𝟷𝟸. "... 𝙼𝚢 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎"

TRAVIS'S P.O.V

Dominic dropped the files onto the table, the crisp rustle of paper the only sound between us. I didn't move from where I sat, my gaze locked onto his. His eyes flickered to me, reading the silence before speaking.

"There's the report. The proposal for the vote of no confidence was rejected," he informed me, sinking back into his chair.

Still, I didn't move. My stare remained unrelenting, forcing him to elaborate.

"The majority of the Chamber of Senate deemed it unnecessary and unconventional."

The silence stretched, thick with unspoken words. Dominic let out a slow breath, sitting up straighter as if bracing himself.

"No solid reason was given," he added. "And honestly, it's insensitive to push for his removal now—he just lost his wife."

I let the words hang in the air for a moment before speaking.

"Did you vote?"

The room fell into a heavy stillness. Dominic adjusted his blazer, the motion slow and deliberate.

"It wouldn't have mattered if I did," he said finally.

I leaned forward, my voice steady. "Were you against the proposition?"

His gaze wavered, just for a second. A tell.

"The Prime minister has more ties than you realize."

"The Volkov Syndicate."

He exhaled sharply, as if I'd yanked the answer straight from his throat. "They're backing him. The Don signed against the proposal, and there was nothing we could—"

"Nothing the Committee could do?" I cut in, watching him tense. He knew there was more to my line of questioning than I was letting on.

A slow smirk crept onto my face as I leaned back. "I always have to do it myself."

I stood, but Dominic called after me.

"Travis, I'd advise you to let this go. This isn't—"

The door shut behind me before he could finish. My hands slipped into my pockets as I walked down the hallway, his warning already forgotten. It didn't matter—I'd expected this. I already knew who had turned against the proposal.

And soon, I'd return the favor.

The whole thing had been a trap—a way to expose the snakes hiding in the grass. And they kept making it easier.

I stepped into the elevator just as the double doors slid open. As they were about to close, a woman moved to step in but hesitated the moment our eyes met.

I leaned back against the wall, barely noticing. My thoughts had already begun to drift. Despite the threats closing in, despite the storm brewing around me-

I was distracted. Those flashing images shot through my mind, I keep reminiscing that moment at the Summit.

The doors opened and I stepped out and exited the building, Silvano straightened up once he saw me, I took in his composure and knew something was up.

He straight out a card once I stopped in front of him and I glanced down at it. "An Umbra?" I asked, raising up a brow.

"No"

I took it and read it through, an invitation, it had an address on it and that familiar emblem. The Volkov.

"Are we consenting?" He asked, his eyes gleaming with mischief. It mirrored mine as I crumpled the invitation, "have we never?"

With that we hopped into the car and headed to the address. "Boss, you still have that thing at 5" he reminded and my eyes shot to him with confusion written over my face.

"The meeting" he elaborated.

But I was still blank and he let out a sigh, "At the Empire"

"That's today?"

"Yes, you told...what's his name-"

"It's Adrian" I cut in almost immediately and he paused for a second before continuing. "Yeah, he claimed your presence will be needed and...now I'm reminding you"

I looked away at once, cursing under my breath. I hadn't thought of that till now. I was only back in LA to somehow bring myself back or somewhat ground myself back to what it used to be. The business world.

Now business was a different thing for me.

We arrived the location in less than an hour and once I looked up at the building, I let out a long sigh. "A strip club. Nice" Silvano rejoiced and I only shot him a look, not surprised by his reaction at all.

"Stay here" I ordered, wanting to take a step towards the building but he held me back immediately and my eyes shot to him at once. "You're not going in alone" he stated, his hand still on mine.

"It was an order"

"It's my job" he countered once again and I let out another breath before turning to him fully, he retrieved his hand. "I'll kill you the next time you do this"

A grin spread across his lips at once, "I don't intend dying by any other hand aside yours, boss"

I shook my head and stepped inside.

The world shifted.

Heavy music clawed at the air, tangled with the stench of sweat, alcohol, and something acrid I didn't want to place. The room pulsed with it-heat, movement, chaos. If there had been any doubt about the kind of mob Volkov ran, this first invitation crushed it. This wasn't business. It was indulgence.

A figure materialized in front of us, tall and masked, cutting off our path. His posture was rigid, the weight of his presence deliberate. I glanced at him. He was new. Had to be.

For a second, he just stood there, like he was sizing us up. Then, with a flicker of hesitation, he stepped back. "Follow me."

His voice was flat. Cold.

We moved. The bass from below thumped against the walls as we ascended the stairs, the neon glow flickering like a bad omen. The deeper we went, the quieter it got-like the building itself held its breath. Then, suddenly, silence.

And him.

The Don.

He sat at the center of it all-the smoke-choked air, the flashing lights that fractured his form into something half-seen, half-imagined. A glass table sprawled before him, dusted with neat white lines. His men lounged beside him, draped in pleasure and intoxication, while women curled around them like decoration, swaying to a rhythm only they could hear.

Yet, for all the decadence, he didn't move. He didn't indulge. He simply watched.

And for the first time since stepping in, I felt it. The weight. The silence.

Like we had just walked into a predator's den. But then, something about being in danger always intrigued me.

"Travis Ferrari" the voice called from the shadows, smoke curling up above him. "Marco Cassian" I answered and he slowly leaned into the light and I saw the grim smile on his lips.

"I see you survived. Hope my boys weren't too hard on you, Смерть не была тем, чего мы хотели для тебя (𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞)" he said, his eyes following mine as I took the seat in front of him.

"The message was sent, Cassian. Why the invite?" I asked, my gaze unrelenting. "I wanted to see you in person, I've...heard a lot, Все говорят о тебе (𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞) . I was curious" he answered, leaning on the table and sniffing the substance in.

I watched him, this was my first time seeing him too. The Don of the Volkov Syndicate, I've heard about his dealings in Russia, I just wondered what he was doing in my...territory.

"You must be lost" I spoke again and he looked up at me. "It's one thing to be in my city, and it's another to pose a threat. Это дерзость (𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚢)"

He bursted out laughing immediately, "you...you speak my language. You are really the man you are, Travis Ferrari"

My patience was on a thin line now, I don't really stick around for the small talks, I always went down to business. His smile dissipated as he took in my features, he then leaned back and took a drag from the cigar between his finger.

"You threatened one of mine. I returned the favour" he said. "Cesare"

Now, it was clear. I saw the bigger picture. The Prime minister had other external influences that fueled his decision against us but what I couldn't place was why Dominic was on this side, they now worked for the Volkov.

I lowly chuckled before looking back at him. "Did you warn him about serving two masters?" I inquired and his smile widened.

"Cicatrici has control but I use it... Its quantity keeps dragging it down no matter how much influence it keeps acquiring" he mocked but it didn't phase.

No one needed to tell me our problem. I already knew it and if I wanted to solve it, it wouldn't be a problem anymore.

"I use your power, I'm sorry for crossing the line. LA is a beautiful city and I'm also here for business" he replied, leaning back on his seat with that satisfied smile on his lips.

They keep forgetting, don't they? They keep forgetting what this was.

"You should focus more on the losses on your side, The Dymatrix are also now against you, Ты не слишком хорошо обращаешься со своими партнёрами (𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕) "

As I said, they keep making this easy for me, this was the whole reason for the ambush from the Dymatrix. I've heard all I wanted to.

I let out one last breath and got up, "you can't be leaving, the party just began, Travis Ferrari" he called and I turned around to face him.

"I'm only warming up."

With that, I grabbed the man beside me and slammed his head against the table. Glass shattered, shards embedding in his skin as his body went limp. The room erupted-screams, chaos, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air.

I barely hesitated. My blade was already in my hand, slicing clean across another man's throat. He gurgled, staggered, and dropped. Gunfire cracked through the space-Silvano, already deep in the frenzy. This was exactly why he had come.

A woman scrambled in front of me, but I shoved her aside and grabbed the man behind her, yanking him up before hurling him across the room. A dull thud. The sickening crunch of bone.

Pain exploded at the side of my head.

I turned, vision tilting for a second. A masked figure stood there, gripping the jagged remains of a bottle, its edges slick with my blood.

He lunged.

A shot rang out before he reached me-Silvano's doing. The body hit the ground with a lifeless thud.

I moved fast, scooping up a discarded gun, firing into the chaos. Henchmen dropped one after another until the echoes faded, leaving only silence.

A deep, heavy silence.

I exhaled, breath uneven, blood dripping down my face. But the stillness that followed-the hush after carnage-was satisfying.

I let the gun slip from my fingers.

Then, finally, I turned to Cassian.

He hadn't moved. Still rooted to his chair, still watching-but now, I could see it. The fear. It clung to him, stark against the neon glow.

I had spared him.

Death wasn't what I wanted for him—not yet.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a pack of cigarettes, slid one between my lips, and lit up. Smoke curled in the air as I stepped over the bodies and perched myself on the wrecked table. The place was a disaster, but really, it wasn't much different than before.

I took a slow drag, eyes locked on Cassian.

"They didn't tell you one thing," I said, letting the smoke slip from my lips, dragging out the silence.

"My will is always done."