Chapter 3 - The Woman Behind the NameThe attack lasted twenty-three minutes.
To Cassian, it felt like three hours.
To Elena, it felt like training.
Every corridor became a firing lane.
Every staircase became a choke point.
Every shadow became a possible threat.
She moved through the manor with frightening precision, directing wounded guards toward defensible rooms while using furniture, walls, and darkness to break enemy sightlines.
Nobody questioned her anymore.
Nobody called her housekeeper.
They called her Elena.
Marcus watched her take down two attackers near the west staircase.
He lowered his weapon.
“What the hell?”
Dante looked at him.
“I think we hired the wrong person to polish silver.”
The attackers finally retreated.
Blackwood Manor survived.
Barely.
There were eleven dead guards.
Six wounded.
Three enemy vehicles abandoned in the driveway.
Cassian stood in the ruined foyer, looking at the blood staining his marble floor.
Elena was kneeling beside an injured guard.
She pressed a towel against his shoulder.
“Keep pressure here.”
The guard obeyed immediately.
Cassian approached.
“Elena.”
She stood.
His eyes moved over her.
There was a smear of blood across her cheek.
Not hers.
“You're going to explain.”
She looked toward the wounded men.
“Not here.”
“This is my house.”
“And someone inside it betrayed you.”
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“I don't know yet.”
“You killed six people tonight.”
“Seven.”
Marcus glanced at her.
“You're counting?”
“I count everything.”
Cassian studied her.
“Where did you learn?”
Elena said nothing.
Cassian stepped closer.
“You are not a housekeeper.”
She finally looked directly into his eyes.
“No.”
“Police?”
“No.”
“Military?”
“No.”
“Russian intelligence?”
Her silence was answer enough.
Cassian's hand moved toward his pistol.
Elena noticed.
“So did Viktor.”
Cassian stopped.
“What?”
“He did not attack for territory.”
She pointed toward the bodies.
“These men were looking for something.”
“What?”
“Me.”
The temperature in the room seemed to fall.
Cassian stared.
“You're telling me Viktor Volkov attacked an eighty-acre compound to find a housekeeper?”
“He knew I was here.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Cassian smiled without humor.
“Try again.”
Elena hesitated.
Then she spoke.
“Because eight years ago, I disappeared.”
“From where?”
“Chechnya.”
Marcus exchanged a glance with Dante.
Elena continued.
“I worked for a private intelligence unit. We specialized in extraction and counterintelligence. My team was sent to recover a defecting financier.”
Cassian watched her carefully.
“What happened?”
“The financier wasn't the target.”
“Then who was?”
“My commander.”
Silence.
Elena's voice became quieter.
“He was selling operational files to a Russian network. We discovered it too late.”
Cassian folded his arms.
“My team was eliminated. I escaped.”
“And Viktor?”
“He wasn't Viktor then.”
Cassian frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Elena's gaze hardened.”
“He was a lieutenant.”
She looked toward the shattered windows.
“Viktor Volkov became pakhan years later. But he remembers everyone who embarrassed him.”
Cassian said nothing.
Then Elena reached inside her uniform.
She pulled out the small encrypted wafer.
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
“What is that?”
“The reason your compound was attacked.”
He held out his hand.
She did not give it to him.
“What's on it?”
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
“Judges. politicians. bankers. police commanders.”
Cassian's expression changed.
“And cartel leaders?”
“Yes.”
“Mine?”
Elena looked at him.
“Yes.”
The silence became absolute.
Then a gunshot came from upstairs.
Everyone turned.
Cassian grabbed Elena's arm.
“Stay behind me.”
She looked at his hand.
Then at him.
“Mr. Thorne.”
“What?”
“That is the first time you've ever tried to protect me.”
Cassian released her.
Another shot.
A scream followed.
Elena turned toward the staircase.
“It isn't over.”
Cassian chambered a round.
“No.”
May you like
She picked up the rifle.
“It just changed.”
