Chapter 74 The mole is dead

Chapter 74 The mole is dead
Viktor’s POV

I rolled over, the sheets twisted around my legs, and dragged a hand over my face before forcing my eyes open. The clock came into focus.

8:45 a.m.

“Fuck.”

I sat up, already irritated. Late. I don’t run late, not for meetings, not for anything that actually matters.

My phone was on the nightstand. I grabbed it, unlocked it.

Nothing.

No missed calls. No messages.

Adam usually sent something. Not constant, not enough to get sloppy, but just enough to remind me he was still in place. Still useful.

I stared at the screen a second longer, then tossed the covers off and stood.

Maybe he was busy. Maybe Aleksander had him running something.

Or maybe—

My phone buzzed in my hand.

I looked down.

Adam.

A small smile pulled at my mouth. “There you are,” I muttered, answering it.

“Yeah.”

Breathing on the other end.

I moved toward the dresser, grabbing my watch.

“You disappear on me now?” I said. “That’s not like you.”

A quiet chuckle came through.

Wrong.

I stopped.

“…Aleksander.”

“Good morning, Viktor.”

His voice was steady, like this was nothing, like he wasn’t holding a dead man’s phone.

I slipped my watch onto my wrist, tightening it slowly.

“You’re calling me early,” I said. “Must be important.”

“You had someone close to me.”

Straight to it.

No circling.

I leaned back against the dresser, crossing one arm over my chest.

“You had a lot of people close to you,” I said. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

Another soft sound in the background. Something dragged. Then stillness.

“Adam,” he said.

There it was.

I let out a quiet breath through my nose.

“Took you long enough,” I said.

No point pretending.

No point lying now.

“He was sloppy,” Aleksander said.

“He was useful,” I corrected.

“For you.”

“Yeah.”

Silence for a second. Not empty. Just… sitting there between us.

I could see it without trying. Adam on the floor. Blood where it shouldn’t be. Aleksander standing over him, phone in his hand, already moving on.

“How much did he give you?” Aleksander asked.

I tilted my head slightly, considering.

“Enough to keep things interesting,” I said.

“That include my contracts?”

“If you mean the ones getting tangled up with the Russos?” I said. “Yeah. I heard about those.”

A pause.

“And Maria.”

There it was.

I didn’t answer right away. Didn’t rush it.

“…Careful,” I said finally. “You don’t get to say that bitches name to me.”

A low breath came through the line. Not amused.

“You don’t get to hear anything about her,” he shot back. “Not anymore.”

My grip tightened around the phone, just a little.

“Should’ve kept your circle tighter,” I said.

“I did,” Aleksander said. “Until you got to him.”

I huffed out a quiet laugh.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I said. “Adam wasn’t loyal to you. He was surviving. I just gave him a reason.”

“You gave him a reason to die.”

“Seems like you handled that part just fine.”

Another small shift in the background—a dull thud, like something being nudged with a boot.

“The rat’s dead,” Aleksander said.

Flat. Final.

I looked down at the floor, then back up, jaw tight.

“…And now you’re calling me from his phone,” I said.

“I wanted you to know exactly what happened.”

Of course he did.

Make it personal. Make sure I heard it from him.

“You could’ve asked,” I said. “Saved yourself the trouble.”

“I’m not interested in asking you anything.”

“That’s where you went wrong.”

A beat.

Then—

“He gave you everything he could,” Aleksander said. “Business. Security. My life.”

“Sounds like he did his job.”

“He wasn’t working for you,” Aleksander snapped.

I smiled a little at that.

“He was working for whoever kept him alive,” I said. “You just stopped doing that.”

Silence.

Not long.

Just enough.

“You think this puts you ahead?” Aleksander asked.

“I think it puts us exactly where we were heading anyway,” I said. “You just got there faster.”

Another breath.

Then his voice dropped slightly.

“And if this is how you want to play it…”

There it was.

No confusion. No gray area left.

I pushed off the dresser, standing straighter.

“You killed your own man without asking a single question,” I said. “That’s not strategy. That’s impulse.”

“He betrayed me.”

“So you made sure he couldn’t say anything else,” I said. “Convenient.”

“I already heard enough.”

I let out a quiet laugh.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I’m sure you did.”

Because men like him didn’t need the full picture.

They needed a reason.

And Adam gave him one.

“Game’s on, bitch.”

The line went dead.

I pulled the phone away slowly, staring at Adam’s name still sitting at the top of the screen.

Like nothing changed.

“…Well,” I muttered.

I set the phone down, then picked it right back up, pacing once across the room.

Aleksander didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t question.

Didn’t care if there was more to it.

He found out, and he ended it.

Then he called me to make sure I knew.

I let out a short breath, shaking my head.

“You always did choose the fastest option,” I murmured.

Not the smartest.

The fastest.

I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on, already moving.

Because now?

Now there’s no pretending this stays quiet.

He tied it to me. Adam, the leaks, all of it.

And he doesn’t walk things back.

Neither do I.

I picked my phone up again, glancing at the call log before locking it.

Game’s on.

A small smile pulled at my mouth.

“Alright,” I said quietly.

You want to make it personal?

Fine.

I headed for the door, grabbing my watch and sliding it into place.

“Let’s see how long you hold up when it actually starts costing you.”

And I walked out, already planning on calling the Russos to see where we should hit next.