“We can’tinvitean attack—” another voice starts.
“We’re not inviting anything,” Valeria says, still calm, but firmer now. “We already know he’s coming. So let’s use that opportunity wisely. And prepare. I’m not leaving.”
A ripple moves through the room again.
“Miss Valeria,” someone says carefully, like they’re trying to step around a live wire.
“I’m not leaving,” she repeats, sharper this time. No apology left in it. She turns slightly toward the table, voice steady as she lays it out. “If Anton wants to come here, then we make sure he comes into something he cannot control. And I’ll fight too.”
That lands harder than the rest.
A few of the men shift immediately, disapproval breaking through the discipline in the room. Misha’s expression tightens.
Lukyan watches her more carefully now. “I’ve seen her kill,” he says. “I’m on her side on this one.”
Mike exhales under his breath, like he’s weighing inevitability against risk.
I don’t speak immediately.
I study her instead.
Reallystudy her.
The way she stands. The way she doesn’t retreat from the weight of the room pushing back against her. The way her voice doesn’t rise to prove anything—it simplyholds.
It reminds me of something I’ve only heard in fragments. Stories. Accounts. People speaking about the way her father led when the Petrov name still meant something.
The same refusal to bend under pressure.
The same instinct to face danger head-on instead of circling it.
Fierce leadership doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it just…shows up. Standing in front of you, demanding to be taken seriously.
Silence stretches. Long enough for it to become a decision-making space instead of a disagreement.
Finally, I speak.
“We fortify the estate,” I say.
The room shifts again, but this time toward acceptance.
“We prepare for breach points,” I continue. “Layered response teams. Internal fallback positions. No blind spots.”
My gaze stays on the map as I speak. Not looking at anyone else now. Just building it out as I go.
“And we stop thinking of this as defense,” I add. “We turn it into a controlled engagement zone.”
My eyes lift slightly.
“If Anton comes for Valeria,” I say, voice lower now, “he walks into a battlefield that was built for him before he arrived.”
The room goes quiet again.
Then everyone nods.
Chapter 25 – Valeria
After I leave Timofey and his men in the strategy room, I head back to the bedroom.
