The Web Tightens

Lyra worked fast, her fingers moving across the keyboard, filtering through encrypted logs and hidden channels. Caleb stood behind her, arms crossed, eyes locked on the screen. Every name that appeared on the list made the knot in his stomach tighten. Syndicate members. City officials. People with too much to lose. Too much to gain.

"This isn't just a side operation," Lyra muttered. "This is built into the system."

Caleb exhaled slowly. "Elias wasn't trying to take Dante down. He was trying to take his place."

Lyra nodded, scrolling through another layer of records. "And he wasn't the only one. Look at this."

Caleb leaned in. A series of recent transactions. Large amounts moved under different aliases. But one in particular stood out. A name he hadn't expected.

Malik.

Caleb's jaw tightened. Malik had been Dante's right hand for years, second only to Elias in rank. If he was involved, then the situation was worse than Caleb had thought.

Lyra sat back. "This explains why Elias was eliminated. He was getting too close, but not to Dante—to Malik."

Caleb processed that. If Malik had been running this under Dante's nose, then there was a chance—however small—that Dante didn't know. But if he did? Then Caleb had just uncovered the one thing that could shatter the syndicate.

Lyra turned to him. "If Malik finds out you have this, you won't have time to plan your next move."

Caleb straightened. "Then we don't give him the chance."

Lyra's lips quirked slightly. "That means you're making a move first."

Caleb nodded. "We set a trap."