Revenge in Ruin

Chapter 5:Talk

Sloane pov

My chest tightened as the phone line went dead for the fifth time. He wasn't picking up my calls.

Driven by sheer worry, I drove over to his mansion first, but the heavy iron gates were locked, and the entire place was dark and empty. No one was there. Left with no choice, I dialed Ivy. She picked up on the second ring, her voice soft over the line as she gave me the answer I needed: He always goes to the sea whenever he's angry.

I slammed my foot on the gas, speeding toward the coast. When my tires finally crunched onto the gravel overlooking the shore, I spotted him. He was standing completely alone on the edge of the sand, staring out at the vast, crashing waves.

I cut the engine, hurried out of my car, and walked down toward him, the sea breeze whipping my hair across my face.

“Hey, I’ve been worried sick about you,” I said softly, stepping into the sand and coming to a halt right next to him. He didn't turn around, but his shoulders tense. “Hey, Leo... I’m so sorry. I know you never wanted to meet her, but I still went ahead and invited her anyway.” I offered him a small, sad smile, hoping to soften his anger.

He finally turned his head to look at me, the harshness gone from his eyes, replaced by something tired and heavy. “I’m also sorry for messing up our meeting with her,” he said quietly, his voice dropping as he looked at the ground. “Don’t be sorry, Sloane.”

He sighed, his boots sinking into the loose earth as he sat down directly on the sand. Without a second thought about my clothes, I sat down right beside him.

The afternoon was fading fast, and the sun was beginning its slow dip beneath the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of orange and pink. We watched the sunset in total, heavy silence for a few long minutes, letting the sound of the crashing waves fill the gap between us.

Finally, I had to break the peace. I needed to get back to business.

“I need you in my office tomorrow, Leo,” I spoke up, keeping my tone steady. “I want to talk about the underworld work.”

He didn't argue or snap this time. He just stared out at the water. “Okay,” he said simply.

I kept my eyes on his side profile. I know something is bothering you, Leo, and I know you are absolutely not going to tell me. My heart ached for him as I looked away, staring back out at the dark ocean. Oh God, please send him someone he can open up and talk to, as I know he isn’t going to open up to me, I thought, the weight of his unspoken secrets heavy in the air.

Next Day

Sloane POV

Everybody was gathered in the meeting room, except for that brat. I had literally messaged her yesterday about the meeting for our upcoming work, but her seat was empty.

The silence in the room was growing tense.

“Where is that f*****g brat?” Leo snapped, his anger rising. We all knew he absolutely hated waiting around for anyone.

“I’m calling her, but her phone is completely off,” Jax said, tapping his screen and dialing her number yet again. Everyone’s patience was wearing thin.

Suddenly, the heavy doors burst open, revealing Aella. We all froze, completely stunned by her appearance. She was absolutely drenched in coffee. Her clothes were a stained, messy disaster, and her hair looked like she had just fought a wild dog.

“What the hell happened to you?” Jax asked, his shoulders shaking as he tried to control his laughter.

“Some crazy lady thought I was cheating with her husband and started attacking me!” Aella shouted, wiping a drip of dried coffee from her forehead.

“What?” Ivy blinked, her jaw dropping.

“I was just getting my morning coffee when a man accidentally bumped into me," Aella explained, glaring down at her ruined outfit. "He was apologizing and told me he would give me money to replace my clothes. But out of nowhere, his mentally ill wife showed up. She started insulting me and throwing coffee at me from every single table she could get her hands on!”

And they say this girl is scary, I murmured to myself, rubbing my temples.

“Okay, Aella, just sit down here,” I sighed, pointing to an empty chair.

The meeting room was arranged around a massive conference table right in the center. I sat at the head of the table, with the entrance doors directly behind me. To my right sat Aella, with Ivy sitting right next to her. Across from them on the left side were Jax and Leo. At the very opposite end of the table, facing me, was Dante’s seat.

Once Aella finally sat down, still fumes radiating off her, I leaned forward and cleared my throat to get everyone's attention.

“As you guys know, someone has been acting up in the underworld these days,” I began, my tone turning serious. “I just got a piece of information. Harbor Watch has been completely wiped out.”

The words hit the room like a bomb. Everyone's eyes went wide.

“Wait... the gang that did all the detective and spy work for everyone?” Jax asked, leaning over the table in disbelief. “They were the ones who spied on other groups for whoever was paying them at the time, and they always knew how to keep their mouths shut. Who the f**k killed them?”

“Yeah, I find it completely stupid too," Dante chimed in from the end of the table. "Why bother killing a group like that?”

Everyone murmured in agreement. Harbor Watch was too useful to destroy.

“So, who killed them? Was anything found out about the killer?” Leo asked, locking his dark eyes onto me.

I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. “No. Right now, the word on the street is that the Number 1 gang killed them.”

The room went completely speechless. The silence was heavy as the weight of that title settled over us.

Aella looked across the table at Jax, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. “Huh? What do you mean by that?” she asked.

Jax paused, looking at her. “Everyone knows the Number 1 gang doesn't do stupid things like randomly wiping out a gang that keeps secrets. If they did it, it means Harbor Watch must have done something incredibly bad to cross them. The Number 1 gang is a massive, powerful group. They wouldn’t kill an important asset like Harbor Watch without a damn good reason. But if anyone else killed them... well, that’s just stupid thing.”

Everyone at the table nodded. Jax was right. If the top gang did it, Harbor Watch brought it on themselves. But if it was another group, a massive turf war was about to break out in the underworld.

“So our task is to watch out. Dante, you understand?” I said, looking down the long table at Dante.

Dante gave a firm, disciplined nod. “Understood, Sloane.”

“The thing is, whoever did this is going to attack again,” I continued, leaning my forearms against the edge of the mahogany wood. “But nobody knows who the next target will be. We have to stay incredibly sharp. Dante, did you manage to find anything about him?”

Dante opened a thick folder in front of him, his eyes scanning a clean sheet of data. “Yes, Sloane. His name is Enzo Lane. According to the records here, he is exactly the man we’ve been searching for.”

Leo leaned forward, his knuckles white against the table. “Who the hell is Enzo Lane?”

“He is the man who knows every single soul in the underworld,” Dante explained, his voice dropping into a serious, heavy tone that gripped everyone's attention. “Even if you are completely hidden or exposed, he knows everything about you. Let’s just say he is a far more dangerous threat than the Harbor Watch gang ever was. If his mouth opens, we are all absolutely doomed.”

I took over the explanation, tapping the rim of my glasses. “Basically, he is the man with all the primary information and gossip floating around the underworld. I’m willing to bet he already knows exactly who is behind these attacks. But the catch is, he works with absolutely no one. And if he ever does cooperate with a group, it’s only with the Number 1 gang.”

Jax rubbed the back of his neck, a look of pure disbelief on his face. “If he’s that dangerous to everyone, why hasn’t he been killed yet?”

I let out a cold, sharp breath, looking around at my team. “Because a literal army of guards permanently surrounds him. And frankly, no one knows if the Number 1 gang itself is personally guaranteeing his safety.” I said,

“What if the Number 1 gang is protecting him?” I asked, blurting it out like a total dummy.

Jax shot me a look of pure annoyance from across the table. “Dumbass, if Number 1 is protecting him, trying to kill him will just result in our entire unit getting wiped out. They can literally KILL US.”

“So what the hell are we going to do?” Leo asked, cutting through our bickering.

I leaned forward, looking directly at Leo. “I think first we should find him. Once we do, the very first thing we ask him will be about the Number 1 and Number 2 gangs.” I shifted my gaze, locking eyes with everyone else at the table. “And then, we will have our real task ahead of us.”

Everyone murmured or nodded in agreement from their seats. The plan was set.

Leo shoved his chair back, standing up with a newfound purpose. “Dante and I will get information on his whereabouts,” he said, gesturing for Dante to follow him out the door.

“Ivy, I will be needing your help with something else,” I said. Ivy gave me a quick nod, rising from her chair to join me. Before walking out, I paused at the threshold and looked back at the table. “Jax, keep an eye on her.”

With that, I left the room with Ivy, leaving the two of them alone in the meeting room.

Aella POV

The heavy door clicked shut behind Sloane, leaving me drenched in dried coffee and staring across the massive table at Jax. We were still sitting in our respective chairs, the empty seats around us making the room feel way too big.

“Why are we so afraid of the Number 1 group anyway? And who even are they?” I asked, leaning my elbows on the polished wood.

Jax stopped spinning his phone on the table and looked at me like I had just grown a second head. “Are you sure you’ve actually been working in the underworld?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” I said, rolling my eyes in confusion.

“Then how the f**k do you not know about No. 1?” he asked, throwing his hands up in disbelief.

A smug smile spread across my face. I raised a hand, pointing a thumb directly at my own chest. “See this woman right here? She only knows about killing others, not being afraid of anyone.”

Jax deadpanned, staring at me from his chair with zero expression. “I see a dummy who doesn’t know a single thing about a group that could easily put a bullet in her head.”

“No.1 Group, hmm," I mumbled, looking at the ceiling.