Adrian stepped out, his face now cold steel. He took the black phone from his desk secured, untraceable, used only when action had to be absolute.
"This is Leone," he said.
"Black Mantis unit online, sir," came the calm, clipped reply.
"One of mine has been taken tonight," he said, pacing toward the window overlooking the sleeping city. "I want every lead within thirty minutes. Track movement, intercepted calls, whispers in the underworld. No excuses. Bring me the truth."
"Yes, sir."
Black Mantis. The name was whispered in fear, never spoken publicly. Governments denied their existence, politicians trembled at their efficiency, and the world had no idea the royal family controlled such lethal precision. Elite, invisible, untouchable. They answered only to Adrian.
Leonard appeared moments later with a tablet. "Sir, I've secured the penthouse. Nobody enters or leaves without your word."
Adrian nodded. "Good. Keep her safe." His eyes softened briefly toward the closed door of Valeria's room. "She doesn't need the world right now."
The black phone blinked again. Adrian answered immediately.
"Sir," Ghost, lead of Black Mantis, said, voice rough and efficient, "we've traced two unregistered vans. One carried fake diplomatic plates."
Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Diplomatic?"
"Yes, sir. Heat signatures, cross-referenced traffic cameras outside the tampered CCTV. One matches the convoy of our Country A's vice president's daughter."
The revelation hit the room like ice. Adrian's voice was calm, almost eerily so. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, sir. Verified by embassy contacts and insignia."
Adrian poured himself a glass of whiskey but didn't drink. He stared at the reflection in the glass, calculating. Chesla Gawklow. Untouchable, politically insulated, rich and arrogant. And she had crossed his Valeria.
He spoke into the phone again, his tone precise, cold, deadly. "Ghost. Track all her movements for the past seventy-two hours. Who she met, where she went. I want every detail, including accomplices. But leave them untouched for now. She will feel safe first. Then we take everything from her quietly."
"Yes, sir."
Adrian's eyes softened briefly toward the door of Valeria's room. His mind churned with a storm of fury and protective instinct. The woman who had fought through every barrier, who had risen from nothing to create Lunara, had been humiliated and endangered because of someone's envy and arrogance.
He set the glass down and called Leonard. "Lock down everything. No calls, no media. Until we decide the time, no one outside knows."
Leonard obeyed instantly, a flicker of awe crossing his face. Adrian De Vere Leone was not just a man of power he was a force, a predator whose plans ran deep and whose reach was invisible. When Black Mantis moved, no political office, no law, no money, no daughter of a vice president could touch them. They were untouchable, unstoppable, and completely loyal only to him.
Adrian looked out at the city one last time, the steel in his gaze reflecting the promise he silently made. "Sleep, Valeria," he whispered under his breath. "When you wake up, those who hurt you will regret ever crossing your path."