Meanwhile, across the city at the Romano estate, Leo had already assembled his most trusted enforcers for an immediate assault on Marco Torretti's apartment. The fury consuming him left no room for careful planning or strategic consideration."Thompson," Leo commanded with murderous intensity, "get Antonio, Giuseppe, Sal, and Vincent. We're paying Marco a visit.""Sir, what's the situation?" Thompson asked with professional concern."The situation," Leo replied with vicious satisfaction, "is that we've found the rat in our organization."Twenty minutes later, Leo's convoy screeched to a halt outside Marco Torretti's modest apartment building. The aging brick structure seemed to mock Leo's wealth and power as he led his armed men through the lobby toward Marco's third-floor unit."MARCO!" Leo roared as he pounded on the apartment door with enough force to rattle the frame. "OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!"Marco appeared in the doorway wearing a bathrobe and looking confused by this unexpected vis

Meanwhile, in Marco Torretti's ransacked apartment, the accused traitor knelt on his living room floor surrounded by Leo's enforcers, his face already showing the bruises from their "interrogation.""Please, boss," Marco begged with obvious desperation, "I'm telling you the truth! I've never betrayed you! Someone planted that evidence!""WHO?" Leo screamed with explosive fury. "WHO WOULD PLANT EVIDENCE IN YOUR APARTMENT?""Sterling!" Marco insisted with growing panic. "It has to be Sterling! He's the real traitor!"The accusation hit Leo like a physical blow, his face flushing red with renewed rage at this continued attack on the man who had saved his life multiple times."YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Leo roared with murderous intensity. "STERLING IS THE ONLY PERSON IN THIS ORGANIZATION I TRUST COMPLETELY!""Boss, please, you have to listen to me," Marco pleaded with tears streaming down his face. "Sterling is playing you! He's been working for your enemies from the beginning!""The only perso

The abandoned warehouse that served as Sebastian Sterling's command center felt like a tomb as he surveyed the aftermath of his disastrous encounter with Leo's death squad.Only three of his eight specialists had survived the operation, and those who remained showed the hollow-eyed look of men who had witnessed supernatural violence.Leo brought his death squad back to Carson City without telling me, Sebastian realized with growing concern. Despite all his trust, he still keeps his most dangerous secrets hidden."Boss," Torres said with obvious trauma, "what the hell were those things? I've never seen anything move that fast.""Professional killers," Sebastian replied with cold certainty."The kind that governments use for operations that don't officially exist.""But they moved like ghosts," Giuseppe Romano protested with obvious fear."Nobody fights like that.""They do if they're trained properly," Sebastian said with grim knowledge."And if they're willing to sacrifice everything

The secure backup facility that now served as Sebastian Sterling's command center hummed with electronic surveillance equipment as he reviewed intelligence reports about Leo's death squad.The apparent elimination of his previous identity had bought him precious time, but the strategic challenge remained unchanged.Direct attacks on Leo's facilities are impossible while the death squad provides protection, Sebastian calculated with cold precision.But every organization has vulnerabilities through its leadership structure."Sir," came the voice of his most trusted intelligence operative, a former CIA analyst named Marcus Chen, "we've completed the surveillance profile you requested.""What did you find?" Sebastian asked with professional interest."The death squad leader operates under the codename 'Phantom,'" Marcus explained with obvious respect for his subject's capabilities."Real name unknown, but we've identified three locations he frequents regularly.""What kind of locations?"

The Monster Flower exceeded Karvel's expectations—a delicate plant with blood-red petals that seemed to pulse with internal luminescence. Even through protective barriers, it radiated dangerous potential."This is exactly what I needed," Karvel said with genuine appreciation."Dr. Yale, your assistance has been invaluable to my research.""What specific applications will you be testing?" Dr. Yale asked with obvious scientific curiosity about the exotic specimen."That information is not your concern," Karvel replied with sudden coldness that made the distinguished physician step back involuntarily."I... I was merely curious from a medical research perspective," Dr. Yale stammered with obvious discomfort at the abrupt tonal shift."Your curiosity has been satisfied through successful acquisition," Karvel said with finality."We're even now, Dr. Yale. You owe me nothing further, and I owe you nothing further.""But surely our professional relationship—" Dr. Yale began with obvious conf