"Austin..." Nina whispered, her voice tight. She didn't look happy. She looked trapped. "I... I can't take this. It's too much.""Nonsense," Austin insisted, reaching down and gently touching her shoulder. "A Van Cleef or a Cartier is never too much for you, Nina. It's a trivial thing. Just a little trinket to remind you that I'm always thinking about you."He let the brand name drop loud enough for the whole table to hear it, making sure everyone registered the price tag attached to his affection. The wife sighed happily.It was only then, after completing his grand performance, that Austin finally seemed to notice the other person sitting at the table.Austin slowly turned his head. His eyes landed on Nathan. The confident, charming smile on his face faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a look of mild confusion.Nathan did not shrink away under the gaze. He sat back in his chair, his hands resting quietly on the table, and met Austin’s eyes directly.Austin looked at Nin

The dinner had reached that stage where the wine was flowing, and the ego was growing. Austin was leaning back in his chair, gesturing with a fork as he held court. He was in the middle of a long-winded story about his father’s latest victory—a massive government contract for a national cybersecurity overhaul."The beauty of it," Austin said, his voice ringing with unearned confidence, "is the blockchain integration. See, my father’s firm developed a 512-bit recursive firewall that actually uses the public ledger to verify hardware signatures. It’s why the contract was worth nine figures. No one else can handle that kind of packet density without a server-side collapse."He sat back, looking around the table for the usual rounds of applause. Martha Delano smiled brightly, nodding as if she understood every word. Connor and Lexi looked impressed by the sheer number of big words Austin had managed to string together.To them, he sounded like a genius. To anyone else, he sounded like he

The silence of the hallway was shattered by a chorus of panicked footsteps and gasping breaths."Austin!" Martha Delano’s scream was so high-pitched it felt like it could shatter the glass of the nearby family portraits.The family swarmed the scene like a panicked herd. The Governor, Connor, Lexi, and even the young Justin skidded to a halt, their faces turning a ghostly white. The picture before them was a nightmare rendered in high definition. Austin lay sprawled on the marble, his expensive navy suit soaking up a dark, spreading pool of red. Standing over him, her fingers white-knuckled around the hilt of a dripping kitchen knife, was Nina."Nina! What have you done?!" Martha shrieked, her hands flying to her face. "You monster! You’ve killed him!""Call an ambulance! Now!" the Governor roared, his political composure finally cracking as he fumbled for his phone.Nina was shaking so violently the knife rattled in her hand before clattering to the floor. Her mouth opened, her throat

The hallway was a swirl of blue and red strobe lights reflecting off the white marble. The paramedics were working fast, loading a semi-conscious Austin onto a collapsible stretcher. The air was filled with the smell of blood and sterility.As the medics moved, two police officers stepped away from the crowd, flanking Governor Delano. They lowered their voices, but in the sudden quiet of the hallway, Nathan heard every word."Governor," the lead officer whispered, his voice dripping with a sycophantic edge. "We can handle this quietly. A domestic accident. Austin had a mishap with a kitchen knife while showing off. We can bury the report before it even hits the precinct desk. The press never has to know. Your reputation, and the Prime Minister’s reputation, remains spotless."The officer glanced over at Nathan, his eyes narrowing with a cold, predatory calculation. "And if we need a story... we could even place it on this kid. He’s a nobody. A scholarship student with no backing. We s

"Let's see about that, Jeffery."The fat man froze. The sneer vanished from his face, replaced by a look of utter confusion and slight anger. "How... how do you know my name? I haven't even introduced myself to you."Nathan pointed a lazy finger toward the man’s chest. "Um... nothing special, really. It’s written in bright silver letters right there on your badge, Detective Jeffery. Now, are you actually starting the interrogation, or do I have to mysteriously call out your last name too? Because it’s also right there on your badge, just a couple of inches lower."Jeffery’s face turned a bright, angry red. He groaned under his breath, muttering something about smart-ass kids, and quickly adjusted his jacket to cover the badge. He decided to ignore Nathan entirely and turned his attention to Nina, softening his voice into a greasy, manipulative tone."Ma'am, listen to me," Jeffery said, leaning in. "I know you don't wanna be here. And honestly, neither do I. You are the governor's daug