The rain over Milan that night did not fall as a soothing drizzle, but as lashes of water hammering against the crystal windows of Moretti Tower. On the fourteenth floor, Dante Moretti stood motionless, letting his back absorb the vibrations of the storm outside. Without his black glasses, those pale white eyes seemed like radar, capturing every particle of fear drifting through the air of the city he had just conquered once again.“Rome has gone silent, Dante,” Elena Rossi said, breaking the stillness of the room. She stepped inside in a silver silk gown that whispered softly with every movement, carrying the scent of vintage cognac and sandalwood. “Don Verga has already sent his first report. The central logistics network in Central Italy is now fully operating under Vanguard encryption channels.”Dante did not turn around. He tilted his head slightly to the left, catching the perfectly measured echo of Elena’s footsteps. “Authority without oversight is an invitation to betrayal, El

The thirteenth floor of Moretti Tower was supposed to be a dead, empty space, a renovation zone filled with stacks of cement bags, dangling cables, and steel frameworks not yet sealed in concrete. But when Dante Moretti’s private elevator chimed softly at that floor, the air that greeted him did not smell like construction dust. It smelled of ozone, heated silicon, and the unmistakable scent of lavender perfume, the same fragrance Alessandro Moretti always used to conceal the smell of his anxiety.Dante stepped out of the elevator. He did not use his cane. Instead, he let the soles of his feet, covered only by black socks, feel the vibrations of the floor beneath him. Behind him, Elena Rossi gripped her Glock with both hands while Kael and Cian moved sideways, forming a synchronized protective formation.“Maya, shut down the thermal sensors in the north corridor,” Dante ordered through the tiny microphone on his collar. His voice was low, almost like the hiss of wind.“Already done, B

The Milan sun rose over the horizon in blazing shades of orange, reflecting across the crystal glass of Moretti Tower, which now stood tall once again as the center of gravity for Europe’s underworld. On the fourteenth floor, the aroma of strong black coffee mingled with the fresh scent of jasmine flowers. Dante Moretti stood on the balcony, his black suit fluttering softly in the morning wind. He no longer wore his sunglasses. His pale white eyes faced the distance, absorbing the vibrations of a city beginning to breathe again.“Doctor Victor said you should stop standing in the wind, Dante. Your nerves are still sensitive after last night’s satellite synchronization,” Elena Rossi’s voice broke the silence. She stepped onto the balcony and draped a wool coat over her husband’s shoulders.Dante did not turn, but the corner of his lips lifted slightly. “This wind carries clear news, Elena. I can hear cargo being lifted at the Port of Genoa, the sound of stock transactions in London now

The air high in the Alps at two thousand meters felt razor-thin and sharp, like icy blades trying to carve through the lungs. Dante Moretti stepped out of the Vanguard-02 helicopter as it landed on a hidden platform carved into the rocky slope. Violent winds roared against him, slamming into his black trench coat, yet Dante stood unmoving, as though he were part of the mountain’s foundation itself.“The temperature outside is minus ten degrees, Dante. You need to get inside immediately,” Elena Rossi’s voice crackled through the radio, concern hidden beneath a layer of professional composure.“This cold is pure, Elena. No city noise interfering with my hearing up here,” Dante replied. He closed his eyes, allowing his ears to capture the echoes of wind rebounding off the concrete structure of the military bunker buried beneath the snow. “Maya, status on our uncle?”Maya’s voice came through, stripped of its usual playful tone. “Bad, Boss. Alessandro isn’t using any devices. He’s just si

Morning in Milan greeted the dawn beneath a blanket of thick fog that shrouded Moretti Tower. Inside the main office, Dante Moretti stood motionless before the massive glass windows. His right ear was no longer wrapped in bandages, yet the lingering pain from last night’s neural synchronization still pulsed faintly behind his temple. He did not need sunglasses in the deliberately dim room. His faded white eyes stared into the void, absorbing the vibrations of a city slowly waking to life.“Lord Shen just cleared biometric screening in the lower lobby,” Maya’s voice echoed through the hidden speakers, her tone far more serious than usual. “He brought two legal advisors and one bodyguard whose heartbeat is incredibly steady, the kind of man who wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger in the middle of a crowd.”Dante slowly turned around. “Kael is already in position?”“Kael and Cian are behind the acoustic panels in the conference room,” Elena Rossi replied as she entered. She wore a shar