Chapter 4 - The Shadow of MoscowThe main foyer erupted into a chaotic, lethal gunfight. Stefan moved like a specter through the upper corridors, utilizing secret passages built into the estate's frame to flank Vance’s mercenaries. Every shot he fired was calculated; every movement was precise. Jonas and his men pushed from the lower service tunnels, pinching Vance’s force into the center of the grand hall.
Gunfire ripped through priceless paintings, shattered mahogany panels, and chewed up the plush carpets. Vance’s men, despite their numerical superiority, were being systematically eliminated by a crew that knew every inch of the estate.
Below, Viktor Vance realized he had stepped into a death trap.
"Flank them!" Viktor roared, firing his custom weapon toward the upper walkway. "Find the girl! She’s the priority!"
Two mercenaries broke away from the main group, charging down the corridor leading toward the war room.
Inside the war room, Nadia heard the heavy footsteps approaching. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She raised the 9mm pistol, pointing it squarely at the titanium door. Beside her, Goliath’s body went rigid. A low, thunderous growl vibrated deep within the mastiff's chest—a sound of pure, primordial rage.
BOOM.
A thermite breaching charge detonated against the lock. The titanium door buckled, blowing inward with a cloud of black smoke and sparks.
A mercenary lunged through the smoke, his rifle raised.
Before he could acquire his target, a heavy black shape exploded through the smoke.
Goliath, ignoring the agony in his shattered leg, launched his three-hundred-pound frame directly at the attacker. The mastiff’s jaw locked around the mercenary’s arm, crushing bone and tactical gear instantly. The man screamed, dropping his rifle as he was slammed violently to the floor.
The second mercenary stepped up, bringing his firearm to bear on the dog's head.
BANG! BANG!
Nadia pulled the trigger twice without hesitation. The bullets struck the mercenary squarely in the chest plate, staggering him backward. She fired a third time, hitting him in the neck. The man collapsed into the snow-dusted hallway.
Goliath stood over the first attacker, breathing heavily, his jaws dripping with blood, guarding Nadia with every ounce of his remaining life.
"Good boy..." Nadia sobbed, running her hand down the dog's shivering back. "Good boy, Goliath!"
Out in the grand hall, the gunfire was dying down. The last of Vance’s mercenaries lay motionless on the marble floor. The smell of cordite and blood was overwhelming.
Stefan stepped down the ruined marble staircase, his coat tattered, a deep graze along his left shoulder bleeding freely onto his shirt. But his eyes were completely focused on Viktor Vance, who was now kneeling on the blood-soaked floor, his left leg shattered by a round from Jonas’s rifle.
Jonas stood a few feet away, covering Vance with a submachine gun, his face covered in soot.
"It’s over, Viktor," Stefan said, his voice terrifyingly quiet as he stopped a few feet from the syndicate boss.
Viktor spat blood onto the floor, glaring up at Stefan with venomous hatred. "You think you’ve won, Kesler? You publish those ledgers, and half the governments in the world will crumble! They will hunt you to the ends of the earth! You and that ungrateful bitch!"
Stefan didn't respond to the threat. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out the faded photograph he had taken from Nadia’s backpack—the photo of young Nadia, the dog pup, and Viktor.
He dropped the photograph onto the floor in front of Viktor.
"December 14th, 1998," Stefan said smoothly. "A snowy woods outside Moscow. A Caucasian Shepherd named Volkov."
Viktor’s eyes blinked, confusion flickering across his bloody face. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You paid Nikolai Kesler’s lieutenants to betray him," Stefan continued, taking a step closer. "You ordered my father’s execution. And when you came to collect his ledger, your men shot my dog right in front of me."
Viktor’s eyes widened slightly as the memory finally connected. A dark, hysterical laugh bubbled up from his throat. "Nikolai’s boy? You're... Nikolai's little runt? I thought my men buried you in the snow!"
"They tried," Stefan said, raising his hand weapon. "They failed."
"Wait!" Viktor gasped, panic finally breaking through his arrogant facade as he saw the absolute lack of mercy in Stefan’s eyes. "Wait! I have billions! I can give you control of the entire East Coast! We can share the network!"
"I don't want your network, Viktor," Stefan said softly. "I’m just closing an open account."
Before Stefan could pull the trigger, the heavy double doors of the war room opened.
Nadia walked out into the ruined foyer, supported by Goliath, who limped beside her with quiet, terrifying dignity. She looked at her father kneeling in the blood of his own creation.
Stefan paused, looking back at her. "He is your father, Nadia. Do you want to say something to him?"
Nadia walked slowly across the broken marble, her green eyes cold, clear, and completely free of fear. She stopped in front of Viktor.
Viktor looked up at her, attempting a pathetic, manipulative smile. "Nadia... my daughter... please. Tell him. We are family. Blood..."
"Blood means nothing to you, Viktor," Nadia said, her voice steady and ringing through the vaulted room. "You killed my mother. You turned me into a ghost. You tried to murder the only living thing that ever loved me."
She looked down at Goliath, whose dark eyes met hers with absolute loyalty.
"Finish it, Stefan," Nadia said softly, turning her back on her father. "Clear the board."
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BANG.
The sound echoed once through the silent mansion, and then Viktor Vance fell forward onto the cold stone, his reign of terror officially at an end.
