58

Petrik

The aftermath of the ambush lingered in the air, a sharp reminder that Diana was always one step ahead, waiting to strike when we least expected it. Orlov was safe, but barely. Her message was clear: no one was untouchable, not even those under my protection.

The safe house felt smaller tonight, the tension thick enough to choke on. Nikolai was reviewing security footage from the office, trying to piece together how Diana’s men had infiltrated so quickly. Lia sat across from him, her brow furrowed as she flipped through the documents we had retrieved.

I stood by the window, my hands clenched at my sides as I stared out into the darkness. I should’ve been relieved that we’d stopped her plan, but all I could think about was how close she’d come to outplaying us. Again.

“She’s escalating faster than we anticipated,” Nikolai said, breaking the silence.

“She’s desperate,” Lia replied, her voice steady but laced with tension. “That makes her dangerous.”

“Desperation doesn’t make her sloppy,” I said, turning to face them. “She knew exactly what she was doing tonight. This wasn’t just an attack—it was a test.”

Lia looked up at me, her eyes narrowing. “A test for what?”

“For us,” I said. “She wanted to see how we’d react, how far we’d go to stop her. And now she knows.”

“Knows what?” Nikolai asked.

“That we’re not afraid to fight back,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean she’ll back down. It means she’ll hit harder next time.”

Lia leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on me. “So what do we do?”

I didn’t answer immediately, my mind racing as I tried to piece together a plan. Every move we’d made so far had been reactive, chasing Diana’s shadow instead of confronting her directly. That had to change.

“We need to go on the offensive,” I said finally.

Nikolai raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly do you propose we do that? She’s got resources, allies, and half the city under her thumb.”

“Not as many as she used to,” I countered. “Her network is fractured. If we hit her where it hurts, we can force her hand.”

“And where, exactly, does it hurt?” Lia asked, her tone skeptical.

“Her finances,” I said, my voice firm. “Without money, her entire operation falls apart. We find her accounts, freeze them, and make sure she can’t fund another attack.”

Nikolai frowned, his fingers hovering over his keyboard. “That’s easier said than done. Diana’s not stupid. Her accounts are hidden behind layers of encryption and shell companies. It could take weeks—months—to track them all down.”

“Then we start with what we know,” I said. “We’ve already uncovered some of her financial ties. If we follow the money, it’ll lead us to the rest.”

“And in the meantime?” Lia asked.

“In the meantime,” I said, meeting her gaze, “we prepare for her next move. Because it’s coming.”

The next day, Nikolai managed to trace one of Diana’s smaller accounts to a private bank in Geneva. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Lia and I prepared to leave immediately, knowing time wasn’t on our side.

As we packed, I couldn’t ignore the tension between us. Lia had been quiet since the ambush, her usually sharp words replaced by an uneasy silence.

“You’re angry,” I said finally, breaking the silence.

She didn’t look at me, shoving clothes into her bag with more force than necessary. “I’m not angry. I’m frustrated.”

“With me?”

“With this,” she said, gesturing around the room. “With how dangerous this has gotten. Every move we make feels like a gamble, and I’m not sure how much more we can take.”

I stepped closer, placing a hand on her arm. “I know it’s hard, but we’re making progress. We’re getting closer to taking her down.”

“Are we?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly. “Because right now, it feels like we’re just surviving.”

I didn’t have an answer for her, because she wasn’t wrong. Every step forward felt like it came at a cost, and I wasn’t sure how much more either of us could afford to give.

“We’re not just surviving,” I said finally. “We’re winning. And once this is over, we’ll have the chance to build something better—together.”

She looked at me, her eyes searching mine for something I wasn’t sure I could give. Finally, she nodded, her expression softening.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “Let’s do this.”

The bank in Geneva was a fortress of glass and steel, its sleek exterior a stark contrast to the chaos Diana had unleashed in our lives. Lia and I entered under the guise of wealthy investors, our identities carefully crafted by Nikolai to avoid suspicion.

The account we were targeting was tied to one of Diana’s shell companies, a fund she used to launder money and finance her operations. If we could access it, we could cripple her—at least temporarily.

The bank manager, a sharp-eyed man with a polished demeanor, greeted us warmly and escorted us to a private room. As he explained the bank’s services, Lia played her part perfectly, charming him with her questions while I discreetly inserted Nikolai’s USB drive into the terminal.

The process was agonizingly slow, each second stretching into an eternity as the data uploaded. Lia glanced at me occasionally, her smile never faltering, but I could see the tension in her eyes.

Finally, the drive beeped, and I removed it, slipping it back into my pocket. The manager handed us a stack of documents, none the wiser, and we left the bank without incident.

Once we were back in the car, I handed the drive to Lia, my heart pounding.

“Send it to Nikolai,” I said. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

She nodded, her fingers flying over her phone as she uploaded the data. A moment later, Nikolai’s voice crackled in our earpieces.

“You’re not going to believe this,” he said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“This isn’t just one account,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “It’s a ledger—a roadmap to every account she’s ever used. You just found her entire financial network.”

Lia’s eyes widened, and for the first time in weeks, I felt a spark of hope. We’d struck a blow that Diana couldn’t ignore.

But as the car sped through the streets of Geneva, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the real battle was only just beginning. Diana

wouldn’t let this go unanswered.

And when she came for us, it would be with everything she had.