Nico whips his head toward me, incredulous.
"He won’t talk like this," I state calmly. Nico might have picked up some torture methods in Venezuela, I don'tknow, yet, but I've learned one thing: men like Gustave and Silvestre won't talk unless they want to.
Nico shoots me an incredulous glare; I shake my head, my eyes saying, trust me.After a beat, he lowers the gun just a fraction.
I step closer, careful where I place my shoes. I didn’t wear Italian leather to baptize it in blood. I crouch in front of Gustave so he has no choice but to see me.
"Here’s whatweknow," I say. Bluffing. Building. Layering truth and assumption until it sounds inevitable. "What Silvestre told us." His eyes flicker. That’s tell number one. "Viktor married Marisol Valverde," I continue. "She had a child. Alexei." I glance sideways. "Nico."
Pain from his shattered foot distorts Gustave’s face, but his eyes betray him. They follow Nico. Whatever else Nico is, Gustave raised him long enough for something like ownership to set in. Habit. Investment. Maybe even attachment. It doesn’t save him, but it matters.
"We also know Viktor seeded Cells all over the world," I go on. "Blood-bound loyalists. Men and women who believe lineage is destiny." I watch carefully. "They didn’t know about Alexei, did they?"
His eyes squeeze shut. A subtle shake of the head. No.
"Good," I murmur. "So you kept him hidden. For years." I lean in. "Why?"
The answer comes out like venom. "Because of Christine, your fucking mother."
The words hit harder than any gunshot.
"Because she had a soft spot for her brother," Gustave snarls, rage finally breaking through the pain. "Because she put us all in danger for them. That’s why."
I look up at Nico. Something dark has settled behind his eyes. Not confusion. Not shock. Grief, distilled into something colder. He shakes his head once. Then steps forward. "The Valverdes didn't know who I was; neither did I." The gun moves just enough to make me aware of the risk. This isn’t the kid who left three years ago. I don’t distrust him, but I won’t underestimate him either. Whatever he says next, I know one thing with absolute clarity: This family is already dead.
We’re just arguing over who finished the job.
Nico’s words hang there.The Valverdes didn’t know who I was.Gustave’s jaw tightens in confirmation. I don’t rush it. I let the silence do the work. My father has always underestimated silence. He thinks that if he outlasts it, he wins.
He’s wrong.
"You didn’t tell them," I say slowly. "Not Silvestre. Not Aurelio. You let them think Nico was just leverage. A Conti problem they could exploit."
Gustave winces as pain radiates through him. "They didn’t need to know."
"Because if they knew," I continue, "they’d haveprotected him. Used him differently. And you couldn’t control that."
Nico’s grip tightens. His knuckles go white around the gun. "You wanted them to kill me."
Gustave finally looks at him then. Really looks. There’s no affection there. No regret. Just calculation that never shuts off. "I planned to let fate do its job," he says. "One way or another."
That lands. I straighten slightly, pieces clicking into place with sickening clarity. "You sent him to Caracas knowing there were only two outcomes. Either Silvestre killed him—problem solved." I hold Gustave’s gaze. "Or he survived long enough to draw the Cells out into the open." Gustave’s lips curl. "Either way, the threat ends."
Nico lets out a breath that sounds almost like a laugh. It isn’t.
"So that’s it," he says quietly. "I was bait."
"Yes," Gustave snaps. "And you were finally useful."
The gun lifts again. I don’t stop Nico this time. I just shift closer, not to restrain him, but to anchor him. He feels it. His breathing steadies.
Gustave slumps back in the chair, blood soaking into the wood under his feet, breath ragged, but the defiance never leaves him. It’s the last thing he owns.
"You think killing me fixes this?" he sneers. "The Cells won’t stop. Viktor’s legacy won’t stop."
"Probably not," I agree. "But together we can take them out."
Gustave laughs, "You and what army? Him?" He nods his chin at Nico.
