Chapter 34: The Beginning of the End

Cavalli paced inside his private study, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. The walls around him, once adorned with symbols of power, now felt suffocating. Paolo stood near the window, silent, knowing better than to speak when Cavalli was in this state.

Another shipment lost. Another ally gone. Moretti, one of his longest-standing partners, had walked away—no, worse, he had switched sides. And not just him. The whispers had reached every corner of the underworld: Ethan was closing in, and Cavalli was running out of options.

For the first time in decades, he felt something he hadn't in years.

Fear.

At that very moment, Ethan stood in his penthouse, watching the city lights flicker like dying embers. Dominic was on the phone, his voice calm but firm. "Everything is in place. His last remaining suppliers are pulling out. We've taken over three of his biggest contracts without a single bullet fired."

Seraphina, lounging on the sofa, exhaled smoke from her cigarette. "Cavalli's on borrowed time. He knows it, but he won't go down quietly."

Ethan smirked. "I don't expect him to." He set his glass down and turned to his most trusted people. "The goal wasn't just to weaken him. It was to make him desperate."

And desperate men made mistakes.

At exactly midnight, Cavalli made his move. A hit was ordered on one of Ethan's warehouses—an act of retaliation, of desperation. But Ethan had anticipated it. His men had been waiting. By the time Cavalli's hired guns arrived, the place was empty.

Except for one thing.

A single envelope, left in the middle of the warehouse floor.

Inside, a note written in bold, black ink:

"You're already dead. You just don't know it yet."

The moment Cavalli read those words, his hands trembled.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't the predator. He was the prey.