The maps were spread across the table like a battlefield.
Pins. Red lines. Names of men who wouldn't live out the month.
Ayla's intel confirmed what Leon already knew—Luca Vorelli was getting too bold. Smuggling weapons through Leon's ports, paying off small-time crews, and whispering Leon's name like it was weak.
They thought he'd gone soft.
They mistook silence for surrender.
⸻
"We hit the north warehouse first," Nico said. He tapped a red mark. "Minimal security. We torch it. Then we go after the men."
Leon nodded slowly. "No survivors. I want it to look like vengeance. Make them paranoid."
Nico grinned. "It'll rattle them."
Leon's jaw clenched. "I want more than that. I want them bleeding."
⸻
He didn't notice Ayla enter the room until the shift in the air told him she was there.
Her steps were quiet. Slower than usual.
He glanced up. She was standing in the doorway, holding her phone like it was something poisonous. Her expression was unreadable—caught somewhere between disbelief and fear.
"Ayla?" he asked, straightening. "What is it?"
She stepped forward wordlessly and held out her phone. He took it and read the message.
Unknown Number: You look different now. But I still remember. – D
The silence stretched between them.
"Who is it?" he asked.
Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Daniel."
Leon didn't recognize the name—but he recognized the way she said it.
It was someone from before. Before him. Before the training. Before the fire.
"Do you want to tell me who he is?"
Ayla hesitated. "He's… someone I never thought I'd hear from again."
Leon stared at the phone. "How did he get your number?"
"I don't know. I changed everything. This number was new."
Leon's eyes darkened. "Then he went looking for it."
⸻
He moved closer and gently placed his hand on her back.
"You don't have to deal with this alone. Whoever he is—he's mine now."
She blinked up at him, shaken but steady.
"I'm not afraid," she said.
"You should be," Leon said. "Because anyone who threatens what's mine doesn't just die."
He leaned in, brushing her temple with his lips.
"They vanish."