Treachery

Episode 5

You cost me a lot. My stocks tanked. I had to lay off good men. I had to defend my reputation to people I shouldn't even have to speak to. You dragged my name into the dirt. You made a fool out of me.”

I leaned forward slightly. “And for what? For what, Theo? Ten million? A little data you thought you could sell?”

He flinched when I said the number. Good. That’s where the power was.

I stood up straight, brushing imaginary dust from my sleeve. My voice stayed level.

“You have something. Something my company needs. I don’t know where it is yet, but you’re going to tell me.”

His lips parted, maybe to deny it, maybe to lie. I raised a hand. “Don’t bother. We’ve got time. I’m not in a rush. But you're not going anywhere until I get what’s mine.”

I looked at Dante. “Get the tools.”

Theo’s eyes widened.

The words echoed less like a warning and more like a ritual—something I’d said before. Something I’d probably say again.

Dante returned with the case. He didn’t speak, didn’t ask questions. That’s why I kept him close. He knew the drill. Unzip. Lay out the tools. Surgical. I didn’t have to look.

Theo’s voice broke the silence next. Not words, just a sound. Something between a groan and a cry. It bounced off the high concrete walls like a memory that wouldn’t fade. You could hear fear in someone’s voice before it even fully took shape—before the begging or screaming or breakdown. You could hear it when they realized no one was coming to save them.

I stepped back, leaned against the metal pillar, arms crossed.

There was no rush.

This kind of thing? It used to keep me up at night. The first time I gave the order—years ago—I threw up in the middle of a board meeting. I was younger then. Softer. I thought things still had meaning.

That version of me? Dead and buried. He had to be. You don’t build an empire by worrying about broken men. You don’t survive in my world by flinching. The only thing that matters is the equation: loss,gain, return.

And love?