UPSIDE DOWN

~ 44 ~

Sylvie

The morning didn't feel like war. It felt... quiet. Almost too quiet. The kind of stillness before the sky cracks open.

Everyone moved with a rhythm that came from months of planning, calm, mechanical, rehearsed. Yet beneath it, I could feel the pulse of something raw. Fear. Hope. Revenge. All of it braided together into one fragile thread.

We called this part "Phase Three: Operation Serpent's End." The final step in a decade of planning.

Papa, had spent years perfecting the first two phases while he'd been in hiding. We were the final piece. The endgame.

He stood in the center of the safehouse's briefing room, a tablet glowing blue against the table. His voice was steady, even as the rest of us shifted with nerves.

"Alright," he began. "Everyone knows their roles. This is where it all aligns."

A digital map of Milan's financial district shimmered onto the table. Red dots pulsed in a perimeter around a small street marked Via Monza, Viktor's new transfer hub. A front company. A trap.

"Phase One and Two were already completed during my years in hiding," Papa continued. "Viktor's empire is hollowed out. His accounts frozen, allies scattered, and most of his legal fronts are under federal surveillance now. That's why he's desperate. He's running out of safe places."

He zoomed in. The street divided into small grids.

"Phase Three, what we're executing today, is the final act. We're going to make him walk straight into his own grave."

Andrea folded his arms, his tone clipped. "You sure he'll take the bait?"

Papa nodded. "He'll come. The message leak Nico planted was sloppy enough to look real. Viktor will believe someone from his own circle betrayed him. He'll want to confirm it himself."

Francesco leaned back, hands steepled. "And when he comes?"

"Then," Angelo said, eyes flicking to each of us, "we close the net."

He turned the screen again. The plan unfolded layer by layer.

"Outer Perimeter," he pointed to the red dots. "Aurelio, that's you and your team. Two blocks out. Every major exit route is covered, north, south, both alleys. You report every movement, every car, every civilian that doesn't look right. Your command word is shadow."

Aurelio nodded silently, jaw tight.

"Middle Perimeter," Papa continued. "Francesco and Nico, surveillance eyes. Café, rooftop, and the parking structure. You'll feed live visuals to command and mark all entries. If you see Viktor's people, you alert immediately. No assumptions."

"Copy," Nico said over the comm line from another room. His voice crackled faintly. "Visuals are already calibrating. We'll have thermal within fifteen."

"Inner Ring," Angelo said, his gaze moving to Andrea. "That's you and Luca. You'll be closest to Sylvie, escort and fallback in case something goes wrong. She's staying in the van two streets over. No direct contact until we confirm visual."

Andrea's brow furrowed. "And if things go sideways?"

"Then you get her out. Period," Papa said firmly. "You do not improvise. We wait for confirmation before we move."

He turned to me next.

"And you," he said softly, "are the proof Viktor can't ignore. He'll think he's coming for you, but you'll never actually be there. The illusion will be enough."