Silent Scars

CHAPTER 92

DMITRI VOLKOV

I don’t like repeating myself.

So when I give an order, I expect silence, not explanations. Not excuses.

I stood near the tall arched windows of the estate, watching the final security teams move into formation across the courtyard. Precision. Uniform. Weapons holstered, expressions blank. Just how I liked them.

Florence would be crawling with eyes soon. And I wanted mine everywhere first.

"You know what to do when we land in Florence."

I said calmly, but the weight in my voice pressed down like iron.

"No mistakes. No second chances."

I glanced to the left.

"I don’t care how lavish the venue looks, once we enter, not even a fly leaves the hall without my permission. You understand?"

"Yes, sir."

They all answered in perfect unison.

"Every door. Every window. Every server, every bottle, every guest list, checked twice. If anything moves that shouldn’t, I want it buried before it breathes twice."

"Understood, sir."

I nodded once, sharp and final.

But just as I was about to dismiss them, I caught movement from the edge of my vision. One of Victor’s errand boys. He cut across the hall, too fast, too loud, too nervous.

The moment I saw his face, I knew something had gone wrong.

He leaned in and muttered something low into my ear.

I blinked once.

Then again.

Then slowly turned to face him, each word burning through my jaw.

"What did you just say?"

He swallowed hard and repeated it.

Six men. Taken out. In two minutes. By one person.

Domain Hastings.

I laughed once, quietly. Not because it was funny.

Because it wasn’t.

It was infuriating.

"I told that lunatic to stay quiet."

I muttered, eyes narrowing.

"Why is he stirring the fire now?"

I walked out, calmly at first.

But the moment the hall emptied behind me, I shoved the door to my office open and stalked inside.

Victor.

He was supposed to listen.

We had a plan. We had a goddamn timeline.

He promised he’d stay put. Wait for the right moment. We were supposed to make a move at the gathering. Quiet. Elegant. Final.

But now? Now he was sending his dogs out on the street like this was some back alley revenge job?

He said we only needed to worry about Leonardo and Marcus.

That Domain Hastings was broken. Just a traumatized boy.

A trembling remnant of something broken.

Victor said, "I made sure that boy stays down forever."