Page 33 of Crimson Curse
Viktor and Lucien have crossed lines they can't step back from. They aim to prove that my love for Naomi makes me weak and vulnerable to attacks that a truly ruthless leader would anticipate and prevent. Instead, they're about to learn that threatening her unlocks the monster in me that makes my usual methods look like gentle persuasion.
Lex arrives from the loading dock, tablet in hand, and a steely expression on his face when tracking down enemies who've made the mistake of underestimating us. He's already been working on this problem and gathering the intelligence we'll need to turn this theft into a hunt with only one possible outcome.
“No forced entries,” he reports, his voice clipped and efficient. “The logs show a vendor badge used twice, once at a maintenance door, and then at a staff entrance a minute later. The cameras show nothing in between.”
The vendor badge access suggests inside information, someone who knew which credentials would provide the necessary clearance without triggering additional security protocols.
Roman comes in from the east corridor. He's been checking sight lines and camera angles, looking for the gaps in coverage that would have allowed the thieves to move through the museum without leaving visual evidence of their presence.
“The courtyard feed went dead for exactly eleven seconds at the same time,” he reports. “Could be a timed blackout or a looped segment.”
Eleven seconds. Long enough to move from the courtyard to the gallery entrance to disable security measures without triggering automated alerts. The precision suggests technical expertise that requires significant resources and planning.
Timur, who's been inspecting the display case, straightens from his examination with information that confirms my worst suspicions about how this theft was executed.
“The glass was lifted after they neutralized the magnetic lock,” he reports. “Smooth enough not to trigger the sensors.”
The division of labor makes perfect sense when you understand how Viktor and Lucien operate. Viktor has the inside knowledge, the understanding of Naomi's work, and the museum's security protocols that would make this theft possible. Lucien has the technical capabilities and professional thieves necessary to turn that information into action.
I pull out my phone and dial Nikolai's number, knowing he'll answer despite the late hour because emergencies in the Bratva don't respect normal business schedules.
“I need financials on Viktor and Lucien,” I tell him without preamble. “Anything that ties together in the last two weeks, shell companies, consultancy payments, academic covers, I don't care. And check antiquities brokers. This will move fast.”
“You think it's already in play?” Nikolai asks, and I can hear him already moving and accessing financial databases and encrypted networks that make him invaluable for tracking money trails through the labyrinthine world of international crime.
“I know it is,” I tell him. “You've got twelve hours.”
Twelve hours to trace the financial connections and find the paper trail that will lead us to wherever Viktor and Lucien are planning to fence the reliquary. Twelve hours to turn this theft from a successful psychological attack into the mistake that destroys both of them. I've given them enough time to believe they've won, and enough rope to hang themselves with their arrogance.
Charlotte has been watching our investigation while trying to understand a world that operates by rules she's never learned. Now she breaks her silence with a question that cuts straight to the heart of what comes next.
“You're going to find it?”
“Yes,” I tell her, and let her hear the absolute certainty in my voice, and the promise that this theft will be the last mistake Viktor and Lucien ever make. “And when I do, regret will be the mercy they pray for.”
We move into the museum's security room, where banks of monitors show feeds from cameras positioned throughout the building. The footage from the gallery plays like a magic trick, one frame showing the reliquary gleaming under carefully placed lights, the next showing the pedestal bare and empty.
“Pull every manifest on religious artifacts and antiquities moved in the last ten days,” I instruct Lex, watching his fingers move across his tablet screen. “Cross-check with Viktor's known routes. If it moves through a channel he's used, I want it flagged.”
He nods, understanding that this investigation goes beyond simple recovery. We're not just looking for stolen property. We're gathering the intelligence that will let us respond to this attack with the kind of overwhelming force that ends conflicts permanently.
I turn to Naomi, who's been standing in silence while we work. “We'll get it back,” I tell her, making another promise I fully intend to keep regardless of the cost in blood or money.
Her voice is quiet but steady when she responds. “Good. Because I want them to know they didn't win.”
Charlotte slips an arm around her shoulders, offering the uncomplicated support that friendship provides even in the most complicated circumstances. “They're not going to.”
The rest of the night becomes a methodical hunt. Lex dives into shipping manifests and transportation records, following paper trails through shell companies and dummy corporations. Nikolai sends encrypted updates on financial transfers, tracking money movements through offshore accounts and digital currencies. Roman works on camera angles and timing analysis,building a timeline that will help us understand exactly how this operation was executed and where it might be heading next.
Every piece of information we gather pulls the net tighter around Viktor and Lucien, bringing us closer to the moment when this victory becomes their destruction. I'm not rushing toward that confrontation or letting anger override the strategic thinking that's kept me alive and in power for this long. When I respond to this attack, it will be with the kind of overwhelming force that makes examples out of enemies and warnings out of their deaths.
This theft wasn't about the reliquary, money, or even strategic advantage in our ongoing conflict. It was a challenge, a declaration that Viktor and Lucien think they can touch what’s mine and survive it. Viktor once took Naomi. Lucien killed Sasha, then vanished. Now he slithers back, bombs my shipping hub, and dares to strike again. This will be the last move either of them makes.
13
NAOMI
The glass is spotless, which makes the emptiness feel obscene. Where the reliquary should glimmer under careful light, there is only a hollow cradle of velvet that remembers the curve of what it once held. I stare until the ache behind my eyes spreads down my spine and settles in my ribs. It is not just a missing object. It’s a ripped seam. The reliquary was always more than an exhibit label and a plaque for donors. It was a promise that fragile things could be protected in a world that breaks what it cannot control. I fought for this piece with every ounce of credibility I had, and now the pedestal stands bare. Daniil’s contact said the alarms never tripped, and the cameras saw nothing. One moment it rested inside an airtight case, the next it was gone, a vanishing act so clean it looks like magic in reverse.
