“Why are you not afraid?” Viktor’s voice rose, filled with disbelief and anger that was no longer hidden. The cane in his hand struck the floor hard, its sound echoing roughly throughout the room. “Why are you laughing instead, and so sure that I cannot kill your husband?”He stepped closer, his old face turning red, the veins on his temples tightening. “Do you know who I am?” he shouted. “I am Viktor Lang.”The cane struck the floor again. “I am a former general. I led wars, crushed rebellions, destroyed my enemies one by one.” His eyes narrowed sharply. “Every hostage I ever took, every enemy I ever faced, trembled just by hearing my words.”He pointed the tip of the cane at Biella. “But you?” he hissed. “You look down on me.”Biella looked at him calmly. There was no tension in her shoulders.“Old man, your era and the current era are different,” Biella said.Viktor fell silent for a moment, as if he could not believe what he had just heard.“Maybe in the past, when you were young

The door flew open, its hinges shrieking sharply as the sound echoed through the room Viktor had long considered his final fortress. He jolted, eyes widening, the cane in his hand trembling for a brief second before he managed to drive it into the marble floor to steady himself. Zander stood in the doorway, his silhouette cut sharply by the cold corridor light behind him. His face was calm, far too calm for a man who had just breached a harbor filled with rifles and traps. In that instant, Viktor understood one bitter truth that crushed his chest with fear. If Zander had made it this far, then everyone outside, the guards and the hidden snipers he once took pride in, had already been neutralized. There were no layers of protection left. No time remained. Viktor straightened with the aid of his cane, struggling to preserve what little dignity he had left. The three men in the room exchanged brief glances, then moved almost simultaneously. Their steps were silent and lethal, knive