Vincent Caruso watched in solemn silence as four-year-old Clara lit a memorial candle beneath the gilded frame

The industrial warehouse on the edge of the city was a rusted, decaying structure. Inside, the surviving mercenary commander was frantically pacing, shouting into a secure satellite phone.

"The assault failed! Ravelli knew we were coming!" the commander yelled, his face pale with terror. "We lost the entire strike force! I need immediate extraction!"

"There will be no extraction," a cold, distorted voice replied over the phone. "You failed the Commission. You are a liability."

The line went dead.

Before the commander could throw the phone in frustration, the heavy steel doors of the warehouse blew entirely off their hinges.

Vincent walked through the smoke, flanked by Silas and six elite tactical operators. He didn't look like a man who had just survived a siege; he looked like a man who had come to collect a debt.

The commander drew his sidearm, but a precision shot from one of Vincent's men shattered his wrist, sending the gun clattering to the concrete floor. The commander screamed, falling to his knees.

Vincent walked slowly across the cavernous room, the polished leather of his shoes echoing ominously. He stopped inches from the kneeling, bleeding man.

"You called the Commission," Vincent stated, his voice a low, terrifying rumble. "What did they tell you?"

"They... they abandoned me," the commander gasped, clutching his shattered wrist. "They left me to die!"

"They are cowards," Vincent agreed smoothly. He crouched down, his sharp, intimidating eyes locking onto the mercenary. "I want the location of their primary operational hub in New York. Give it to me, and I will let you live."

"The Azure Tower," the commander choked out immediately, offering absolutely no loyalty to the men who had abandoned him. "Midtown Manhattan. The top three floors are heavily fortified. It's where the Five Families hold their summits."

"Thank you," Vincent said, standing up.

He turned his back on the mercenary and walked toward the exit. "Silas. Burn the building."