chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Summit

The morning sun rose over Monaco, painting the Mediterranean Sea in shades of gold and blue.

Valeria Rossi stood on the balcony of her villa, a cup of espresso in one hand and her phone in the other. She hadn't slept much.

The target list Andrea had discovered kept replaying in her mind.

Six names.

Three women.

Three Blackthorne brothers.

Someone wanted all of them.

The question was why?

Her phone vibrated.

Andrea.

Valeria answered immediately.

"Tell me you found something."

"I found a location."

Valeria straightened.

"What location?"

"A meeting point."

Andrea sounded exhausted but excited.

"I intercepted a communication before it self-destructed."

"And?"

"It's an invitation."

Valeria frowned.

"An invitation?"

"To us."

A second later another message arrived from Aubrey.

Emergency meeting. Check secure channel.

Valeria opened the encrypted chat.

A document appeared.

Coordinates.

Date.

Time.

No sender.

No explanation.

Only one sentence.

Come alone if you want answers.

Valeria stared at the screen.

This felt like a trap.

Because it probably was.

Yet ignoring it wasn't an option.

Not anymore.

---

London

Aubrey Kane read the message twice.

Then three times.

Still suspicious.

Still dangerous.

Still impossible to ignore.

She sat in her private office while rain tapped softly against the windows.

Her chief advisor stood nearby.

"You aren't actually considering this, are you?"

Aubrey smiled.

"I'm absolutely considering it."

"It's obviously a trap."

"Of course it is."

The advisor blinked.

"Then why go?"

"Because whoever sent it knows too much."

Aubrey placed the tablet down.

"And people who know too much tend to become problems."

The advisor sighed.

He had worked with Aubrey long enough to know that look.

Her mind was already made up.

---

Berlin

Andrea Voss was already packing.

Several laptops disappeared into a reinforced backpack.

Portable drives.

Encrypted devices.

Backup phones.

More backup phones.

Then a few extra backup phones.

"You know this could be a trap, right?" one of her operatives asked.

Andrea zipped her bag.

"Everything is a trap."

"That's not reassuring."

"It isn't supposed to be."

She slung the backpack over her shoulder.

A challenge had appeared.

And Andrea had never been good at walking away from challenges.

---

Three days later.

Monaco.

The coordinates led to an abandoned conference center overlooking the sea.

Years ago it had hosted politicians, diplomats, and billionaires.

Now it sat empty.

Forgotten.

Silent.

Which made it the perfect location for a secret meeting.

Valeria arrived first.

A black sedan pulled to a stop outside the building.

She stepped out, dressed in a tailored black suit.

Elegant.

Professional.

Dangerous.

Her security team remained several kilometers away.

Close enough to intervene.

Far enough to remain hidden.

Valeria entered the building alone.

The conference center was quiet.

Too quiet.

She didn't like it.

Her instincts immediately went on alert.

Minutes later, another car arrived.

Aubrey Kane entered the building.

The moment she spotted Valeria, she smiled.

"Well, this is already suspicious."

Valeria rolled her eyes.

"You came."

"So did you."

"Apparently."

The two women exchanged a brief hug.

Years of friendship required no explanation.

Then footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Andrea appeared carrying what looked like enough technology to launch a small nation.

Aubrey stared.

"How many laptops do you need?"

Andrea didn't hesitate.

"All of them."

Valeria shook her head.

"Of course."

For a moment, the tension eased.

Three friends reunited.

Just like old times.

Except this time someone wanted them dead.

A loud engine interrupted the moment.

All three women turned toward the entrance.

A black SUV had arrived.

Andrea frowned.

"That's not one of ours."

"No," Valeria agreed.

"It isn't."

The vehicle door opened.

A tall man stepped out.

Dark suit.

Confident posture.

Sharp eyes.

Liam Blackthorne.

Behind him emerged Kalix and Matteo.

The Blackthorne brothers.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Years of rivalry filled the room.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Finally Matteo broke the silence.

"Well, this isn't awkward at all."

Aubrey laughed despite herself.

Kalix looked unimpressed.

Valeria crossed her arms.

"So."

Liam met her gaze.

"So."

For several seconds neither looked away.

Each evaluating the other.

Each searching for weaknesses.

Finding very few.

Andrea groaned.

"Can we skip the intimidating staring contest?"

Matteo nodded.

"Please. It's making everyone uncomfortable."

"It's making you uncomfortable," Kalix corrected.

"Exactly."

Surprisingly, Liam allowed a faint smile.

Valeria noticed.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

The six heirs entered the conference room together.

A large round table occupied the center.

No decorations.

No hidden luxuries.

Just business.

Liam sat first.

The others followed.

An uneasy silence settled over the room.

Finally Valeria spoke.

"Who sent the invitation?"

"No idea," Liam replied.

Aubrey frowned.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because someone attacked one of our warehouses."

Kalix tossed a folder onto the table.

Andrea examined the photographs.

Professional sabotage.

Clean.

Efficient.

Expensive.

Definitely connected.

"We've experienced similar activity," Valeria admitted.

Liam nodded.

"Which means we're dealing with the same enemy."

Nobody argued.

The evidence was becoming impossible to ignore.

Andrea connected one of her laptops to a projector.

Data appeared on the screen.

Names.

Dates.

Locations.

Patterns.

Everyone studied the information carefully.

Then Matteo pointed toward one particular entry.

"What's that?"

Andrea froze.

A file she hadn't noticed before.

She clicked it.

The room became silent.

A photograph filled the screen.

Then another.

Then another.

Images of all six heirs.

Taken recently.

Some from Monaco.

Others from London.

Berlin.

Various locations across Europe.

Someone had been watching them for months.

Maybe longer.

Aubrey's expression darkened.

"That's unsettling."

"Very," Matteo agreed.

Valeria leaned forward.

"There's more."

The final image appeared.

A map.

Europe.

Covered with red markers.

Dozens of them.

Targets.

Operations.

Assets.

Every major criminal organization on the continent.

Liam slowly stood.

His expression had become ice cold.

"This isn't surveillance."

"No," Andrea agreed.

"It's preparation."

Before anyone could speak further—

The lights suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Aubrey immediately reached for a concealed weapon.

Kalix did the same.

Several alarms activated simultaneously.

Then every monitor in the room flickered to life.

A single message appeared on every screen.

PHASE TWO HAS BEGUN.

A countdown timer appeared beneath the words.

72:00:00

Seventy-two hours.

Three days.

Nobody in the room spoke.

Because everyone understood what it meant.

The enemy had stopped watching.

Now they were making their move.

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