Silent Scars

CHAPTER 86

MARCUS HASTINGS

The silence in the room was heavy.

Not uncomfortable.

Just... full.

Full of the weight of knowing what this meant, what came next.

I looked at Leonardo, then at Domain, and finally down at the map spread across the desk.

"Even if we manage to take Victor out,"

I said slowly, voice steady.

"we'd still be leaving the Volkovs alive."

Domain let out a low breath through his nose.

I pressed on.

"They've joined hands now. Which means Dmitri Volkov knows about Ariana."

That hung in the air for a moment, Ariana.

Her name carried a different weight now. Not just our sister. Not just someone we failed to protect before. But now the center of something so much bigger. Something planned. Controlled.

"It's too risky."

I said, dragging my eyes back up to Leonardo's.

"If we're in this, we eliminate both of them. Together."

Domain's chair scraped back slightly.

"What the hell does that mean, Marcus?"

He said sharply.

"Victor's here. Here. In our territory. Walking on our soil. And you're saying we should wait?"

He stood now, posture tense, jaw locked tight. Like every inch of him wanted to tear something apart.

I understood the anger.

I felt it too.

But rage wasn't strategy.

Leonardo didn't respond right away.

He just stood there, hands gripping the edge of the desk so tightly his knuckles had turned white. His jaw clenched hard. The vein near his temple twitched.

"So what do we do, Marc?"

He asked finally. His voice was low. Controlled. But it carried an edge I hadn't heard in a long time.

"You want to wait and hope Dmitri shows himself?"

I shook my head.

"No. I don't want to wait. I want to end it."

I stepped forward, voice calm but unwavering.

"Victor's already here. Which means Dmitri's not far behind. That's how they work. They don't move unless they're close. Watching."

I glanced between them.

"So we wait. Just long enough to confirm Dmitri's presence. And then... we hit them both."

Domain let out a frustrated sound, like he was chewing gravel and trying not to spit it out.

Leonardo turned his head toward him.

"Dom."

He said, more gently now.

"I know what you're thinking. Hell, I'm angry too. I hate waiting. I hate knowing Victor's out there breathing the same air as us."

He looked down for a second, then back up, meeting my eyes first, then Domain's.

"But Marcus is right."