CHAPTER 249: THE SHIFTING TIDES

CHAPTER 249: THE SHIFTING TIDES
“He’s not coming?” Nyra’s voice cut across the room as Giovanni walked inside, tossing a thick leather folder onto the center of the wood.

Giovanni sank into his seat at the table. “Nope, he isn’t.”

Victor stared at him. “Again?”

Giovanni sighed and nodded. “Again.”

Tank sat with his thick arms crossed over his massive chest, his jaw set. 

Beside him, Chiara spun a sleek pocketknife across her knuckles, the blade flashing under the dim overhead light. Across the table, 

Viktor paced behind his chair, his brow furrowed in a sharp, bitter scowl, while Nyra leaned back, her cold, calculating eyes locked onto the empty seat at the head of the table.

Viktor stopped pacing instantly, staring past Giovanni toward the corridor. "So where is he?"

Giovanni pulled out a chair at the side of the table and sat down, rubbing the back of his neck. "He’s not coming."

A heavy, irritated murmur rippled through the room.

"This is the third scheduled briefing he’s skipped this week, Ghost!" Viktor barked, slamming his palm against the table. "The entire street is waiting on orders! We have turf transitions to approve, lieutenants demanding answers, and he's completely missing in action!"

Nyra let out a harsh, bitter laugh, crossing her legs. "Let me guess. He’s still cooped up in his penthouse playing nurse to his little pet?"

"Watch your mouth, Nyra," Tank grunted, shooting her a dark look.

"No, Tank, she’s right!" Viktor snapped, turning on him. "This is getting fucking absurd! How is Steel going to explain this to the lower ranks? If the street soldiers find out who he’s harboring in his private apartment, there will be a mutiny!”

He turned to Giovanni. “We are supposed to set an example for these men. Rules are rules! Traitors get put in the ground! Look at you. When your ex turned out to be a rat, you didn't hide her in a luxury suite. You got rid of her!"

Giovanni’s eyes darkened into pitch-black slits. He slowly leaned forward, resting his forearms flat on the table, his voice dropping into a lethal, quiet register that made the room instantly drop three degrees.

"She saved his mother's life," he said, his tone laced with absolute steel. "She threw her body over Rosa and took a bullet through her back. Any one of you talk about her like she's a simple enemy asset again, and we’re going to have a very serious problem in this room."

Silence fell over the table. Even Viktor swallowed hard, stepping back from the table.

Nyra adjusted her jacket, her expression softening into reluctant irritation. "All right, fine. She saved Mama Rosa. We respect that, Ghost. But he still has to address this. He can't just keep running away from his responsibilities as Don."

Giovanni let out a tired, ragged sigh, leaning back in his chair. "He isn't running away, Nyra. You literally just heard me tell you that she had a severe neurological spike and flatlined again yesterday. Do you honestly think he's going to walk away from her bed while her brain is starving for oxygen?"

Viktor shook his head, muttering under his breath, "I think she's making him soft."

Tank let out a low, dry chuckle, shaking his heavy head. "If you actually knew who you were talking about, Viktor, you'd know nobody on this earth is ever making Alexandro soft. Do you even know who she is?"

Viktor frowned, looking between Tank and Giovanni. "How the hell would I know? Everyone in this inner circle seems to know more about her than me!"

Chiara threw her hands up in exasperation. "Me too! You three are keeping secrets like old gossiping bums! Who the hell is she?"

Nyra tilted her head, a cold, knowing smirk curling her lips as she looked at Viktor. "Ever heard of the Siren?"

Viktor froze in his tracks. His eyes widened slightly as his jaw went completely slack. "The Siren...? The Council’s shadow assassin?"

Giovanni nodded calmly. "Yeah."

Chiara stared between them in absolute disbelief, her mouth slightly agape. "Are you telling me Alex’s girl is the fucking Siren?!"

"True story," Tank muttered, leaning back.

Giovanni let out a short, sudden laugh at their stunned expressions.

Chiara glared at him. "What the hell is so funny, Ghost?!"

"Let me give you something even better," Giovanni said, leaning in with a dark smirk. "She’s also Nightclaw."

Viktor stumbled back against the wall, rubbing a heavy hand over his mouth as if he’d been hit with a physical blow. "Fuck... What a completely fucked-up situation!" He stared at the ceiling, letting out a long, breathless whistle. "The Siren was Enzo’s primary weapon for six years. Now I understand why he’s hiding in the drains. He’s not just hiding; he’s losing his fucking mind because his greatest physical asset was stripped away from him."

"And if we keep her," Nyra added quietly, "it's a direct declaration of war against the Council."

Giovanni shrugged casually. "When that bridge comes, we'll cross it."

Chiara rolled her eyes, throwing her head back against her chair. "Oh, I am so damn tired of crossing bridges, man. I just want a weekend off to sleep."

"Amen to that," Giovanni muttered. "Amen to that."

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Giovanni pulled it out and tapped the screen. It was a text message from Maria:

When you bring your ass back home tonight, bring food. I'm craving Mediterranean food. The lemon chicken place downtown. Buy it right now.

A small, genuine smile touched Giovanni's lips before he could catch himself.

"Who is that?" Nyra asked instantly, her sharp eyes narrowing as she watched his face.

Giovanni snapped his phone face down on the table, dropping it back into his pocket. "Who is who?"

"You were just grinning at your phone like an idiot," Nyra pressed, raising an eyebrow. "Are you moving on from your ex already?"