The lighter was still warm.
Alex stared at it like it might explode.
Victor didn’t move.
Dimitri didn’t breathe.
For three full seconds, no one spoke.
Then—
“Seal the exits,” Victor ordered calmly.
Too calmly.
Bootsteps thundered below.
Men scattering.
Radios crackling.
But Alex didn’t move.
His eyes were fixed on the empty space where Lena had stood.
“She planned this,” he said quietly.
Dimitri let out a low, humorless laugh. “Of course she did.”
Victor’s gaze sharpened. “You knew.”
Dimitri didn’t deny it.
“I suspected.”
“Suspected what?” Alex demanded.
“That she stopped choosing sides years ago.”
The words hit like a punch.
Alex turned slowly.
“What are you saying?”
Dimitri’s eyes flicked to the lighter on the floor.
“She learned from both of us.”
Victor’s jaw ti
