Fated reborn - Chapter 224: Chapter 224
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Victor's Pov.
The moment of silence didn’t last long. It never did. Just as I was about to close my eyes for those five minutes of peace I’d begged for, there was a sharp knock at the door. I groaned, already knowing this was going to be something that would ruin whatever sliver of rest I had left.
Luciano didn’t even look up from his papers. “Come in.”
The door swung open, and in stepped Matteo, his face set in that serious way that told me this wasn’t some minor inconvenience.
“You’re gonna want to hear this,” he said.
I pushed myself up, rubbing my face. “I just know I’m not gonna like it.”
Matteo gave a short nod. “Probably not.”
Luciano finally looked up, setting his pen down. “What is it?”
“There’s been movement. More than before,” Matteo said, stepping closer. “D’Angelo’s people—what’s left of them—are starting to regroup. They’re not making any direct plays yet, but the numbers are growing. And fast.”
I exchanged a glance with Luciano. That quiet we had been talking about? It was slipping away already.
“How fast?” Luciano asked, his voice dangerously calm.
Matteo exhaled. “Fast enough that we need to start preparing. They’re not coming for us yet, but they will.”
Luciano leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the desk. His mind was already working through strategies, possibilities. I knew that look. I had seen it too many times before.
I ran a hand through my hair. “So much for peace.”
“We knew it wouldn’t last,” Luciano muttered. “Still. They’re making a mistake if they think they can rebuild under our nose.”
Matteo nodded. “Want me to put more eyes on it?”
Luciano considered for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I want to know where they’re gathering, who’s leading them, and what their next move might be. We shut this down before it even becomes a problem.”
“Got it,” Matteo said before turning and walking out.
The second the door clicked shut behind him, I let out a long sigh. “This never ends, does it?”
Luciano smirked, picking up his pen again. “Not in this world.”
I stood up, stretching out my back. “Guess I’m canceling my plans to relax today.”
Luciano chuckled. “What plans?”
I shot him a look before heading for the door. “I’m getting more coffee. You want?”
“Always.”
As I made my way down the hallway, I could feel the shift in the air already. Word traveled fast, even when nobody was saying anything. The men were more alert, their postures straighter, their movements sharper. They knew something was coming, even if they didn’t have the details yet.
I walked into the break room, pouring myself a fresh cup of coffee. The bitter aroma filled the air, grounding me for just a moment. I had barely lifted the cup to my lips when Clara walked in, looking as put-together as ever despite the chaos always circling us.
“Tell me you’ve got good news,” I said, taking a sip.
She arched a brow. “Since when do we ever get good news?”
I sighed. “Fair point.”
She crossed her arms, tablet in hand. “Meetings are rescheduled. You and Luciano have a security briefing in twenty minutes. After that, a sit-down with Matteo to go over possible responses to D’Angelo’s people moving again.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Anything else?”
She tilted her head slightly. “A few minor things, but I figured I’d let you survive the major ones first.”
“How thoughtful,” I said dryly.
Clara smirked. “You know I do my best.”
I grabbed a second cup of coffee for Luciano and started making my way back to the office. Twenty minutes until the security briefing. Twenty minutes until we had to officially acknowledge that our so-called peace was already slipping through our fingers.
I handed Luciano his coffee as I walked in, and he took it without looking up, his eyes still scanning over documents.
“You heard?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. Not surprising.”
I sat down across from him, exhaling slowly. “So, what’s the move?”
Luciano finally set his papers down, meeting my gaze. “We remind them who runs this city.”
I smirked. “Sounds like a plan.”
And just like that, we were back in it. The quiet was gone, replaced by the steady, familiar rhythm of strategy and power plays. We had built this empire, and we weren’t about to let anyone take it from us.
Let them come.
We’d be ready.
I leaned back in my chair, taking a slow sip of my coffee, letting the warmth settle in. “You know, I was really starting to enjoy the whole quiet thing.”
Luciano smirked. “Yeah, right. You were getting bored.”
I scoffed. “Bored? Please. I was on the verge of developing hobbies.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “We both know you wouldn’t make it that far.”
I smirked but didn’t argue. He was probably right. The idea of sitting around with nothing to do sounded good in theory, but in reality? I’d last maybe a week before I started pacing around, looking for something to fix, something to control. It was just how we were wired.
A knock at the door made us both glance up, but before either of us could say anything, Clara stepped in again, not bothering with formalities.
“Briefing’s in ten,” she said, tapping something into her tablet. “Also, someone needs to remind the kitchen that just because we’re busy doesn’t mean they get to serve stale croissants.”
I raised a brow. “You want me to handle that?”
She gave me a look. “You intimidate people for a living. You think the kitchen staff wants to hear your opinion on pastry freshness?”
I shrugged. “Fair enough.”
Luciano smirked. “Just put it on the list, Clara.”
She sighed. “Oh, it’s on the list.”
With that, she turned and walked out, already moving on to the next crisis.
I exhaled, finishing my coffee before pushing myself up from the chair. “Alright, let’s go sit through this security briefing, pretend we didn’t see this coming, and act surprised when someone suggests we ‘increase surveillance.’”
Luciano chuckled, standing up and adjusting his suit. “You know, sometimes I think you like complaining more than you like the job.”
I grinned. “And yet, here I am, still showing up every damn day.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder as we walked out. “Yeah. Guess that says something.”
It did. It said we were built for this. And no matter how much we joked, no matter how much we pretended to want something simpler, we weren’t going anywhere.
Not now. Not ever.
The moment of silence didn’t last long. It never did. Just as I was about to close my eyes for those five minutes of peace I’d begged for, there was a sharp knock at the door. I groaned, already knowing this was going to be something that would ruin whatever sliver of rest I had left.
Luciano didn’t even look up from his papers. “Come in.”
The door swung open, and in stepped Matteo, his face set in that serious way that told me this wasn’t some minor inconvenience.
“You’re gonna want to hear this,” he said.
I pushed myself up, rubbing my face. “I just know I’m not gonna like it.”
Matteo gave a short nod. “Probably not.”
Luciano finally looked up, setting his pen down. “What is it?”
“There’s been movement. More than before,” Matteo said, stepping closer. “D’Angelo’s people—what’s left of them—are starting to regroup. They’re not making any direct plays yet, but the numbers are growing. And fast.”
I exchanged a glance with Luciano. That quiet we had been talking about? It was slipping away already.
“How fast?” Luciano asked, his voice dangerously calm.
Matteo exhaled. “Fast enough that we need to start preparing. They’re not coming for us yet, but they will.”
Luciano leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the desk. His mind was already working through strategies, possibilities. I knew that look. I had seen it too many times before.
I ran a hand through my hair. “So much for peace.”
“We knew it wouldn’t last,” Luciano muttered. “Still. They’re making a mistake if they think they can rebuild under our nose.”
Matteo nodded. “Want me to put more eyes on it?”
Luciano considered for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I want to know where they’re gathering, who’s leading them, and what their next move might be. We shut this down before it even becomes a problem.”
“Got it,” Matteo said before turning and walking out.
The second the door clicked shut behind him, I let out a long sigh. “This never ends, does it?”
Luciano smirked, picking up his pen again. “Not in this world.”
I stood up, stretching out my back. “Guess I’m canceling my plans to relax today.”
Luciano chuckled. “What plans?”
I shot him a look before heading for the door. “I’m getting more coffee. You want?”
“Always.”
As I made my way down the hallway, I could feel the shift in the air already. Word traveled fast, even when nobody was saying anything. The men were more alert, their postures straighter, their movements sharper. They knew something was coming, even if they didn’t have the details yet.
I walked into the break room, pouring myself a fresh cup of coffee. The bitter aroma filled the air, grounding me for just a moment. I had barely lifted the cup to my lips when Clara walked in, looking as put-together as ever despite the chaos always circling us.
“Tell me you’ve got good news,” I said, taking a sip.
She arched a brow. “Since when do we ever get good news?”
I sighed. “Fair point.”
She crossed her arms, tablet in hand. “Meetings are rescheduled. You and Luciano have a security briefing in twenty minutes. After that, a sit-down with Matteo to go over possible responses to D’Angelo’s people moving again.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Anything else?”
She tilted her head slightly. “A few minor things, but I figured I’d let you survive the major ones first.”
“How thoughtful,” I said dryly.
Clara smirked. “You know I do my best.”
I grabbed a second cup of coffee for Luciano and started making my way back to the office. Twenty minutes until the security briefing. Twenty minutes until we had to officially acknowledge that our so-called peace was already slipping through our fingers.
I handed Luciano his coffee as I walked in, and he took it without looking up, his eyes still scanning over documents.
“You heard?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. Not surprising.”
I sat down across from him, exhaling slowly. “So, what’s the move?”
Luciano finally set his papers down, meeting my gaze. “We remind them who runs this city.”
I smirked. “Sounds like a plan.”
And just like that, we were back in it. The quiet was gone, replaced by the steady, familiar rhythm of strategy and power plays. We had built this empire, and we weren’t about to let anyone take it from us.
Let them come.
We’d be ready.
I leaned back in my chair, taking a slow sip of my coffee, letting the warmth settle in. “You know, I was really starting to enjoy the whole quiet thing.”
Luciano smirked. “Yeah, right. You were getting bored.”
I scoffed. “Bored? Please. I was on the verge of developing hobbies.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “We both know you wouldn’t make it that far.”
I smirked but didn’t argue. He was probably right. The idea of sitting around with nothing to do sounded good in theory, but in reality? I’d last maybe a week before I started pacing around, looking for something to fix, something to control. It was just how we were wired.
A knock at the door made us both glance up, but before either of us could say anything, Clara stepped in again, not bothering with formalities.
“Briefing’s in ten,” she said, tapping something into her tablet. “Also, someone needs to remind the kitchen that just because we’re busy doesn’t mean they get to serve stale croissants.”
I raised a brow. “You want me to handle that?”
She gave me a look. “You intimidate people for a living. You think the kitchen staff wants to hear your opinion on pastry freshness?”
I shrugged. “Fair enough.”
Luciano smirked. “Just put it on the list, Clara.”
She sighed. “Oh, it’s on the list.”
With that, she turned and walked out, already moving on to the next crisis.
I exhaled, finishing my coffee before pushing myself up from the chair. “Alright, let’s go sit through this security briefing, pretend we didn’t see this coming, and act surprised when someone suggests we ‘increase surveillance.’”
Luciano chuckled, standing up and adjusting his suit. “You know, sometimes I think you like complaining more than you like the job.”
I grinned. “And yet, here I am, still showing up every damn day.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder as we walked out. “Yeah. Guess that says something.”
It did. It said we were built for this. And no matter how much we joked, no matter how much we pretended to want something simpler, we weren’t going anywhere.
Not now. Not ever.
End of Fated reborn Chapter 224. Continue reading Chapter 225 or return to Fated reborn book page.