"I didn't expect the Bratva's tech queen to be quite so... captivating," Lorenzo's voice dripped with irony as he observed Galina, who was absorbed in deciphering a web of encrypted data.
Galina's gaze remained fixed on her screens, her expression a...
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I wandered into the living room, only to find Damian sprawled out on the couch in a rather unorthodox position-his legs up in the air, his head hanging down towards the floor. "Ayo! What are you doing?" I asked, a mix of confusion and amusement in my voice as I took in the bizarre sight.
"Thinking," Damian replied nonchalantly, as though this was a perfectly normal way to contemplate life's complexities.
Just then, I caught Mikhail's gaze from the corner of my eye. He beckoned me over with a subtle gesture. As I approached, Mikhail pulled me aside, his expression shadowed with concern. "Don't bother him. He's in a dilemma."
"A dilemma? What happened?" I inquired, a tinge of worry creeping into my tone. I hoped it wasn't anything too distressing.
"Nah, nothing catastrophic. Just that our Dummy's heart got broken," Mikhail explained, his eyes shifting to Damian with a mix of pity and sadness.
The hell? Damian was dating someone? "He was dating? You knew and didn't think to clue me in?"
"Even I found out today," Mikhail said, rubbing his face in exasperation.
I shook my head, feeling a bit out of the loop. "What exactly happened? Care to elaborate?"
"He hasn't gone into specifics, but it seems the girl he was seeing broke things off with him for reasons she kept anonymous," Mikhail said, his tone reflecting a weary resignation.
"I see." Well, there was nothing we could do but try to lift his spirits, though it seemed a challenge. Damian remained unresponsive, lost in his own world of melancholy.
"Is there nothing we can do?" I asked, my concern growing as I observed Damian's despondent figure.
"There's nothing we should do," Mikhail replied, his voice mirroring the same concern.
"Toodles~" I said, giving up on trying to cheer him up for now.
A few moments later, Viktor's voice rang out from the drawing room. "Come on, guys, gather here."
Mikhail and I exchanged glances, our previous conversation about Damian momentarily forgotten as we headed towards Viktor. I plopped onto the couch, throwing myself down with a sigh.
"What's up?" I asked, noting Viktor's excited demeanor as he turned his laptop screen towards us. On the screen, a peculiar pattern caught my eye-an emblem that seemed to combine the image of a snake, its mouth agape in a display of fierce pride, with a surrounding mix of flowers, a vase, a smaller snake, and a tablet. It looked oddly like a commercial logo for some mundane industry. Why would such a banal design be linked to a crime syndicate?
At the bottom of the screen, the name 'The Thornes' was inscribed, making the whole thing even more enigmatic. "What the hell is this?" I asked, my annoyance creeping into my voice as I stared at Viktor's grinning face.
