Beneath his silence

The Game

After Isabel left her father’s office, the atmosphere inside shifted.

Victor Hale was not alone.

He stood near the tall window of his office, the skyline of the city stretching in front of him. A low murmur echoed in the room as he spoke on the phone with someone on a private line. His voice was firm, controlled, yet full of doubt.

“I don’t trust that boy… Jeremiah,” Victor said, turning away from the window. “I didn’t hire him—Petra did. She believes he can handle the work. I’m not sure why she trusts him so easily.”

A pause.

“There's something in his eyes. Like he’s playing a game we don’t understand.”

In another part of the building, Jeremiah sat in his office, alone.

The screen on his phone lit up quietly in his hand. He watched Victor’s office through a hidden camera planted earlier. Every word, every glance — he was hearing it all.

He watched as Victor spoke about him. About not trusting him. About Petra being the one who brought him in.

A small smile crept across Jeremiah’s lips. Cold. Calculated. Like he had expected nothing less.

“Of course you don’t trust me,” he muttered under his breath. “You were never meant to.”

Suddenly, the door to his office opened.

Isabel stepped in, slowly, a little cautious. Jeremiah quickly turned off the video and tucked his phone aside.

Their eyes met.

“I just… wanted to thank you,” Isabel said. “For taking me home last night. I don’t remember much, but I know you didn’t have to.”

Jeremiah leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable. “You’re welcome.”

She hesitated, shifting from one foot to another.

“I don’t know why,” she admitted, “but I still have this bad feeling around you. I don’t trust you. Something about you… it just feels off.”

His gaze held hers, steady and unbothered.

“Most people have that feeling about me,” he said quietly. “I’m not a good person, Isabel.”

His words hung in the air.

Dark, blunt, almost daring her to walk away.

But Isabel didn’t say anything else. She just nodded, then turned and left his office without another word.

Jeremiah waited until the door clicked shut.

Then he picked up his phone again.

The feed from Victor’s office was still running. Victor had returned to his desk and was now looking through files, unaware that every moment was still being watched.

Jeremiah’s eyes didn’t blink.

He watched.

And smiled again.

Not because he found it funny—but because the game was still going according to plan.