Chapter 27
Valentina
Fiona drags the back of her wrist across her forehead, smearing flour in a streak that would irritate her on any normal day. Today, she doesn't care. She stands in front of the mixer, watching the dough hook turn inside the gleaming bowl, its thick weight slapping against the metal.
She woke up wanting three different kinds of cookies, a lasagna big enough to feed an army, homemade pasta, and the lemon-ricotta cake my mother used to make for every occasion.
Zara, who never misses an opportunity to brag about anyone she loves, told Fiona, "I'm a 'little Italian kitchen witch' who can cook anything without measuring.
" So Fiona called me this morning and asked me to come over.
The invitation was welcome. Being bored has a strange way of making my thoughts turn heavy.
Every time things get quiet, an odd, crawling uneasiness settles into my bones.
It's been weeks without an Underworld message.
And the same routine of my exhausted husband coming home in the early morning hours, only to shut himself in his office with a determination to find out the truth behind Kirill and Fiona's attempted assassination seems to never end.
So, I nearly leapt out the door when she called me.
Now we're two hours into alternating between laughing, kneading dough, scolding each other for forgetting ingredients, and making an ungodly mess of her oversized gourmet chef's kitchen.
But then Brax texted, and the atmosphere turned heavy.
My stomach keeps dipping as though it's tracking a storm I can't see. The wooden spoon in my hand drags slowly through the bowl of creamy ricotta and sugar, creating smooth, pale swirls. I glance at the clock again.
Fiona notices. "You've looked at that clock nine times in the last ten minutes."
Heat creeps up my neck. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize." She turns off the mixer and leans a hip against the counter. "Is everything okay?"
"I don't know." I stir the bowl with more force than necessary. "Brax has something going on. He told me he's coming over and I can't leave without him."
Her eyebrows lift. "That's all he said?"
I nod. "He didn't want to talk about it over the phone."
She takes a deep breath and slowly releases it.
I ramble, "He's burning the candle at both ends. He barely sleeps, and when he does, he jolts awake like his brain refuses to let him rest."
Fiona narrows her eyes slightly. "Sounds familiar. Kirill does the same thing. That man would rather swallow a bullet than admit something's wrong to me."
"Same as Brax," I murmur.
She pushes off the counter, wipes her palms on a towel, and gestures at the ricotta. "That looks yummy."
"It is," I assure, then lose myself in the quiet rhythm, continuing to stir, yet my chest tightens. Brax found something, and it's so bad that he doesn't want me outside Kirill's protection.
What did he find?
My mind races. I finish making the dessert, and there's a buzz.
Fiona announces, "I bet that's Brax."
I wipe my hands on my apron, fingers trembling. I barely step past the kitchen when Brax barrels into the family room. Sean and Zara appear next, both carrying the twins.
Kirill enters the room, teasing, "Are we having a dinner party?"
Brax crosses the space between us. He tugs me into him as if he's been suffocating for hours, and I'm the only thing holding him to the earth. His arms band around me, tight, almost punishing, but not for me. It's against whatever shadow he's been wrestling.
"What's going on?" I mumble into his chest.
His jaw presses against my temple as he murmurs, "Don't worry. We're going to fill you in. I'm just glad you're safe." He hugs me again, stronger this time, then kisses the top of my head with a rawness that shoots through me like a current.
Safe.
My stomach twists.
A sharp, disgruntled cry pierces the space.
Zara bounces slightly, adjusting one of the swaddled babies. "Aw. I think River wants you, Valentina."
My chest warms instantly. I retreat from Brax's embrace.
River stretches his tiny hands in my direction, his fingers curling and uncurling in soft, desperate attempts to reach me.
"Hey, sweetie. It's okay," I coo, and take him from Zara.
He grips my hair and tugs.
"Whoa! Easy now," I laugh.
"River," Zara lightly scolds, removing his death grip from my hair. She moves my locks behind my shoulders.
"It's okay," I say, offering my pinky.
He grips it just as hard.
Kirill asks, "So? Are we having a dinner party?"
Brax announces, "We're going to burn the Underworld."
The room freezes.
Sean groans. "Jesus, you could have eased them into it."
Kirill's gaze turns sharp enough to cut through bone. "What did you just say?"
Brax repeats, "Every Omni. Every Royal Council member. Every one of them needs to get taken out. They're all involved in something so twisted it makes every ritual up until now look like kindergarten crafts."
Zara shifts her weight, her voice trembling with controlled anger. "They're going to kill all of us."
River lets out a small sigh, unaware of the storm brewing. He leans against my chest.
My heart slams against my rib cage. I kiss the top of his head. "What are you talking about?"
Fiona steps closer to Kirill. He slides his arm around her waist, as if to protect her.
Sean inhales deeply. "We got into one of their hidden databases. There are files documenting plans for the six of us. Execution directives. It's all been approved, and every Omni and Royal Council member has full knowledge."
The air thins around me. My mouth goes dry, but I stay silent as my brain scrambles to put the pieces together.
Then Brax's voice drops into something rough and lethal. "And that's not the worst of it."
Zara squeezes Sean's arm as if anchoring herself.
Brax's eyes meet mine, and I don't like what I see. There's anger mixed with fear.
I demand, "What is it?"
He steps closer. "It involves you."
My insides twist, then tremble. I barely get out, "How?"
"They plan on turning you into a breeding machine."
"Excuse me?" I blurt out.
Sean clears his throat. "It's true. They plan on extracting your eggs every month until you're 40. The strongest babies go to Underworld members of their choice. The weakest get sold on the black market."
Blood drains from my face to my toes. I gape at them, horrified. Then a cold rush drenches my limbs, crawling up my spine with icy fingers. I force words out. "No."
Brax adds, "They mapped out your cycles. They projected how many embryos they can pull per round. Their goal is six to twelve per cycle."
I open my mouth and shake my head, holding River tighter to me.
Fiona's hand flies to her mouth.
Kirill's expression detonates into something monstrous.
Sean continues, "They created pairing lists. Gestational assignments with surrogates. They plan to distribute your children like cattle."
A sharp ringing fills my ears. The world narrows. My knees go weak for a split second, but Brax's arm curls around my waist instantly, steadying me before I sway.
Brax finishes quietly. "At 40, they eliminate you. And that's why we're taking the Underworld out."
The ringing intensifies. My lungs struggle to expand, as if invisible hands are tightening around my ribs.
I stare at my husband, who would burn the entire secret society for me. And guilt eats me raw.
He fought for my seat with me. He watched me bleed for it. He married me for it. And now that same seat has turned into a cage designed to drain me until I'm no longer useful.
A wave of revulsion slams into me, hollow and electric, running through every nerve. "After everything I sacrificed, they want to use my body like I'm an incubator? They want my children? They want—" My words splinter. A sharp cracking sensation opens in my chest and spreads fast.
Brax tugs me closer, pressing his forehead to mine, voice frayed at the edges. "It's not happening. Do you hear me? Not a single hand is going to touch you."
River shifts against our chests. I hold him tighter, grounding myself through his small warmth.
Fiona blurts out, "This is sick. Why Valentina?"
Zara answers, "I assume they want a bloodline they can control and weaponize. She's pure Italian. Her DNA has Marino and Abruzzo in it."
"They're deranged," Kirill says, his jaw clenched so tightly his muscles twitch. "They've lost their humanity."
Zara asks, "Did they ever have humanity?"
The question hangs in the air, fueling my shock and horror.
The conversation erupts into a chaotic volley of questions and curses, strategy and disbelief.
Kirill demands, "Who authorized these files?"
Sean relays, "Every council member. Every Omni."
"So they're all involved?" Fiona asks in shock.
Brax affirms, "Yes. Everyone is on board with their plans."
Kirill growls, "I'll kill every one of them."
Sean warns, "There's more layers of security we haven't cracked. We don't know their plans for the rest of us. We just know we're all on the execution list when they get from us what they want."
Deafening silence fills the room.
Fiona asserts, "We're not letting them near Valentina."
Brax keeps one arm locked around me, as if he can shield me from shadows, pixels, and ghosts.
My entire life flashes before me. It's all been a lie, built on the belief that gaining my seat in the Underworld would give me power.
I thought it would allow me to step into a position to work with the Omni to ensure the evil my uncle Salvatore inflicted upon my parents and other members never happened again.
How wrong could I have been?
River shifts again. His tiny fingers fist the fabric of my shirt.
They will never have my children.
I draw a steadying breath and lift my chin. "Tell me what the plan is."
Brax's eyes darken with a vow. "We burn the Underworld to ash."
"How?" I question.
We all stare at each other.
Sean rubs his face, pacing in front of the windows. Zara holds Willow, rocking gently, her expression a storm barely held together.
Fiona presses closer to Kirill. "This isn't like busting into a ritual."
Zara nods. "We need a plan that dismantles every pillar at once. Otherwise, they regroup and retaliate."
A knot tightens deep in my chest.
Sean slows his pacing and levels a grim stare. "The Underworld has too many secrets. They all need to go."
Fiona squeezes Kirill's fingers, but her voice is steady. "There are thousands of people in the membership. They're parents. They don't know what the Omni planned. They hide their fear behind masks."
"That doesn't make them innocent," Sean counters.
"It doesn't make them targets either," I snap, unable to stop the sharp edge in my tone. "If the Omni and the Royal Council engineered all of this, then go after them. But the membership doesn't have the power. They don't all deserve to die and leave their children orphans."
"We can't trust any of them," Sean insists.
Kirill interjects, low and cold. "Fiona and Valentina are right. You scorch from the top down."
My stomach twists, but I stay quiet.
Fiona asks, "What about all their backups? Their shadows? Their enforcers? If we kill leadership, the middle tier will scramble for power."
Kirill's expression darkens. "There will be mass chaos. Every branch will start eating its own. Then we will see who we take out next."
Brax's jaw ticks. "That will take years."
Kirill lifts an eyebrow. "But it's the right thing to do."
Sean crosses his arms. "We have to hit the infrastructure at the same time with simultaneous detonations at every point where the leadership or membership can meet.
Nothing stays. Not the arena, chambers, or ritual spots.
The fortress wing Kirill found beneath the archives goes with it. Every secret space gets buried."
The room drops cooler.
Kirill grinds his molars, then says, "That requires timing and precision. We'd need a demolition team that's willing to die for us."
Brax glances at Sean.
Sean meets his eye, nods once, then looks at Kirill. "We know exactly who can do it."
Fiona stiffens, suspicious. "Who?"
Brax finally declares, "The O'Connors."
The room jolts into stunned silence.
Fiona blinks. "What do you need our uncles for?"
Brax doesn't answer. He looks to Sean again.
Kirill interjects, "Because no one knows bombs better than them."
A chill races through me.
Sean grunts, then his lips twist. "That's right. Uncle Brody built explosives for fun when he was twelve."
Zara mutters, "They also built a smoke grenade that blinded a SWAT team for eighteen minutes."
Sean lifts a finger. "Allegedly."
Kirill grunts. "Allegedly, my ass."
Brax lifts his chin. "We need them."
I burst out before I can rein it in. "No. You can't blow up the membership. There are innocent people inside those walls. People with families."
Zara's voice softens. "She's right."
River shifts uneasily in my arms.
"I didn't say we'd blow it up with them inside. I just said it has to go off at the same time as when we take the Omni out," Sean states.
Kirill adds, "If there's nowhere to convene, it silences everything."
My blood thickens.
Brax insists, "They'll still come after us. If we're the only ones still standing, it's inevitable. The ones who believe the Omni protects them from the outside world will demand our blood."
The silence that follows is suffocating.
Fiona shakes her head. "They won't. Not if we show them what they wanted to do to Valentina."
The hairs on my neck rise again.
Zara adds, "Then we control the narrative. Kirill, those who want peace will look to you for answers. You can send communication electronically and tell them to stand down. Only those who are evil will try to rise up against us."
"Then we take them out," Brax says.
My throat tightens. Fear hits me. "What if something goes wrong? What if the arena collapses too early? What if the wrong surveillance catches your uncles, and that assumes they'll agree to this?"
Brax tugs me into him. "We won't allow for any mistakes."
Sean declares, "My uncles will need everything. Layouts. Entry points. Security spots. Air ducts. Tunnel maps."
Kirill answers, "I have everything."
Zara encourages, "Then we can do this."
Brax's grip on my waist tightens. He orders, "Sean, call Brody."