They left an hour later.
****
Luca had reset thehouse before they arrived.
Not because it needed it—but because he did.
The broken plaster had been swept away, the worst of the damage concealed by a temporary board bolted over the hole he’d put in the wall.It wasn’t fixed.Just contained.Like everything else in his head.Kol was still upstairs, quiet as a ghost, running parallel sweeps and cross-checks that Luca didn’t ask for and didn’t question.Elias, Rafael and Dominic were already there—Dominic by the window, Rafael at the table and Elias standing where he always stood, at the edge of the room where he could see everything without being in the way of it.
When Mateo’s vehicle rolled up, Luca felt it in his chest before he saw it.
Mara stepped inside first.
She looked composed.Not distant—but guarded.The kind of calm that came from choosing it deliberately.
Luca didn’t move toward her.Just watch her take a seat on the opposite side of the table.
He waited.
Mateo started.“Here’s what we have.”
He brought up a series of maps and data strings on the screen.Routes.Dead zones.Access points that had been almost invisible.
“The traitor hasn’t surfaced,” Mateo said.“But we’ve narrowed the field.Whoever it is has layered access—old credentials, legacy permissions.Someone trusted long enough to never be questioned.”
Kol said from the end of the table where he sat behind his laptop, “They’re patient.And disciplined.They haven’t made a mistake yet, which would make finding him a lot faster, but we will get them either way.”
Elias folded his arms.“And the women?”
Mateo shifted the display.“The second group was moved east.Nothing I’ve found indicates that they have been sold yet.That matters.”
Luca saw Mara tense opposite him.
“It means they’re being held,” Rafael said.“Waiting for something.”
“For leverage,” Dominic said quietly.
Elias nodded once.“Both threads converge,” he said.“The traitor wants time, and the women are on the clock.”
He laid out the plan deliberately, piece by piece, making sure there were no gaps.
“Mateo,” Elias said first, turning slightly.“You control the data flow.We tighten surveillance, but we do it unevenly—let certain routes look sloppy.Old access points.Almost-forgotten channels.I want them to think they’re ahead.”
Mateo nodded once.“I can make it look like we’re chasing ghosts in the wrong direction.”
“Good,” Elias replied.“Kol, you watch reactions.Not movement—response.Any shift, any correction they make when we apply pressure, you flag it.”
Upstairs, Kol’s voice came through clear and intent.“They’ll tell on themselves if we give them just enough rope.”
“Dominic,” Elias continued, his gaze sliding across the room.“You handle external pressure.Lean on contacts.Not hard.Just enough that rumors start moving.I want them uncomfortable, not scared.”
Dominic inclined his head.“Discomfort makes people sloppy.”
“Rafael,” Elias turned to look at him.“If you are healed enough to—”
“I am.”Rafael said firmly.
“Good, we will need you when we move,” Elias said, then turned his attention to Luca.“You stay visible,” he said.“You keep doing exactly what you’re doing—searching, pushing, making noise.You are the distraction.”
