Morning came quietly over the Valentino estate.
But inside the mansion, nothing felt calm.
Security had doubled overnight. Guards moved through the halls with sharper eyes. Every system was being scanned, every camera checked.
The death of Daniel had changed everything.
Ares stood inside the main control room, watching lines of code run across the massive screens.
Marco stood beside him.
"We've checked all entry logs," Marco said. "No suspicious access in the last forty-eight hours."
Ares didn't look convinced.
"Leon wouldn't rely on one spy."
Marco crossed his arms.
"Then we start cutting people out until we find the rest."
Ares finally turned toward him.
"No."
Marco frowned.
"No?"
"If we start hunting blindly, the real ones will disappear."
Ares walked toward the central table, where the digital map of his entire operation glowed faintly.
Shipping routes.
Investment chains.
Private security networks.
Everything that built the Valentino empire.
And somewhere inside it—
Someone was helping Leon Voss.
Marco leaned forward.
"So what's the plan?"
Ares tapped the table once.
"We let them stay."
Marco stared at him.
"You're letting the spies stay inside the empire?"
"For now."
"That's dangerous."
Ares' voice was calm.
"That's strategy."
Marco understood.
If the spies believed they were still hidden, they would eventually contact Leon again.
And that would lead straight to him.
Still, something about this situation felt different.
Too quiet.
Too patient.
Marco looked at the screens again.
"You think Leon already has another move planned?"
Ares didn't hesitate.
"He always does."
Just then—
The control room door opened.
Luca stepped inside.
His expression was serious.
"Sir, we found something."
Ares' eyes sharpened.
"Show me."
Luca walked to the main screen and pulled up a video file.
"Security footage from three nights ago."
The video started playing.
The estate's underground parking garage appeared on the screen.
Nothing unusual at first.
Cars parked.
Guards walking patrol routes.
Then suddenly—
A black sedan pulled into the garage.
Marco leaned closer.
"That car doesn't belong to anyone on the security list."
The vehicle stopped near the elevator.
A man stepped out.
But the camera only caught the back of his head.
Dark coat.
Tall.
Confident.
He moved like he knew exactly where he was going.
Ares watched carefully.
"Where did he go?"
Luca rewound the footage slightly.
"Here."
The man stepped toward the private elevator.
The one that only a few people in the entire estate were allowed to use.
Marco looked confused.
"How did he access that elevator?"
Luca paused the video.
"That's the strange part."
He zoomed in on the keypad.
The man entered a code.
And the elevator doors opened immediately.
Marco's eyes widened.
"That code belongs to inner circle members."
Ares' expression darkened.
"Which one?"
Luca tapped another command.
The system pulled up the elevator access log.
Five names appeared.
Marco read them slowly.
"Ares Valentino."
"Marco DeLuca."
"Luca Moretti."
"Director Helena Strauss."
And—
Marco stopped speaking.
Because the fifth name made no sense.
He looked at Ares.
"That's impossible."
Ares' voice was colder than ice.
"Say it."
Marco swallowed.
"Elara."
Silence filled the room.
Luca looked uneasy.
"The elevator code used that night belongs to her clearance."
Marco shook his head immediately.
"That doesn't mean she used it."
Ares didn't respond.
His eyes remained on the screen.
The mysterious man had entered using Elara's code.
But why?
Marco spoke carefully.
"Maybe someone copied the code."
"Maybe," Ares said.
But his instincts were already working.
Leon had placed spies inside the empire.
Leon had infiltrated the estate.
And now—
Elara's access code had appeared in the middle of it.
Marco studied Ares' expression.
"You don't actually think she's involved."
Ares' answer came instantly.
"No."
There wasn't even a hint of doubt in his voice.
Marco relaxed slightly.
But Ares continued speaking.
"She's not the traitor."
Marco frowned.
"Then how did they get her code?"
Ares looked back at the screen.
The man in the video had moved with confidence.
Not like a thief.
Like someone expected.
Someone who had done this before.
And then something clicked in Ares' mind.
He turned toward Luca.
"Track the car."
Luca typed quickly.
"It left the estate five minutes later. License plate is fake."
"Expected."
"But we traced the direction."
Luca looked up from the screen.
"It headed toward the old financial district."
Marco raised a brow.
"That area's abandoned at night."
Ares slowly put on his coat.
"Not anymore."
Marco understood immediately.
Leon had arranged a meeting there.
Or maybe something worse.
"Sir," Marco said carefully, "this could be another trap."
Ares walked toward the door.
"Of course it is."
Marco sighed.
"And we're going anyway."
Ares stopped at the doorway and looked back once.
His eyes were sharp with quiet determination.
"If Leon thinks he can turn my own empire against me…"
His voice dropped slightly.
"He's about to learn why it belongs to me."
Marco grabbed his jacket.
"Then let's pay him a visit."
Outside, the engines of the black SUVs roared to life.
Across the city, in a high building overlooking the dark streets—
Leon Voss stood by the window.
He watched the Valentino convoy moving through the streets below.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"They're coming," he murmured.
Behind him, someone stepped out of the shadows.
A woman.
Her voice was calm.
"You said he would."
Leon didn't turn around.
"Of course."
The woman stepped closer into the light.
And the moonlight revealed her face.
Not a stranger.
Not an enemy.
Someone Ares trusted.
Someone inside his empire.
Leon finally turned slightly, his eyes glinting.
"Phase two begins now."
The woman's lips curved faintly.
And somewhere across the city—
Ares Valentino was driving directly toward the biggest betrayal of his life.