Adrian stood atop the construction scaffold overlooking the eastern docks, his docks now crawling with armed guards and tension thick as oil. Smoke bled into the horizon from the decoy fire Zora had started. The real shipment had already been intercepted hours ago, but Donata didn’t know that yet.
He tightened the earpiece. “Any update from Valentina?”
Silence.
Then Zora’s voice cut through, clear and urgent. “She checked in after the strike. One casualty on our side. Matteo’s still with her. But she saw something... or someone. Spooked her.”
Adrian's jaw clenched. “What do you mean someone?”
“She didn’t elaborate,” Zora replied. “But her instincts are rarely wrong.”
He cursed under his breath. Valentina walking into a snake pit was already risky. If ghosts had started showing up now
