Chapter 131

Nora POV

Maya stands frozen under the bright lights of the Red Room, chest rising and falling too fast, eyes wide with the kind of shock that only comes when every careful plan collapses in the same heartbeat. Blood is drying on my arms, sticky and warm, but none of it is mine. The bodies of her men lie scattered across the carpet like broken dolls – some still twitching, most already gone. The air smells of copper and gunpowder and fear.

I keep the pistol steady on her centre mass. My voice comes out calmly. “All I want is an apology, Maya. One honest apology. Say it, and I let you walk out of here.”

She stares at me for a long second, then laughs. The sound starts small and builds until it echoes off the crimson walls. “That’s it? That’s why you staged this entire circus? For a fucking apology?”

I don’t smile bac