For several long seconds, the war room was completely silent.
Elena stared at the blank monitors, her hands still frozen on the keyboard.
Her breathing was shallow.
"I… I stopped it."
Behind her, Valentina slowly exhaled.
"Yes," she said.
"But only this one."
Elena turned sharply.
"What do you mean 'this one'?"
Before Valentina could answer—
Adrian's voice burst through the radio.
"Elena! Report!"
She grabbed the receiver quickly.
"We stopped the explosives!"
Adrian looked around the battlefield outside the estate.
Burning vehicles.
Wounded soldiers.
Smoke and rain filling the air.
But no explosion.
"No blasts here," he confirmed.
Then he added quietly,
"Orlov escaped."
Elena's stomach twisted.
A New Alarm
Inside the war room, the lights flickered again.
Valentina's eyes snapped toward the monitors.
"Wait."
She rushed back to the keyboard.
Elena frowned.
"What is it now?"
Valentina typed quickly, pulling up hidden network logs.
Her expression slowly changed.
From focus…
To shock.
Then something darker.
"No."
Elena stepped closer.
"What?"
Valentina whispered,
"He moved it."
"What did he move?"
Valentina turned the screen toward her.
Another countdown timer was running.
But it wasn't connected to the estate.
It was coming from somewhere else.
00:00:31
Elena's heart began pounding again.
"Where is that?"
Valentina zoomed out on the digital map.
The signal location appeared.
Adrian's voice crackled through the radio again.
"Elena, we've got more vehicles approaching the city center."
Valentina's voice dropped.
"That's where it is."
Elena stared at the map.
The blinking marker sat on one building.
A tall glass tower dominating the skyline.
Elena whispered the name.
"The Council Tower."
Orlov's Escape
Across the city, Orlov's armored vehicle sped through the rain-soaked streets.
His driver glanced nervously into the rearview mirror.
"Sir… the estate didn't explode."
Orlov calmly wiped blood from a cut on his lip.
"Yes."
The driver swallowed.
"So… the bomb failed?"
Orlov shook his head.
"No."
He leaned back in the seat.
"It simply moved."
The driver frowned.
"Moved where?"
Orlov smiled faintly.
"Exactly where it was always meant to be."
The Truth Revealed
Back in the war room, Valentina stared at the map.
Elena felt cold dread creeping through her chest.
"You planted explosives at the council tower too."
Valentina nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"How many?"
Valentina's voice was quiet.
"Enough to collapse the entire building."
Elena's eyes widened.
"That building is full of people."
"Council members," Valentina corrected.
"And hundreds of guards."
Valentina didn't respond.
Elena grabbed her shoulders.
"You were going to kill them all."
"Yes."
"Even if the city was destroyed?"
Valentina's eyes hardened.
"That building is the heart of everything."
Elena whispered,
"And now Orlov is there."
Valentina's fingers froze on the keyboard.
Then she understood.
Her trap had just become Orlov's weapon.
The Final Countdown
The timer on the screen dropped again.
00:00:18
Elena's voice shook.
"Can you stop it?"
Valentina typed furiously.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Firewalls.
Encryption locks.
Dead systems.
Everything she had built into the bomb's trigger.
But the signal wasn't responding.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"No."
Elena felt the room spin.
"You mean we can't stop it?"
Valentina looked at her.
"No."
"Why?"
Valentina's answer came slowly.
"Because Orlov has the detonator now."
The Don Returns
The war room door burst open.
Alessandro stepped inside, soaked in rain and blood.
Adrian followed close behind.
Both men looked exhausted.
But alive.
Elena ran toward him.
"You're hurt."
"It's nothing."
He looked toward the screens immediately.
"What happened?"
Valentina answered.
"Orlov escaped with the trigger."
Adrian stared at the countdown.
"What is that?"
"The council tower," Elena said.
Adrian's face went pale.
"You're kidding."
Valentina shook her head.
"No."
The timer flashed again.
00:00:10
Alessandro looked at the map.
Then back at Valentina.
"You planted this."
"Yes."
"And now Orlov controls it."
"Yes."
Adrian muttered,
"Well… that's bad."
The Impossible Choice
Elena's voice trembled.
"We have to evacuate the building."
Adrian shook his head.
"Even if we warn them, they can't clear that tower in ten seconds."
The timer dropped again.
00:00:06
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"Where exactly is the device?"
Valentina zoomed into the building layout.
"Central foundation level."
Adrian blinked.
"That's the structural core."
"Yes."
"If that explodes…"
Valentina finished the sentence.
"The entire tower collapses."
The timer reached—
00:00:03
Elena grabbed Alessandro's hand.
"Do something."
Alessandro stared at the screen.
At the building that held every mafia leader in the city.
And the man who had just stolen their war.
Then—
He made a decision.
Across the City
Inside the council tower, Viktor Orlov stood calmly in the underground parking structure.
The detonator rested in his hand.
He studied the blinking light on the device.
Then he whispered softly,
"Goodbye."
And pressed the button.