Chapter Thirty-Eight: Empire In Blood

Matilda didn’t sleep that night.

The city was hers, but power was never truly secure—it had to be held, reinforced, defended.

She sat in the dim glow of her penthouse, nursing a whiskey, staring out at the skyline. Below, the streets had gone quiet, but she knew the silence was temporary. The Consortium had been dismantled, Calderone eliminated, Lucien betrayed and buried.

But Matilda wasn’t naive. Power vacuums didn’t stay empty.

Someone, somewhere, was already plotting to rise.

A knock at the door.

She glanced over. Three sharp raps. Nico.

"Come in," she called.

He stepped inside, looking like he hadn’t slept either. He tossed a folder onto the table in front of her.

"Survivors," he said.

Matilda raised a brow.

"Of Calderone’s operation?"

Nico nodded. "We took out most of his guys, but not all. A fe……