champagne in the master suite upstairs."
