The Brussels headquarters was unusually quiet, the kind of silence that preceded a storm. Rook stood at the window, his eyes fixed on the city below, the weight of the last month pressing down on him like something that had finally found its place.
The partnership with Kruger was working—or at least, it appeared to be working. The operations were running smoothly, the supply chain was operational, and the network was expanding. But there was a tension beneath the surface, a fracture that Rook couldn't quite ignore.
Petrov was still out there, building his own network, pursuing his own vision. He'd been Rook's ally, then his rival, and now something in between—a competitor who shared the same goals but pursued them through different means.
Rook's phone buzzed on the windowsill, and he pi
