"So you're saying Sebastian's mistress happens to be the best friend of the girl you like, and Sebastian knows that girl is someone you like, which is why he was basically taking her to his townhouse outside London?"
Alister's grim voice echoes from the other side of my phone. Inside Li Zhao's penthouse, I sit on the bed where, next to me, Nova is sleeping—or should I say, I drugged her to stay unconscious for twenty-four hours.
Li Zhao's penthouse is in one of London's most expensive real estate locations, overlooking London Bridge and a skyline that knows no boundary.
The floor-to-ceiling window filters the moonlight into the dimly lit room, reflecting against the beige walls. The silk curtains flutter softly from the wind drifting in through the open balcony door.
There's a walk-in empty closet, big enough to be a mini studio apartment. A round redwood table sits near the balcony door with two chairs facing each other and a flower vase filled with branches of fresh red peonies, contrasting against the beige-themed room.
On the nightstands on both sides of the bed, two lamps are dimmed low, barely illuminating the peaceful sleeping face of Nova—unaware of the danger she almost got herself into.
Because of having a connection with me.
"Ron, this is dangerous. Sebastian has more eyes on you than we predicted." Alister's voice is serious, carrying the weight of my negligence in underestimating a man drunk on vengeance.
"He knows something that not even my uncle or Julian knows." My jaw tightens, my eyes unmoving from Nova's face.
Alister sighs heavily on the other side.
"None of us saw it coming. I was damn sure it's nearly impossible to break through Li Zhao's security system, the one that hides your tracks from everyone," Alister growls, frustrated by his own overestimation. "But Sebastian managed to break through my elite security system."
I lift my eyes. Li Zhao is standing near the balcony door, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression stripped of its usual playfulness and calm energy.
This isn't about Sebastian laying eyes on the woman I adore.
This is about Sebastian having enough power and experts to break through Li Zhao's advanced security team—something Li Zhao takes great pride in, having run the most elite security company in Europe for years.
"This is all the work of that little wench from the Wolff family," Nikolai scoffs, leaning against the door with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Beatrix Elizabeth Wolff is behind the breach in Aaron's security," Alister's voice drops an octave lower, hinting at the danger and anger he's holding back. "She's the one who hacked into Nik's gang's private networks and bank transactions across Dubai, the Caymans, Hong Kong, and Switzerland."
"What are the chances that…" Li Zhao's calm voice hangs heavy in the air. I blink slowly, waiting for him to finish whatever hypothesis he's forming.
He turns around, his stormy black eyes falling first on Nova's sleeping face and then on me. "It was Beatrix who told Sebastian about the relationship between you and Nova?"
My nails dig into my knees through the fabric of my pants. None of them says anything, but I know we're all thinking the same thing.
"We can't really trust anyone from the Wolff bloodline," Li Zhao adds.
"That fucking cunt," Nikolai spits, his tone dripping with venom. He already holds deep resentment toward Beatrix—because of her, his loyal men died brutally.
I glance at Nova. Her chest rises and falls softly, her cheek pressed against the silk pillow, her hair spilling across it like a dark waterfall.
Stroking her knuckles, I try to calm the storm inside me—the guilt of risking her life, the regret of my arrogance in thinking I was untouchable, and the rage at Sebastian for breaking the only rule of the underworld.
No women or children should be touched in the process of revenge.
My knees start to sting; the calm storm in my head turns violent, and the last shred of my humanity flickers under its weight.
"Ron," Alister calls my name, cautious, as if he can sense my bloodlust even from miles away.
"You're thinking of dragging Sebastian's wife and kids into this, aren't you?"
His words hit like a cruel reflection of the man I've become.
For years, I never broke that one rule. None of us did.
But Sebastian did.
And now, I have no reason to stay civil.
"Nik, have you gathered evidence of Sebastian and Beatrix's affair?" My voice is cold, emotionless—almost foreign to my own ears.
Nikolai pulls out a red pen drive from his jacket pocket. "They've been regular visitors at the Savoy Hotel. Based on the CCTV my men got, they always went on exclusive dinner dates. Sebastian never really touched her more than holding hands or hugging."
"Of course he didn't." I scoff at Sebastian's hypocrisy. "He's using Beatrix Wolff. It's rare to come across a hacker and tech brain like hers."
Li Zhao clicks his tongue. "Leave it to me. Sebastian and Beatrix's affair will be the biggest scandal high society has seen in years."
"In that case, Ron, you need to control your temper, okay?" Alister's voice rises, breaking the dark trance of my thoughts. He's practically shouting through the line. "I can't handle more work than I already am. Sebastian has made his first move, but you cannot start a bloodbath!"
Nikolai looks at the phone on the bed, offended. "Why are you always whining? You're doing the least among us."
Alister gasps dramatically, his voice cracking with frustration. "Nikolai fucking Orlov! Do you have any idea how much I'm dealing with, you little prick? I have to handle Aaron's uncle and father, clean up after the smuggling you three do every day, bribe officials, and keep the records clean while making sure you idiots don't get your asses busted! Do you think you can survive without me creating a legal fortress, you ungrateful mafia sadist?!"
Cough, cough.
Nikolai yawns and picks his ear as if Alister's outburst and coughing mean nothing.
A chuckle leaves Li Zhao's mouth as he shakes his head, his face finally relaxing from the earlier tension. It makes my own body relax a little too.
"You sound like you don't enjoy the heavy paycheck you get from us, Alister," Li Zhao teases, which makes Alister bark back, "Heavy paycheck?! I haven't even fucked a single girl in the last sixteen months and twenty-one days! What would you know?!"
Li Zhao gasps dramatically, fake sympathy painted on his face. "Want me to pick a flower from my garden?"
Nikolai side-eyes Li Zhao. "Can't you two think of anything other than women?"
"What would you even understand? You're still a kid!" Alister sneers, joining Li Zhao's teasing.
"I'm not a kid! I'm twenty-five!"
"And we're thirty-two! Shut up, kiddo, go suck a lollipop!" Alister's words make Nikolai glare.
"It's okay, Nik." Li Zhao throws an arm around him and pats his chest. "You'll understand the beauty and importance of women once you grow up."
A soft chuckle escapes me, unbidden, as I watch Li Zhao and Alister gang up on Nikolai, who's whining and doing his best to defend himself.
My eyes drift back to Nova's sleeping face, and for those few moments… everything feels normal.
The woman I love is sleeping peacefully in front of me, and my best friends—my brothers—are laughing and teasing each other.
For these few moments, there's no Sebastian, no Beatrix, no Mafia world, no Laurent & Cie succession war.
In this moment, I am just Aaron, surrounded by the people I hold closest to my heart, even if this peace is only momentary.