Chapter 12
Victor lost influence slowly.
Not dramatically.
At dinners, men stopped waiting for his reaction before mine.
Younger captains asked Serafina directly.
No translator.
No elder male confirmation.
That apparently hurt more than losing a title.
He had lived his whole life as the man people checked with.
Now they did not.
One evening he left early.
Rowan watched him go.
“Celia would’ve enjoyed this.”
I looked at her.
“That’s cruel.”
“Yes.”
At least she knew.
Then Rowan told me Celia had once wanted to start a training program for daughters and nieces interested in Bellandi operations.
Victor rejected it.
Said family women already had “other responsibilities.”
I stared.
Of course.
So I started it.
Not only women.
Any young relative over eighteen.
Finance.
Negotiation.
Security coordination.
Logistics.
History.
No promise of command.
Just access to knowledge.
Victor called it rebellion.
May you like
Mia called it school for scary grown-ups.
More accurate.
