Chapter 31 New information
Aleksander's POV
I was just finishing my latte when my phone vibrated in my pocket. My thumb hovered over the screen, heart tightening when I saw Dimitri’s name flash across it. I’d been waiting for this call all morning, but the timing — in the middle of the mall, with Maria out of sight — added a layer of tension I couldn’t shake.
I ducked behind a pillar, shielding myself from the passing crowd, and answered quietly.
“Dimitri,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“Aleksander,” he said immediately, urgency threading his words. “I’ve found the mole.”
My stomach clenched. Finally. Finally, a lead. “Go on,” I said, voice barely above a whisper. I kept scanning the mall around me, making sure no one nearby was listening. People passed, unaware, laughing, texting, completely oblivious to the storm brewing just a few feet away.
“He’s gone,” Dimitri continued, his voice clipped, controlled. “We tracked him after the diner incident. He didn’t stick around. He fled, and… we have confirmation. Viktor is involved.”
The words hit me like a punch. Viktor. My mind reeled. Of course Viktor — the man who had been lurking in the shadows, pulling strings. But hearing it confirmed, hearing Dimitri say it out loud, made the reality unavoidable.
“I need you to be precise,” I said, voice steady though my chest was tightening. “What’s the confirmation? Are you sure?”
Dimitri’s pause was enough to make the air in my lungs feel thick. “Aleksander, we can confirm 100%. Paper trail, communications, everything lines up. He orchestrated it. He sent the mole, directed him. The whole setup was for him.”
I ran a hand over my face, trying to keep calm, trying to ignore the sudden rush of anger. Viktor. Of course. The pieces were starting to click — the timing, the subtle nudges, the shadowing that had been so quiet I almost didn’t notice it. It wasn’t just a random hit. It wasn’t just business. It was personal.
“Where is the mole now?” I asked, keeping my tone casual even though every muscle in my body was ready to snap.
“Fled,” Dimitri said again. “We tracked him to the outskirts of the city, but he’s vanished. Likely laying low until he figures out what’s next. Whoever he contacts next could be dangerous, Aleksander. This escalates fast.”
I clenched my fist, my knuckles white. “I understand. I’ll handle it.”
“Careful,” Dimitri warned. “We don’t know how many others are involved. But… you need to move fast before the trail goes cold.”
I exhaled slowly, keeping my eyes on the passing crowd. Maria wasn’t back from the bathroom yet, thank God, or she’d see the shift in my expression. The calm, controlled man I try to project in public was cracking under the knowledge that Viktor — of all people — had orchestrated this attack. And worse, he’d been careful enough that only Dimitri’s investigation could confirm it.
“Understood,” I said. “Keep tracking. If anything moves, call me immediately.”
“You got it,” Dimitri said, and the line went dead.
I stood there, phone in hand, staring at the marble floor tiles. Anger, disbelief, and a gnawing sense of betrayal churned in my chest. Viktor had played this perfectly, quietly, invisibly. The mole was only a tool, a disposable pawn in his game. But now I knew — and that knowledge changed everything.
I pocketed the phone, my mind racing. I had to get back to Maria, had to act normal, had to mask the surge of rage building in me. She didn’t need to see this yet. She didn’t need to know that someone we’d both thought distant, untouchable, was now not only directly involved but had orchestrated the hit on me.
I checked the cafe tables around me. She was nowhere in sight, likely still in the bathroom. Good. I could take a few deep breaths, steady myself, and plan our next move without her questioning eyes on me.
I leaned against a pillar, letting the noise of the mall wash over me. The soft clatter of shoes against tile, distant laughter, the faint hum of music from the stores — it was all a strange, grounding contrast to the storm inside my head. Viktor. The thought kept circling, unrelenting. I had worked so hard, built everything, and now someone I had underestimated, someone who had hidden in plain sight, had pulled the strings from the shadows.
I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing the anger down, holding it in check. This wasn’t about losing control. It was about precision. Planning. Patience. Viktor’s involvement meant this was bigger than I imagined. He hadn’t just sent a mole to the diner; he had pulled the strings, designed the scenario. And now I had confirmation. I couldn’t afford to act recklessly.
My eyes flicked to the mall entrance, to the streams of people moving in and out. Maria would be back any second, laughing, holding her coffee, probably oblivious to the danger we’d just uncovered. I reminded myself: protect first, act second. Her safety came first. Viktor’s betrayal could wait.
I could feel my pulse in my temples, a steady rhythm of anger and focus. Dimitri’s confirmation had been enough to light the fuse, but I had to control it. There was no room for mistakes. The mole had fled, but the trail was hot. Viktor’s involvement was now an undeniable fact. And I had to decide how to use it — carefully, deliberately, and without tipping anyone off.
The bathroom door opened, and Maria stepped out, adjusting her scarf, a bright smile lighting her face. “Sorry it took so long,” she said. “Everything’s fine in there. Are you ready to keep exploring?”
I swallowed down the surge of tension, forcing my expression to relax, letting my voice be calm, normal. “Of course,” I said, sliding my hands into my pockets. “Let’s keep going.”
Her smile was infectious, and for a few seconds, I let myself sink into it. The mall lights reflected in her hair, and she laughed softly at a display she found amusing. But beneath the smile, beneath the casual walk, my mind churned. Viktor. The mole. The diner. Confirmation. All of it. And I had to figure out my next move before anyone else did.
I exhaled slowly, letting the controlled calm of my public persona settle over me again. I couldn’t let Maria see the storm brewing. Not yet. She needed this — this tiny, ordinary reprieve from everything. And I had to honor that, even as the knowledge of Viktor’s betrayal simmered just beneath my skin.
We walked past the coffee shop again, the smells of roasted beans and cinnamon drifting into my senses. People brushed past, children tugged at their parents, teenagers laughed with their friends. And I moved with them, a shadow in the crowd, planning, thinking, waiting. Viktor had pulled his cards, but I had mine too. And soon, very soon, the game would shift.