Chapter 14 - The Chess Match of Monsters
Elena didn't cower.
She slowly stepped out from behind the conference table, walking past Julian with absolute, unyielding composure, stopping just a few feet away from the scarred patriarch.
Viktor’s eyes flicked toward her, a spark of morbid curiosity flashing in his dark, unhinged gaze.
"You're not screaming," Viktor observed, raising an eyebrow.
"Most women would be on their knees begging for mercy right now."
"Most women didn't spend four years surviving Christian Vance," Elena replied, her voice steady, cold, and entirely devoid of fear.
"You think walking in here with a cheap plastic detonator makes you a king, Viktor? You're not a king. You're an old ghost who couldn't accept that the world left you behind."
Viktor’s smile vanished for a fraction of a second, a flash of genuine anger replacing his aristocratic facade.
"Careful, little girl," Viktor hissed, taking a slow step toward her.
"I watched your father sweat through his ledgers before I had him ruined. I can break you just as easily."
"Try it," Elena challenged, her voice dropping into a lethal whisper as she met his gaze head-on.
"You won't detonate those charges. Because if you wanted this building destroyed, you would have pressed the button before walking through these doors."
Viktor stared at her, the silence stretching taut between them like a drawn bowstring.
Then, slowly, a slow, appreciative grin spread across his scarred face.
"Brilliant," Viktor murmured, lowering the detonator slightly.
"Absolute ice in your veins. Exactly like your father before he grew a conscience."
He looked past Elena toward Julian, who still had his gun trained firmly on Viktor's chest.
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"Put the gun down, boy," Viktor commanded smoothly.
"We have a proposition to discuss."
