Chapter 190 He’s Back

Chapter 190 He’s Back


Bella’s POV 

We didn’t stay in Alex’s room long after Fredrico finished explaining.
There wasn’t anything to do in there. No conversation to have. No answers to pull. Just a man laid out, breathing, existing somewhere between here and not quite here yet. Watching him wasn’t going to change that.
So we left.
The hallway felt quieter than before, the kind of quiet that follows heavy conversations, where everything settles but doesn’t fully disappear. Draco’s hand stayed in mine as we walked, his grip steady, grounding, like he didn’t plan on letting me drift too far even if I tried.
We made our way into the sitting room, the space already shifting with movement as people came and went, preparing for departures. I sat first, sinking into the sofa with a soft exhale, Draco pulling me into him immediately, his arm wrapping firmly around me as I settled against his side.
Comfort.
That’s what it was.
The women and children started coming in not long after, one by one at first, then in small groups, their energy different now than it had been before. Lighter. Relieved. Grateful.
They thanked us. Not in passing. Not quickly. They meant it.
I could see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices, feel it in the way they stood just a little straighter than they had before. Yesterday, when I gave the orders to get them home, I expected it to be handled. I didn’t expect it to be handled like this.
They went above and beyond. Families had been contacted. Flights arranged. People meeting them at airports instead of stepping into the unknown alone.
That wasn’t just execution.
That was care.
I glanced up at Draco briefly, a small smile pulling at my lips. “They did good,” I murmured.
“They did,” he agreed.
Gino walked in next, Jasmine right behind him, Nico trailing like he had nowhere better to be and no intention of pretending otherwise. Gino took a seat and opened his laptop immediately, his focus already shifting into work mode.
“Well,” he said, glancing over at me, “have you checked the chatter yet?”
I shook my head, reaching for my own laptop on the table in front of us. “Nope,” I said. “Been a little busy this morning.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Nico muttered.
I ignored him.
Mostly.
As I flipped my laptop open, Draco spoke, his tone cutting through the room just enough to pull attention.
“Who said Alex was in a coma?” He wasn’t asking anyone specific.
Still, Nico answered. “Some new guy,” he said, leaning back slightly. “Been around about a year, maybe.”
I glanced up briefly. “A year isn’t new,” I pointed out.
“It is when he’s wrong,” Nico shot back.
Draco exhaled sharply. “He’s not in a coma,” he said. “He’s bad off, but not like that.”
“That’s a hell of a difference,” Gino added without looking up from his screen.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “One means we wait. The other means we bury him.”
That quieted it for a second.
As they continued talking, I shifted my focus to the screen in front of me, opening the underground chatter first.
The interface came up quickly, threads loading in, messages stacking where they always did. I scanned through them, my eyes moving fast, catching patterns, looking for spikes, anything out of place.
Nothing.
I glanced sideways at Gino. “What are you seeing?”
He hummed under his breath, scrolling a little slower than I was. “Nothing,” he said after a second, his brows lifting slightly.
“That’s not right,” I murmured.
He nodded once. “It’s quiet.”
Too quiet.
I leaned back slightly, my eyes narrowing as I looked at the screen again, searching for something I might have missed.
“It’s too quiet,” I said out loud.
Nico didn’t miss a beat. “That’s because you locked Arthur out,” he said, laughing lightly.
I paused. Then smirked. “That’s true,” I admitted.
Draco glanced down at me. “You did love. Don't tell me you forgot.”
“I remember. I cut his access points,” I said simply. “He can’t stir anything if he can’t get in.”
Nico nodded. “And Dmitry’s gone,” he added. “So your two main problems aren’t exactly available right now.”
“That would explain the silence,” Gino said.
“It does,” I agreed. “But it doesn’t mean it stays that way.”
Because it wouldn’t.
It never did.
I closed out of that thread and moved on, opening Echo’s site next.
Different world. Different kind of noise.
Jobs posted. Requests made. Quiet exchanges that never made it to the surface but carried just as much weight.
I scrolled.
Nothing unusual at first.
Small jobs. Quick hits.
Adjustments that barely registered as anything significant.
Normal. Too normal.
My fingers slowed slightly as I moved further down, my eyes scanning more carefully now, not just reading but feeling for anything that didn’t belong.
Then I saw it. At the bottom.
A fresh post.
Clear the last job.
Short. Direct.
No extra detail.
But beneath it was a name.
I stilled.
The air shifted around me without anyone else noticing yet.
“The Reaper.”