Page 26 of The Shadow King's Brother

My phone rings immediately. It’s Elio.I don’t hesitate—I swipe to answer, but my eyes never leave the feed. I watch as the idiot raises his fist, and then—bam—the camera’s lens shatters in an instant. It feels like the force of the blow is breaking more than just the screen. My whole world shudders with the impact like he’s cracked my bones, my mind—everything.

Angry tears burn at the corners of my eyes, but I don’t let myself look away. How dare he? I blink, my vision swimming with rage.

“Nica?” Elio’s voice cuts through the noise in my head. “Are you safe? What’s going on?”

I don’t even have the energy to speak. My voice is a tight knot in my throat. I try to steady myself, but my hands are shaking as I stare at the broken camera feed.

“V—Vinny’s fucking back—” The words escape, barely a whisper, but enough for him to hear.

There’s silence on the other end. Then Elio’s voice drops—low, cold. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. He’s a dead man walking.”

Elio’s coming.

But I know it’s never that simple with Vinny. It’s never easy.

I let the phone dangle from my ear, my eyes still glued to the screen, watching the feed glitch out after the shattered lens.

My heart’s racing.

What was Vinny doing at the safe house?

And who was with him?

No one answers me.

* * *

The mansion’sis like a pressure cooker about to explode. Gio, Elio, and Jackson are gathered around me, their bodies practically vibrating like wolves circling prey. The prey being the video feed I’m playing on a loop for them.

“Ff-uck,” Jackson slurs.

The soft glow of the screen illuminates their faces, casting light over clenched jaws and narrowed eyes.

“Can we get sound?” Elio asks, his hands balled into fists at his sides, his knuckles white. He’s trying to remain calm, but I can see the fury simmering beneath the surface.

“I tried,” I say, my gaze fixed on the screen. I run a hand through my hair, pushing back the strands that have fallen onto my face. “It’s grainy, the audio is corrupted.”

“Why were the files corrupted in the first place?” Gio asks, his voice sharp, eyes darting toward the screen. “Did someone on the inside do that?”

Jackson glances over his shoulder with a grim look on his face. “It’s s-standard when you lock down a safe house. You surveil it for a year after, then it’s ready for a change in ownership.” The smell of stale alcohol wafts off him like a toxic cloud.

I’m not buying his words, though.

This feels like a deliberate game of cat-and-mouse, and I’ll be damned if I’m the mouse. I will be the cat, and I will hunt them both down—no matter the cost.

As my mind locks on my next move, a message beeps in. My phone vibrates in my hand, and I glance at the screen. It’s from my mom.

‘Please—Victoria…meet me? For coffee, and that’s it…’

I freeze for a moment,fingers hovering over the keyboard. A knot tightens in my stomach. I want to ignore it and tell her I’m too busy, but something about it makes me hesitate.

I put the phone down, rubbing my eyes. “Not now,” I mutter under my breath, then type out a quick reply.

‘I’ll write you later, occupied.’

The words feel like a lie,but they’re the easiest to send.

Gio leans in, his posture tense, his eyes narrowed to slits, his gaze fixed on the screen. “Who the fuck is that?” he grunts, pointing at the second figure—the one who’s not Vinny.

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