Chapter 73 Pt. 2

Chapter 73 Pt. 2
Aleksander’s POV

The stairwell door slammed open hard enough to rattle the metal frame.

We didn’t slow down.

Concrete swallowed the sound of our steps and threw it back at us, loud and relentless. Every footfall echoed sharp and heavy, climbing ahead like a warning Adam never had time to process.

“He’s dropping levels,” Ivan said, already leaning over the railing.

Of course he was.

Men like Adam didn’t think when they panicked.

They hauled ass.

Straight into corners they couldn’t get out of.

Another flight.

Then another.

A door below banged open, the sound cracking through the stairwell, followed by uneven footsteps scraping against concrete.

I exhaled slowly.

“He’s scared.”

Ivan huffed. “Yeah. I’d be terrified too.”

We pushed harder.

Two steps at a time. Controlled. Fast.

Then—

There he was.

Adam.

Halfway down the landing, he was gripping the railing like it was the only thing keeping him upright. His phone was still clutched in his hand like it was some kind of lifeline he could use to teleport himself from this situation.

Well, it didn’t.

He looked up.

Saw me.

And everything in his face collapsed.

“Wait—” His voice cracked. “Aleksander—just—just give me a second—”

I kept walking.

Slow.

Deliberate.

That was the part that broke people.

An intimidation tactic I perfected over the years.

He backed up too fast, shoulder hitting the wall behind him.

Done.

Ivan stepped in behind him, blocking the lower stairs.

“There it is,” Ivan muttered. “That realization.”

Adam swallowed hard. “This isn’t what it looks like—”

“I understand enough.”

My voice cut through him clean.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he rushed, visibly sweating now. “I thought it was controlled—I thought—”

“You thought,” I repeated.

I grabbed his shirt and slammed him into the wall. The crack echoed.

“Let’s make this simple,” I said quietly. “Because I don’t have patience for you today.”

“I didn’t hand you over,” he forced out. “They already had pieces—I just—”

“Connected them.”

“…yeah.”

“That’s worse.”

“They had leverage on me,” he said quickly. “You don’t understand what they had—”

“They always have something. Don’t act like you weren’t trying to gain more power for yourself, Adam. I gave you fucking everything! You had all the money you could ever count, women, travel, and cars. But you fucking threw it all away for nothing.”

“Not like this,” he snapped. “Not with him.”

My grip tightened.

“With who? Say it!”

He hesitated.

“Adam.”

“…Viktor.”

Silence.

Heavy.

“Keep talking.”

“He’s hitting your garbage contracts,” Adam rushed. “Undercutting them, buying companies out, sliding into your routes—quiet. You won’t see it all at once, but it’s happening.”

That tracked.

Too well.

“He doesn’t want a war yet,” Adam continued. “He wants to weaken you first. Make it look like you’re losing ground.”

“Who’s backing him?”

Adam swallowed.

“The Russo family.”

Ivan exhaled behind him. “Of course they are.”

“They want it clean,” Adam said. “Contracts, not blood. Viktor gives them access; they give him leverage.”

“And you,” I said.

His eyes dropped.

“I was the bridge.”

Silence stretched.

Ugly.

Final.

“You fed them my structure,” I said.

“Yes.”

“You gave them access to everything I built.”

“Yes.”

My hand tightened slightly in his shirt.

“And you thought you’d walk away from that.”

“I thought I could control it,” he admitted.

I studied him for a second.

Then slowly—

I let go.

His body sagged slightly in relief.

There it was.

That flicker.

That stupid, fragile hope.

“I told you everything,” he said, breath uneven. “Everything you need to fix this—”

I didn’t respond.

Just looked at him.

Really looked.

Every crack.

Every mistake.

Every ounce of fear.

Then I reached inside my jacket.

His breath caught.

“You—you said—” he started, panic rising again. “You said you needed—”

“I did.”

My voice stayed calm.

Level.

“I got it.”

Understanding hit him all at once.

“No—wait—Aleksander—”

The gun came up.

Clean.

Steady.

No shake.

No hesitation.

“I can still help you—” he rushed, words breaking apart now. “I can still fix it—there’s more I didn’t tell you—”

“I know.”

That stopped him.

Just for a second.

“You always think there’s more you can trade,” I said quietly. “That’s your problem.”

His eyes widened.

“Aleksander—please—”

I pulled the trigger.

The sound exploded through the stairwell.

Sharp.

Final.

Adam’s body jerked once before going still, sliding down the wall until he hit the concrete.

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Complete.

Ivan exhaled slowly behind him. “Well… that answers that.”

I lowered the gun, eyes still on Adam’s body.

I kicked him in the side, hard.

Not because I needed to.

Because I wanted to be sure.

“Russo family,” Ivan muttered. “That’s going to be a problem.”

“Yeah.”

I turned slightly, already thinking three steps ahead.

“Call Dimitri,” I said. “I want everything we have on their contracts. Every company they’ve touched in the last six months.”

Ivan nodded, already pulling his phone out.

“And Viktor?” he asked.

My jaw tightened.

“Viktor just made his move.”

I glanced down at Adam one last time.

Then turned away.

“And now,” I said coldly, “I make mine.”