The First Attack
1479 Words
The next morning, Viktoria woke to a different kind of silence.
It was not the peaceful silence that sometimes settled over the estate before sunrise. This one felt deliberate.
She found Alexander waiting outside her office when she arrived.
He was holding a folder.
“You should see this.”
Viktoria took it from him and opened it.
Inside were reports from three districts under her control.
She read the first page.
Then the second.
Her expression hardened.
“What happened?”
“Three of our suppliers stopped deliveries yesterday,” Alexander said. “Two companies cancelled their contracts without explanation. And this morning, one of our district officials resigned.”
Viktoria looked up.
“All at once?”
“All within twenty-four hours.”
She closed the folder.
“Marcus.”
“I believe so.”
Viktoria walked toward the window.
For four years, her father had watched her territory grow stronger.
He had watched her turn a divided portion of the Draven Empire into something that could stand on its own.
He had never tried to stop her.
Not openly.
But now everything had changed.
The marriage announcement had changed it.
“He is frightened,” Viktoria said quietly.
Alexander shook his head.
“No. He is preparing.”
She turned to him.
“What is the difference?”
“A frightened man reacts. A prepared man has already decided what he wants to destroy.”
Viktoria stared at the folder again.
That answer told her enough.
“Find out who is behind the companies that cancelled their contracts.”
“I already started.”
“And the official who resigned?”
“I sent someone to follow the trail.”
Viktoria nodded.
Then another report was placed on the desk.
Alexander had brought it with him.
“There is more.”
She opened it.
This time, her eyes stopped at several names.
Council members.
Not the entire council.
Only four.
Each of them had recently contacted people within her territory.
“What are they doing?”
“According to the reports, they're questioning whether your government is still stable.”
Viktoria gave a humorless smile.
“After four years of stability?”
“They are using the marriage.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Of course.”
The council had tolerated her because they believed she was young.
Now she was twenty-four.
Her territory was thriving.
Her people respected her.
And she was preparing to marry into the Wells family.
The same council that had once divided the empire because they thought she was too young now had another reason to fear her.
If Viktoria and Elias united their influence, Marcus's half of the empire would become harder to defend.
“They don't want the empire reunited,” she said.
Alexander looked at her.
“Some of them don't.”
Before Viktoria could respond, a guard entered.
“Lady Viktoria.”
She turned.
“What?”
“There is someone here to see you.”
“Who?”
“Elias Wells.”
Alexander's eyes moved toward Viktoria.
She was silent for a moment.
“Send him in.”
A few minutes later, Elias entered the office.
He was dressed simply, but there was nothing casual about the way he carried himself.
His eyes moved briefly from Viktoria to Alexander.
“I assume you've heard.”
Viktoria crossed her arms.
“I have.”
“Then we're dealing with the same problem.”
“You're going to have to be more specific.”
Elias placed a document on the table.
“The Wells family has received three requests to reconsider our position on the marriage.”
Viktoria looked at him.
“From whom?”
“People connected to your council.”
Alexander stepped closer to the table.
“So they're trying to pressure the Wells family.”
“They're trying to make the marriage look like a threat,” Elias replied.
Viktoria picked up the document.
“Is it?”
Elias met her eyes.
“To them? Yes.”
She studied him for a moment.
“And to you?”
“To me, it's an opportunity.”
Alexander remained silent.
Viktoria placed the document down.
“An opportunity for what?”
“To expose who actually benefits from the division.”
That caught her attention.
Elias continued.
“Your father isn't doing this alone.”
“I already know the council is involved.”
“Not all of them.”
He pointed to the names in Viktoria's report.
“These four.”
Alexander looked at him.
“You know them?”
“I know their businesses.”
Elias pulled another document from his coat.
“These men have been receiving financial benefits from territories controlled by Marcus.”
Viktoria's eyes narrowed.
“How long?”
“Years.”
The room went quiet.
Alexander looked at the documents again.
“So the division isn't just political.”
“No,” Elias said. “It's profitable.”
Viktoria leaned against the desk.
That explained too much.
People who benefited from the empire remaining divided would never willingly support reunification.
Marcus had his territory.
The council had its influence.
And certain people had built businesses around the separation.
Her marriage to Elias threatened all of it.
Viktoria looked at Elias.
“What do you want?”
“I want the same thing I wanted before.”
“The Wells family's influence restored.”
“Yes.”
“And you're willing to help me expose them?”
“If it brings us closer to reunifying the empire.”
Viktoria studied him carefully.
“You make everything sound like a transaction.”
“Because it is.”
She almost smiled.
“At least you're honest.”
“I don't see the point in pretending.”
Alexander looked between them.
“There is one problem.”
Viktoria turned toward him.
“What?”
“If we expose these people now, they'll know we're coming.”
Elias nodded.
“Exactly.”
Viktoria looked at the four names again.
Then she closed the folder.
“We don't expose them.”
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
“We watch them.”
Elias's expression changed slightly.
Viktoria continued.
“Let them believe their plan is working.”
She picked up the reports Marcus had sent against her.
“Let Marcus think he's weakening my territory.”
Her voice became colder.
“Let the council think I'm distracted by the marriage.”
She looked at Elias.
“And let these people believe we haven't noticed them.”
Elias gave a small nod.
“That was my thought.”
Alexander looked at Viktoria.
“And what will you do?”
Viktoria walked toward the window.
“Nothing.”
Alexander frowned.
“Nothing?”
“For now.”
She looked out over the city below.
“If Marcus wants a war, I'll let him make the first move.”
Her eyes hardened.
“And when he does, I'll know exactly where to strike.”
A knock sounded at the door.
One of Alexander's men entered.
He looked tense.
“Lady Viktoria, we found something.”
Viktoria turned.
“What?”
The man handed Alexander a small envelope.
Alexander opened it.
His expression changed almost immediately.
“What is it?” Viktoria asked.
He handed her the contents.
It was a list.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Viktoria read the first page.
Then the second.
Her face became unreadable.
“These payments…”
Alexander nodded slowly.
“They go back four years.”
Four years.
The same year the empire had been divided.
Viktoria's fingers tightened around the papers.
“Who received them?”
Alexander pointed to the bottom of the list.
The names belonged to people inside the council.
But there was one name that made Viktoria stop breathing for a moment.
Not because she knew the person.
Because she knew the position.
Council Treasurer.
Viktoria looked at Alexander.
“Where did this come from?”
“We found it in a private account connected to one of Marcus's businesses.”
Elias stepped closer.
“Then Marcus isn't simply fighting you.”
Viktoria looked at him.
“He's protecting something.”
The realization settled over the room.
The division of the empire had never been as simple as the council had claimed.
Someone had made money from it.
Someone had protected that arrangement.
And someone had been doing it for years.
Viktoria folded the papers carefully.
“Don't tell anyone we found this.”
Alexander nodded.
“And the council?”
Viktoria's eyes remained on the documents.
“Let them continue believing I'm playing their game.”
She turned toward the door.
“Because now…”
Her voice was calm.
“…I'm playing mine.”
Outside, somewhere beyond the walls of the Draven estate, Marcus was already making his next move.
And for the first time in four years, Viktoria was ready for it.
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