Page 92 of Viper’s Reign

And so it goes. One after another, I show her pictures of former enemies, rival bosses, men we’ve had disputes with—just in case.

Every single one earns the same answer. No.

Then I switch tactics.

If Daniel Salvi is still my strongest suspect, maybe the face Grace remembers belongs to someone close to him. So I show her pictures of his inner circle—his bodyguards, family members, and driver.

She dismisses them all.

Frustration starts creeping in. Have I been barking up the wrong tree this whole time? If not Daniel, then who the fuck is behind all of this? Then I pull up Levi’s picture.

She goes rigid, her eyes widening with a fear that needs no confirmation, but she nods anyway.

“That motherfucker,” Noah growls behind me. “He knew a lot more than he let on.”

Grace glances between the two of us. “You know him?”

I pat her hands gently. “Thank you for telling us.” I take the phone from her before getting to my feet and shrugging my jacket on. “Stay with Anya,” I tell her as I jog out of the office, my mind already fixed on the lying bastard.

Noah calls the cars around as we head out, and they’re already pulling up by the time we reach the front steps. I slide into the passenger seat and dial Aleksei before the door is fully shut.

“Are you at the castle?” The castle is what Vanya and I call his mausoleum of a house. That’s where he’s holding Levi.

“Why—are you actually inviting yourself?” The surprise in his voice is evident. I avoid that house unless necessity demands it.

“Yes. There’s been a new development. Levi didn’t tell us everything he knows. I think it’s time to pull out all the stops.”

It speaks to the level of trust he has in me that he doesn’t even ask for an explanation. “His mother is in one of the cottages,” he says instead. “We can use her to make him talk.”

“Perfect,” I say grimly.

The call ends, and as we turn onto the road leading to the castle, I quickly text Vanya to meet me there.

Noah and I don’t speak until we’re through the gates. “Did the pakhan say Levi’s mother is here too?”

“Yes, we’ll go to her first. Take a picture to show Levi, so he knows we mean business. It’s time he stopped fucking around.”

We won’t lay a finger on the woman whose only sin is giving birth to the fucker. But Levi doesn’t know that, and that’s what we’ll exploit.

Romanov, Aleksei’s second-in-command, is waiting on the front steps when we pull up, his grim expression telling me Aleksei has already briefed him.

“Marta is in one of the guest cottages. Jack—Levi’s son—is with her.” He nods toward the smaller houses behind the castle, built for Aleksei’s men and guests he doesn’t want staying under his roof.

“Lead the way.”

As we round the castle, I keep my eyes fixed straight ahead, deliberately avoiding the dense line of trees that leads to the woods—where Viktor is buried.

Romanov knocks on the door of the second house, then opens it without waiting.

Marta is sitting on the sofa with a book in her hand. She glances up at us with a puzzled frown, but the moment she spots Romanov, her face brightens into a warm smile. “Rome! What brings you here?”

“It’s Romanov,” he corrects tightly as he pulls out his phone. “I need your photo. You wouldn’t mind me taking one right now, would you?”

“Oh, not at all.” The older woman sets her book aside and spends a few seconds smoothing her hair before striking a surprisingly cheerful pose. Romanov snaps the picture, and she waves at us as we leave.

The front door has barely closed behind us when Noah lets out a bewildered huff. “How is she so relaxed? What the hell did Vanya tell her when he went to pick her up?”

“That Levi got himself into a bit of trouble and asked us to look after her,” Romanov answers.