Silas sat behind the massive oak desk in his private office on the top floor of Vane International. Papers and tablets lay scattered across the surface, but his attention was fixed on the tablet in his hand.

Lena stood rigidly in front of the desk, tablet in hand, her usual efficient composure slightly strained.

"Repeat that," Silas said, his voice unusually calm.

Lena cleared her throat. "Leon met with Santiago twice in the past few days, sir. First at the café near the restaurant, then yesterday at the riverside park and a bookstore. They spent nearly three hours together on the second meeting. Security footage and audio confirm they had long exchanged numbers and made plans for another outing next week."

Silas slowly set the tablet down. His fingers drummed once on the desk. "Three hours. And what exactly were they discussing during these little dates?"

"Books, mostly," Lena replied, glancing at her notes. "Leon recommended several titles. They talked about the books they both liked and personal matters."

She paused for a second. "After much digging from the restaurant owner we were able to get some information. Mr park the owner said that Santiago offered Leon thirty thousand dollars a month to show him around the city on weekends and after shifts."

Silas let out a low, humorless laugh. "Thirty thousand. How generous of our mysterious ghost."

He stood up abruptly and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, hands clasped behind his back. "Did Leon accept?"

"Yes, sir. He seemed excited about the offer. Santiago also was said to have given him an advance in cash. The listening bug also recorded him talking to Sylvain about it."

Silas turned sharply. "And Sylvain? What did he say?"

Lena hesitated. "He warned Leon to be careful. He also mentioned that they have an enemy that their father made. He advised him not to trust too quickly. But Leon was... enthusiastic. He believes Santiago is one of the ’good ones.’"

Silas’s jaw tightened. "One of the good ones," he repeated mockingly. "How charming."

He walked back to his desk and pressed the intercom. "Send two more teams to watch Leon. I want eyes on him 24/7. If Santiago so much as breathes near him again without my explicit permission, I want to know immediately."

"Yes, sir," Lena said. She paused, then added carefully, "Should we inform Sylvain about the frequency of the meetings?"

Silas’s eyes darkened. "No. I’ll handle Sylvain myself. He’s been hiding how often they speak. I want to see his face when I tell him."

Lena nodded and turned to leave, but Silas’s voice stopped her.

"One more thing, Lena."

She turned back. "Yes, sir?"

"Dig deeper into Santiago. I don’t care how. Bribe, hack, threaten — whatever it takes. I want to know who the fuck he really is. If he has any connection to the underworld, to my competitors, or to Sylvain’s past, I want it on my desk by tomorrow morning."

"Understood."

As Lena closed the door behind her, Silas picked up his phone and dialed Sylvain.

Sylvain was in the penthouse kitchen when his phone rang. He saw Silas’s name and felt his stomach drop. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Come to my office," Silas said without greeting. "Now."

Sylvain’s grip tightened on the phone. "Is something wrong?"

"You’ll find out when you get here." The line went dead.

Twenty minutes later, Sylvain stepped into Silas’s office, heart pounding. Silas was leaning against the front of his desk, arms crossed, looking every inch the predator.

"Sit," Silas ordered.

Sylvain sat. "What’s going on?"

Silas stared at him for a long, heavy moment. "How often does Leon talk to you about his new friend?"

Sylvain blinked. "New friend?"

"Don’t play dumb with me," Silas snapped. "Santiago. The generous man paying your brother thirty thousand dollars a month to ’show him around the city.’ How many times have they met, Sylvain?"

Sylvain’s face paled. "I... Leon mentioned him. He said he’s a customer at the restaurant who offered him a side job. But I told him to be careful—"

Silas laughed coldly. "You told him to be careful? How touching. Did he also tell you that this ’nice customer’ has been meeting him for hours? Every dirty secret has been spilled? That your brother is spilling his heart out to a man I’ve been investigating for weeks?"

Sylvain stood up quickly. "What? No, Leon said it was just casual—"

"Casual?" Silas pushed off the desk and stalked forward until he towered over Sylvain. "Your brother is getting close to a man whose background is a fucking black hole. And you’ve been keeping it from me."

"I wasn’t keeping it from you, I didn’t even know you were related to him. Silas I knew nothing," Sylvain said, voice shaking. "Leon was excited. I didn’t want to scare him. I warned him about strangers—"

Silas grabbed Sylvain’s chin, forcing him to look up. "You should have told me the moment Leon mentioned the name Santiago. Instead, I had to find out from my security team. Do you understand how that makes me look?"

Sylvain swallowed hard. "I’m sorry. I thought it was harmless—"

"Nothing is harmless when it involves your brother," Silas growled. "Leon is the only leverage I have over you. If something happens to him because you decided to play protective big brother behind my back, I will make you regret it in ways you can’t imagine."

Tears pricked at Sylvain’s eyes. "Please don’t hurt him. He’s just happy. He thinks Santiago is a good person."

Silas released his chin but didn’t step back. "Good person," he repeated mockingly. "Your brother is naïve. And you... you’re lying to me again. Tell me the truth. How much does Leon know about me?"

"Nothing," Sylvain said quickly. "He thinks you’re just a friend I work for. He doesn’t know about the contract. He doesn’t know anything."

Silas studied his face for a long time. "If I find out you’re hiding more from me, I’ll bring Leon here and make you explain everything to his face. Do you understand?"

Sylvain nodded shakily. "Yes."

Silas stepped back and returned to his desk. "Good. From now on, you will tell me every single thing Leon says about Santiago. Every detail. And you will discourage any more meetings."

"But Leon is happy," Sylvain whispered. "For the first time in months, he sounds like himself again."

Silas’s expression was ice cold. "His happiness is not your concern anymore. Your only concern is obeying me. Now go home. I’ll deal with Santiago myself."

Sylvain turned to leave, but paused at the door. "Silas... please. Don’t do anything that will hurt Leon. He’s innocent in all of this."

Silas didn’t even look up from his papers. "Innocent people get hurt every day. Get used to it."

Sylvain left the office with a heavy heart, dread pooling in his stomach.

Back in the penthouse later that evening, Silas poured himself a glass of whiskey and stared at the photo of Santiago on his screen. "Who the hell are you?" he muttered.

He dialed Lena again. "Double the surveillance on both brothers. And prepare a message for Santiago. I think it’s time we had a little talk."