I dragged my thumb slowly across her name on the screen.
My failure burned hotter than rage.
I had prioritized strategy.
Movement. Power.
And in doing so —
I had ignored the one call that mattered.
“Daddy?”
Daphne’s small voice broke through the silence.
“Are you gonna get Mommy back?”
I lowered my gaze to her face.
Her eyes.
Grey.
Like mine.
Looking at me with absolute trust.
Trust that I had earned over years.
Trust I refused to betray.
Something inside me — something cold and dangerous — snapped into place.
I cupped her cheek gently.
“Yes.”
The word came out low.
Controlled.
“I’m going to bring her home.”
And anyone who stood between me and that promise would not survive the encounter.
I stood slowly.
Already activating orders through my phone.
My men were moving.
Assets across Europe were rerouting. Private airstrips were being secured. Black-market arms shipments unlocked. Sniper teams repositioned.
Wetwork units put on standby.
The kind of force that had dismantled rival empires in silence.
I would not scream vengeance.
