The room didn't move.
No one spoke.
Leon's last words still echoed in the air like a loaded gun.
"He's going after my mother."
Marco was already halfway to the door.
"Then why are we standing here?"
Ares didn't move.
His eyes remained fixed on the dark screen of his phone.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Because Leon Voss never played simple games.
Marco stopped and turned.
"Ares."
Still nothing.
Elara watched him carefully.
She knew that look.
It meant something in the situation didn't make sense.
"Ares," she said softly.
His eyes lifted slightly.
"What?"
"You don't believe him."
Marco frowned.
"Of course we believe him. He literally told us the target."
Ares slowly shook his head.
"No."
Marco threw his hands up.
"You think he's joking?"
Ares walked slowly toward the screen showing the intercepted message.
"Leon doesn't warn his enemies."
Elara's eyes sharpened.
"He manipulates them."
Marco paused.
"…Oh."
The realization hit.
"If he told us your mother was the target…"
Ares finished the sentence quietly.
"Then she probably isn't."
Silence.
Marco rubbed his face.
"I swear that man is exhausting."
Elara crossed her arms.
"So the gala was bait."
Ares nodded.
"And the phone call was bait."
Marco frowned.
"Which means…"
Ares looked toward the large digital map of Milan on the screen.
"There's a third target."
Luca spoke from the workstation.
"But what could be more important than both of those?"
Ares' voice dropped.
"Something that forces me to split my resources."
Marco blinked.
"Oh."
He suddenly understood.
"If you protect your mother…"
"And secure the gala…"
Elara finished.
"The estate becomes vulnerable."
Ares nodded once.
Leon wanted chaos.
Confusion.
Divided protection.
Because divided protection meant weakness.
Marco turned to Luca.
"Run every security scan again."
Luca nodded quickly.
"Already doing it."
Ares stepped closer to the screen.
"Leon doesn't want to destroy us."
Elara looked at him.
"Then what does he want?"
Ares' jaw tightened slightly.
"He wants to prove something."
Marco sighed.
"That he's smarter than everyone else?"
"Yes."
Luca suddenly froze again.
"…Sir."
Everyone looked at him.
"What now?" Marco asked.
Luca slowly turned the screen.
"I found something."
A video feed appeared.
Black.
Dark.
Empty.
Marco frowned.
"That's just a storage room."
Ares' eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
Luca checked the camera ID.
"Lower level of the estate."
Marco shrugged.
"So?"
Luca zoomed in.
Something metallic glinted in the darkness.
Ares stepped closer.
The object slowly became visible.
Marco's stomach dropped.
"That's…"
Ares finished the sentence.
"A bomb."
The room exploded with movement.
Marco grabbed the radio immediately.
"All units to lower level now!"
Guards rushed across the estate within seconds.
Elara's heart was racing.
"How long?"
Luca checked the timer on the device.
"Ten minutes."
Marco cursed loudly.
"That psycho planted a bomb inside your own house."
Ares' expression turned colder than steel.
"No."
Marco blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Ares looked at the screen again.
"Leon didn't plant it."
Marco frowned.
"Then who did?"
Ares' voice was quiet.
"Someone inside the estate."
The room went silent again.
Because Leon couldn't have entered the estate personally.
Which meant one terrifying possibility.
The traitor…
Was still there.
Marco's hand slowly tightened around his gun.
"Well," he muttered.
"This day just keeps getting better."
Ares turned toward the door.
His voice was calm.
But deadly.
"Lock down the estate."
Marco nodded.
"Already done."
Ares walked out of the strategy room.
"Find the bomb."
"And find the traitor."
Behind him—
Elara followed silently.
Because if Leon Voss had truly planted someone inside their world…
Then the war had never been outside their walls.
It had been inside them the entire time.
And somewhere in the estate—
Someone was waiting for the countdown to reach zero.