Chapter 13
995 Words
Morning sunlight reflected against the tall glass windows of Kane’s corporation.
Inside the private office on the highest floor, Luca sat quietly behind his desk while flipping through several files.
But his attention wasn’t fully on work.
The old photograph still rested beside him.
His sharp eyes lingered briefly on the little girl standing beside him and Ryder in the picture.
Then—
His phone suddenly rang.
Luca’s expression immediately shifted colder the moment he saw the caller ID.
International line.
Without wasting another second, he answered.
“What happened?”
The voice from the other side sounded tense.
“There’s a problem with the shipment overseas.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“What kind of problem?”
A heavy silence followed before the man finally answered,
“Someone sabotaged the operations.”
The atmosphere inside the office instantly changed. Luca slowly leaned back against his chair.
“How bad?”
“One of the warehouses was raided.”
His expression darkened immediately.
“And we lost millions.”
Silence.
Cold silence.
The man continued carefully,
“We also suspect someone leaked information from inside.”
Luca’s fingers slowly tapped once against the desk.
A traitor.
Interesting.
“Who’s responsible?” he asked calmly.
“We still don’t know yet.”
For a moment, Luca stayed completely silent.
That silence alone felt more terrifying than anger.
Then finally—
“Find out before I arrive.”
The man on the other side immediately straightened.
“Yes, boss.”
The call ended shortly after.
Luca slowly lowered his phone onto the desk before rubbing his temple lightly.
This wasn’t a small problem anymore.
If the sabotage continued—
It could damage the entire Kane empire overseas.
Without another word, Luca stood up before walking toward the large window overlooking the city.
His expression remained unreadable.
But behind that calmness—
Something dangerous was already moving inside his mind.
A few minutes later, Luca grabbed his coat and headed downstairs toward the parking area.
__
A few hours later at Hell’s Throttle, Ryder's phone suddenly vibrated again.
Luca.
Ryder answered immediately.
“What is it?”
“I’m leaving tonight,” Luca said calmly from the other side.
Ryder frowned slightly.
“For what?”
“There’s a problem overseas.”
The atmosphere instantly grew serious.
Luca continued,
“Someone leaked information about the organization over there.”
Ryder’s expression darkened immediately.
“How bad is it?”
“One of my businesses got sabotaged.”
Silence.
Then Ryder leaned back slowly against the couch.
“How long are you leaving for?”
“Maybe a week,” Luca answered calmly. “Or longer.”
Ryder immediately understood.
This was serious.
“I need to find the traitor first,” Luca continued quietly. “Before this mess gets worse.”
The atmosphere between the two brothers became heavier.
Then Luca suddenly added,
“Be careful with Adrian Vale.”
Ryder’s jaw tightened slightly.
“He’s already moving.”
Silence filled the call for a moment before Ryder finally spoke again.
“You think the situations are connected?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Luca’s voice remained calm as always.
“But right now…”
His tone darkened slightly.
“We can't trust anyone too easily.”
Silence filled the line again.
Then finally—
“I’ll contact you when I arrive.”
Click.
The call ended.
Ryder slowly lowered the phone away from his ear before staring quietly at the rain pouring outside the office window. Everything in that room felt even colder than before.
Somehow…
Everything was starting to feel connected.
And he hated that feeling.
Ryder leaned back against the couch before pressing two fingers lightly against his temple.
One problem after another.
Adrian.
Elena.
The traitor.
The sabotage overseas.
And what happened back then on the day he met Elena.
Everything felt connected to each other somehow, like someone was behind all of this.
Ryder exhaled slowly while closing his eyes for a brief moment.
For the first time in a long while—
He felt exhausted.
Suddenly—
His phone vibrated again against the table. Ryder frowned slightly before glancing at the caller ID.
Drayton.
A faint sigh escaped from Ryder’s lips before he answered the call.
“What?”
A lazy chuckle immediately echoed from the other side.
“Well, nice to know you’re still alive.”
Ryder rolled his eyes slightly.
“What do you want?”
Drayton laughed softly.
“I heard about what happened over there and the mess overseas.”
Of course, he did.
Nothing stayed hidden from Drayton for long.
Unlike Luca’s calm and calculating nature, Drayton was louder, sharper, and somehow even more unpredictable.
But despite that—
He cared deeply about them.
Almost like an older brother even though he was the youngest among them.
“Are you okay?” Drayton suddenly asked, his voice becoming more serious this time.
Ryder stayed silent for a moment.
That silence alone was enough for Drayton to understand things weren’t good.
“…That bad, huh?”
Ryder rubbed his forehead slowly.
“One problem after another.”
A quiet sigh came from the other side.
“And I’m guessing this has something to do with the girl too?”
Ryder’s expression darkened slightly at the mention of Elena.
“Maybe.”
Drayton immediately noticed the change in Ryder’s tone.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
A smirk slowly appeared on Drayton’s face even though Ryder couldn’t see it.
“Well…” he muttered casually, “looks like our cold-hearted Ryder Kane finally found someone worth protecting.”
“Shut up, Drayton.”
The man only laughed louder from the other side of the call.
But after the call ended—
The smile on Ryder's face disappeared completely.
His gaze slowly drifted toward the rain outside.
For some reason—
He couldn't shake the feeling that a storm was coming.
And this time—
It wasn't the weather.
To be continued
- Writer
