“Alexei, you need to help repair the organizational unity instead of encouraging division. This civil war ends today.”
“And if people won’t accept that Katya isn’t a threat?”
“Then we make it clear that anyone who continues this conflict is choosing to work against family interests. Father never tolerated internal dissent, and neither should we. Are we agreed that preserving the family is more important than personal grievances?”
“Yes,” I reply immediately.
“Alexei?”
My brother looks at me, then at Katya, then back at Sasha. For a moment, I think he’s going to find another reason to keep fighting. Then he lets out a long breath that seems to release months of accumulated tension.
“Yes. But there are conditions.”
“Such as?”
“No more secrets. No more unilateral decisions. If Viktor’s network is still active, we face it together. Openly.”
“Fair enough.”
“And Katya needs to understand that choosing our family means choosing our methods. If she’s going to be a part of this organization, she needs to accept how we operate.”
Katya answers, “I understand that your methods involve violence and moral ambiguity. I’m not asking you to change how you do business.”
“Good. Because we’re not changing for anyone.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
Alexei nods, satisfied with her response. “Then we’re agreed. Family first, no more secrets, and a united front against external threats.”
“Agreed,” I tell him.
Sasha sits back down and smiles for the first time since she arrived at my penthouse. “Good. Now we need to discuss Viktor’s remaining network and how we’re going to eliminate the threat.”
Before anyone can respond, Alexei’s phone rings. He checks the screen and grunts.
“It’s Maxim. I told him not to interrupt unless it was urgent.”
“Take it,” Sasha tells him.
Alexei answers the call and switches to Russian. I catch enough of the conversation to understand that something significant is happening, and from the way his face changes, it’s not good news.
“When?” he asks in English. “How many men? Are you certain about the equipment?”
He hangs up and looks at both of us with a deep-set frown. “Viktor’s remaining operatives just hit three of our secondary locations. Surveillance teams, weapons caches, and financial offices. They’re not trying to hide.”
“Casualties?”
“Two dead, four wounded. But that’s not the worst part.”
“What’s the worst part?”
“Maxim’s contacts in the police department say Viktor’s people are planning something big for tonight. Major assault, military-grade equipment. They’re not just trying to eliminate threats anymore; they’re going for destruction.”
Katya moves closer to the table. “Targets?”
“Anyone connected to the people who killed Pavel. Which means all of us.”
I look at my brother, and for the first time in months, we’re aligned on something. Viktor’s network has declared war on our family.
