Tristan sat on the edge of the bed, phone in hand, thumb hovering over a single video file. The screen glowed against his face.

The footage was shaky,recorded from Adrian’s car. Gunfire,screeching tires and a glimpse of the White Cloak sigil burned into the wreckage. Adrian’s voice barking orders. A clean, undeniable shot of Adrian pulling the trigger.

It was everything literally needed as evidence.

A huge takedown,his promotion sealed and the 'impossible' mission complete.

But it would also mean extraction, the file closed and his access to the case gone. And with it… any chance of finding out what really happened to his sister.

Tristan stared at the screen, lips pressed into a line.

She was the reason he joined the agency in the first place. The reason he survived. And Adrian…cold, untouchable Adrian…was the only one who still breathed in the same shadows she had.

If I send this in, he thought, I lose everything else. All the answers.

But if he didn’t send it... how far would he fall?

His thumb trembled over the ‘Upload’ button.

He didn’t press it.

Not tonight.

Instead, Tristan locked the screen, tucked the phone beneath the mattress, and leaned back against the pillows, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

~~~~

Rumeya sat in front of mafia Barton's desk,head bowed. “You and Adrian should finalize the wedding soon.” Lord Barton spoke first.

“I know,father. Can we talk about that when we've settled the issue with the white cloaks?” Rumeya asked.

The White Cloaks started as a group of people hurt by the mafia. Families of victims, betrayed insiders, and those who lost everything to organized crime. They came together with one goal,to destroy the entire mafia system.

They don’t work with the police, they don’t follow rules, and they don’t care about power or money. All they want is to bring down every mafia group, no matter how big or dangerous, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure no one like them gets hurt again.

“The white cloaks…I had no idea they still exist.” Lord Barton chuckled. “Well,they didn't. Somehow,they survived the war.” Rumeya frowned.

“I trust Adrian to handle it.”

“Adrian has his own wars,father. Let me handle this organization.” Rumeya's eyes brightened. “This isn't a mission for pups.” Barton scoffed.

“Father,I've been here with you…training all my life for this kind of opportunity.” She frowned. “Why do we have these dogs then?” Lord Barton asked.

“You want to take over this empire someday? You have to be alive to do it.” He spat.

Rumeya's frown deepened. “But father, I—”

“Let me handle the White Cloaks,” she said.

Barton didn’t look up from his brandy. “No.”

“I’ve studied them. Their movements. Their language. I know how they think.”

“You know how you think,” Barton muttered. “And that’s not the same thing.”

Rumeya stepped forward. “They’re escalating. Making direct hits on ports. Our communications line in Munich? Gone. You can’t ignore this.”

“I’m not,” he said flatly. “I’m assigning it to men who understand restraint.”

Her voice dropped, cold and lethal. “Meaning not me.”

Barton finally raised his eyes. They weren’t angry …worse, they were bored. “You’re too emotional. Too quick to cut where pressure would do.”

“I get results,” Rumeya snapped.

“And I get survivors.” Barton stood now, crossing the room with that unnerving calm of his. “This isn’t vengeance, Rumeya. It’s war. And war requires patience.”

She clenched her fists. “You didn’t say that when you let Adrian burn half of Copenhagen.”

He stopped inches from her. “Adrian is useful. You’re... still proving you are.”

That cut deeper than any insult. Rumeya’s mouth tightened, but she said nothing.

Barton turned back to his chair. “Stand down. For now.”

Without thinking twice,she fell to her knees. “Father please,let me prove myself.”

That's all she always wanted.

He didn’t glance at the figure kneeling before him.

“Ant,” he said, almost gently.

The woman remained silent. Her hood up. Pale scars on the back of her hands. She was lean, still, and terrifying in that way predators are just before they strike.

“You've been… resting,” Barton went on, setting down a sealed file. “I need you awake now.”

Ant lifted her head slightly, just enough for the candlelight to catch one eye,sharp and black as night.

“The White Cloaks,” Barton said. “They're not making noise anymore. They're carving lines,deep ones.”

He slid the file across the desk. “This is everyone who’s whispered their name in the last month. Start there. No patterns and no mercy. When you're finished, I want the cities to go quiet again.”

Ant reached out, took the file without a word.

Barton leaned back in his chair. “Oh,and one more thing.”

His voice turned colder. “Stay away from Adrian.”

A small pause,then Ant nodded once.

She was gone a second later, like a shadow swallowed.

Rumeya's jaw tightened. It was always ant that got the high profile jobs. She left the study in anger and was quick enough to corner Ant in the hallway and pin her against the wall.

“What do you think you're doing?” Ant asked.

“Don't you for one second think you can replace me in my father's empire.” Rumeya said through closed teeth.

“Or else?” Ant asked,coldly.

“Or else,I'll tell Adrian your secret identity.” Rumeya smirked.

Ant's eyes widened.

To be continued....