Dominic

30

_________

The hum of the private jet fades into the background as I focus on the glowing screen of my laptop. Adrian’s voice filters through the headset I’m wearing, sharp and urgent as he relays the latest intel.

“We’ve confirmed it,” Adrian says. “The offshore account ties directly to Reyes’ network. But it’s bigger than we thought, —he’s running a full-scale cyber-espionage operation.”

My hands clench the edges of the laptop as his words sink in. This isn’t just about Kane Enterprises anymore. It’s bigger. Much bigger.

“What kind of operation?” I ask, my voice tight.

“Reyes isn’t just targeting you,” Adrian explains. “He’s siphoning data from multiple corporations across different sectors—tech, pharmaceuticals, finance. He’s hacking trade secrets, blackmailing executives, and selling information to the highest bidder. Conrad was just a tool—a diversion to focus your attention while he expanded.”

I curse under my breath, my jaw tightening. Reyes is a parasite, feeding on the vulnerabilities of others. If we don’t stop him now, he’ll bleed entire industries dry.

“Where is he?” I demand, my tone cutting through the noise of the cabin.

Adrian hesitates. “We’ve traced the offshore account activity to a location in Zurich—a private estate tucked into the hills outside the city. Reyes is careful, but he’s getting sloppy. He’s made this his hub.”

I glance across the cabin to Eva, who sits with her arms crossed, the glow of her tablet screen illuminating her face. She looks up, her green eyes locking with mine, searching for answers.

“What did he say?” she asks, her voice steady but laced with tension.

I pull the headset off and set it aside. “Reyes is in Zurich. This is where it ends.”

Eva nods, her shoulders squaring as though bracing for what’s to come. “We’ll stop him,” she says, her voice low but resolute.

I study her for a long moment, feeling the familiar tug deep in my chest. Despite everything she’s endured, she’s still here—fierce and unwavering. Part of me wishes I could shield her from the danger ahead, but I know better. Eva isn’t someone who waits on the sidelines.

“We’ll end this,” I say softly. “Together.”

The estate looms before us, nestled in a valley surrounded by dense trees and rolling hills. From a distance, it looks idyllic—white stone walls, massive glass windows, and sprawling grounds. But I know better. This isn’t a sanctuary; it’s a fortress.

Adrian’s team has provided us with everything—security layouts, blind spots, shift rotations. Reyes has guards patrolling the perimeter and motion sensors covering key access points. But no fortress is impenetrable.

Eva crouches beside me, her breath visible in the cold night air. Dressed in dark clothes, her hair pulled back, she studies the layout on the tablet screen with sharp focus.

“We enter through the west side,” I murmur, pointing to a blind spot Adrian marked earlier. “The guard rotation will leave it exposed for approximately three minutes. Once we’re inside, we move fast.”

She nods. “And what are we looking for?”

“Reyes’ main server,” I explain. “Adrian believes it’s somewhere inside the estate. If we can access it, we’ll pull the data he’s stolen—and everything he’s planning.”

“And Reyes?” she asks, her voice steady despite the tension thrumming between us.

“If we find him, we take him down,” I reply, my tone cold and resolute.

Eva exhales slowly, her fingers tightening on the tablet. “Let’s go.”

The hallway is dark, the faint hum of electricity vibrating through the air. Eva and I move quickly but carefully, keeping close to the walls as we navigate deeper into the estate. I count each turn, each door, replaying Adrian’s schematics in my head like a mantra.

We find the server room faster than I expect—an unmarked door tucked into the corner of the east wing. I test the handle. Locked.

“Stand back,” I whisper, pulling a small tool from my pocket. The lock clicks open within seconds.

The room beyond is small but state-of-the-art. Servers line the walls, their blinking lights casting faint glows across the metal panels. Eva slips inside, moving to the central terminal.

“Can you access it?” I ask, my voice low.

She nods, already plugging in a flash drive Adrian gave us. “Give me a minute.”

I keep watch in the hallway, my senses on high alert. Every sound seems amplified in the silence. The air feels wrong—too still, too heavy—and a prickling sensation creeps up the back of my neck.

“,” Eva whispers.

I turn, my stomach twisting at the look on her face. “What is it?”

“It’s too easy,” she says, her voice tinged with unease. “The system isn’t encrypted the way it should be. Reyes is smart—there’s no way he’d leave this server unprotected.”

Before I can respond, the lights flicker, then cut out entirely. A piercing alarm blares, deafening in the small space. Red emergency lights flood the room, casting everything in an eerie glow.

“Trap,” I growl, grabbing Eva’s arm. “Move!”

We sprint down the hallway, the alarm echoing behind us. I hear footsteps—guards closing in fast. Adrenaline surges through me as I pull Eva toward the nearest exit. But as we round the corner, we’re stopped cold.

Reyes stands in the center of the hallway, his smirk chilling and his confidence unnerving.

“Going somewhere?” he drawls, his voice oozing condescension.

I step forward instinctively, positioning myself between Eva and Reyes. “This ends now.”

Reyes chuckles, slow and deliberate. “Oh, . Always so predictable.”

He lifts his hand, revealing a small remote. My stomach sinks.

“You want your data back?” Reyes taunts. “I’ll give you a choice: walk away with your precious files, or save your little journalist.”

Before I can respond, the hidden door to the left opens, and two of Reyes’ men appear. One of them grabs Eva, a gun pressed to her side.

“!” Eva gasps, struggling against the guard’s grip.

My chest tightens as Reyes’ smirk widens. “Tick-tock, . Time’s running out.”

His ultimatum is brutal in its simplicity—Eva or my empire.

“You’ve underestimated me,” I say, my voice cold and steady.

Reyes tilts his head, his smirk faltering. “Have I?”

I move fast, slamming into him with all my weight. The remote clatters to the ground as I drive him back against the wall.

“You’ll regret this,” he spits, but his bravado cracks as I pin him.

“You won’t live to see me regret anything,” I snarl.

I burst into the room where Eva is being held, taking out the guard with a calculated blow. Eva is on her feet in an instant, her eyes blazing with defiance despite the ropes around her wrists.

“You okay?” I ask, untying her.

“Better now,” she replies, her voice steady.

Together, we escape into the cold night, Reyes’ fortress crumbling behind us.

The car speeds away from the estate, Adrian at the wheel and Eva beside me in the backseat. My chest heaves as I replay the night’s events, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

“We’ve got partial data,” Adrian says, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “Enough to confirm Reyes’ operation, but not enough to take him down completely.”

Eva’s hand brushes against mine, her touch grounding me. “We’ll get the rest,” she says softly.

I squeeze her hand, a silent promise passing between us. This isn’t over. Not until Reyes pays for everything he’s done.

____________________________________________________________________

The sleek black SUV glides through Zurich’s winding streets, the lights of the estate fading behind us like a nightmare retreating into the shadows. My hand rests on Eva’s, her fingers still trembling slightly despite her steady exterior. Adrian drives in tense silence, his eyes darting to the rearview mirror as he scans for any sign of pursuit.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Adrian says, his voice sharp but controlled. “Reyes doesn’t leave loose ends. If he knows we escaped, he’ll retaliate.”

“He won’t get the chance,” I reply, my tone cold. My mind is already calculating the next steps, the next moves Reyes will try to make. Every minute we’ve bought tonight is a countdown to his next attack.

Eva’s gaze flickers toward me, searching for something—answers, reassurance, anything to make sense of the chaos we’ve just escaped. “Do we have enough?” she asks, her voice steady but quiet.

“Enough to confirm his operation,” Adrian replies before I can. “But not enough to dismantle it. Reyes is careful. He’s spread his network too thin for one strike to bring him down.”

I glance at her, meeting her questioning gaze. “It’s a start,” I say. “But we need more.”

The Zurich safehouse is a stark contrast to the luxurious estate we just left. It’s utilitarian and cold, with bare walls and sparse furnishings, but it serves its purpose: a secure, untraceable location to regroup.

Adrian’s team is already setting up, unpacking equipment and pulling up live feeds on their laptops. Eva and I step into the main room, the tension between us thick as smoke.

She stops just inside the doorway, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “What now?” she asks, her tone clipped.

“Now, we plan,” I reply, my voice firm. “Reyes has made it clear he’s willing to escalate. That makes him predictable.”

Eva’s eyes narrow, her frustration bubbling to the surface. “Predictable? , he’s been one step ahead of us this entire time. Tonight was a trap, and we walked right into it.”

Her words sting, but I don’t let it show. Instead, I take a step closer, my voice softening. “You’re right. But tonight also showed us something else—he’s desperate. Desperate men make mistakes.”

Eva’s expression softens, but only slightly. “And what if his next mistake costs us more than we can afford?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It won’t,” I say firmly, brushing my hand against hers. “Because I won’t let it.”

Adrian’s voice cuts through the tense silence of the safehouse. “We’ve got something.”

Eva and I move to the table where Adrian is sitting, his laptop screen glowing with data. He points to a series of transactions, his finger trailing down the list like a countdown.

“Reyes moved the funds again,” Adrian explains. “He’s funneling them through smaller shell companies, but they all trace back to a single entity—a logistics firm in Geneva.”

“What’s the connection?” I ask, leaning over the table.

“The firm’s records are clean on the surface,” Adrian says. “But its owner—Marcus Vialli—has ties to Reyes. They’ve worked together before, smuggling high-value assets through Switzerland and into Eastern Europe.”

Eva tilts her head, her sharp mind already piecing the puzzle together. “If Vialli’s the link, then Reyes is using him to move something big. Something he doesn’t want traced.”

“Exactly,” Adrian says. “If we can intercept one of their shipments, we might find what Reyes is hiding—and force his hand.”

The drive to Geneva is long and tense, the weight of our plan pressing down on all of us. Adrian’s team has already identified the shipment—a convoy of unmarked trucks leaving the logistics firm’s warehouse at dawn. If we move fast, we can intercept it before it crosses the border.

The operation unfolds like clockwork. Adrian’s team sets up roadblocks on the highway, forcing the convoy to a halt. Eva and I stay in the SUV, watching from a distance as Adrian’s men approach the trucks.

“Do you really think Reyes would risk something valuable on such an obvious route?” Eva asks, her doubt evident.

“He doesn’t have a choice,” I reply. “The funds are drying up, and he needs to move whatever he’s been holding onto. If this is a diversion, it’s a costly one.”

The comm crackles in Adrian’s hand as his team begins their search. “We’ve got something,” one of his men reports. “Truck three—there’s a false compartment in the cargo hold.”

Adrian signals for us to approach, and I step out of the SUV, my pulse steady but my mind racing. Eva follows close behind, her eyes sharp and focused.

The compartment is pried open, revealing a series of steel cases stacked neatly inside. Adrian’s team moves to open one, their tools precise and efficient.

When the lid lifts, my stomach twists. The case is filled with hard drives, each one labeled with cryptic codes.

“It’s his data,” Adrian says, his voice grim. “Blueprints, financial records, communications—everything Reyes has been hiding.”

Eva’s breath catches beside me. “This could bring him down,” she says, her voice filled with cautious hope.

“It will,” I reply, my voice hard. “But we need to move fast. Reyes won’t let this slide.”

The drive back to Zurich is quiet, the cases of hard drives secured in the back of the SUV. Eva sits beside me, her gaze fixed out the window as the sun begins to rise over the Alps.

“What happens now?” she asks, breaking the silence.

“Adrian’s team will decrypt the drives,” I say. “Once we have the data, we take it to the authorities. Reyes’ network is too big for us to dismantle alone.”

Eva nods, but her expression remains troubled. “And if Reyes retaliates?”

“He will,” I admit. “But this time, we’ll be ready.”

Her hand brushes against mine, her touch grounding me. “Promise me something,” she says softly. “No more secrets. No more half-truths. If we’re in this together, I need to know everything.”

I turn to her, my chest tightening at the vulnerability in her eyes. “I promise,” I say, my voice steady. “No more secrets.”

The moment hangs between us, fragile but unbreakable.

As we pull into the Zurich safehouse, Adrian’s phone buzzes. He answers it quickly, his expression darkening with every word.

“What is it?” I ask, my pulse quickening.

Adrian ends the call, his jaw tight. “Reyes knows we’ve got the data. He’s already made his next move.”

“What move?” Eva asks, her voice sharp.

Adrian hesitates, his gaze shifting between us. “He’s targeting Kane Enterprises. A coordinated cyberattack—worse than anything we’ve seen before. If he succeeds, it won’t just cripple the company. It’ll destroy it.”

My stomach drops, but my resolve hardens. “Then we stop him.”

Eva’s hand tightens around mine. “Together.”

The weight of what’s coming settles over us like a storm, but I refuse to let it break us. Reyes thinks he’s untouchable, but he’s about to learn otherwise.

This isn’t just a fight for Kane Enterprises anymore. This is war.