Chapter 82. You Could've Had It All

S:

It's nighttime.

Moonless. Quiet. But the air—it’s full of knives.

I watch from a high-rise, across from the villa we rigged like a corpse waiting to explode. Earpiece pressed in, mic clipped under my collar. Every breath is monitored. Every step timed.

A decoy car pulls into the villa driveway. Just like we planned. Rae’s double steps out—same height, same hair, even wears her scent. Enough to fool any half-wit.

And Leonardo’s never been as sharp as he thought.

“He’s watching,” Kieran murmurs through the comms. He’s two floors below me, sniper rifle cradled on the windowsill. “The drone caught movement from the east wall. Thermal picked up three—no, five—signatures. He’s sending scouts.”

“Let them come.”

“They’ll get suspicious.”

“Not if we act scared.”

On cue, one of our men disguised as a bodyguard “panics.” Runs out the villa gate, yelling into a radio. Stage play. Cheap, overdone—but perfect for Leonardo’s ego.