At that moment Benjamin heard the words and stopped walking.He turned around slowly, his expression carefully neutral, the face of someone who is trying to assess a situation before committing to a response.“Aren't you the doctor who was supposed to be attending to William's father?” he said, his tone carrying just enough curiosity to sound natural. “Are you done already? That was quick.”Kai nodded, his expression easy, conversational, as if they were two professionals running into each other in a hospital corridor rather than two men circling each other with unspoken agendas.“Well,” Kai said, “I heard what you said earlier. I heard the part about you being William's friend. And there is something really, really interesting about that. Something that does not quite add up.” He tilted his head slightly, the gesture of someone who is genuinely puzzled and wants clarification. “Because I have met William before. Multiple times, actually. We have spoken at length. And William has n

William looked at the workers, at Rebecca standing at the front of the group, at the faces staring up at him with that mixture of disbelief and cautious hope, and he spoke again.“It is not just that I am going to pay all of you,” he said, his voice carrying clearly across the quiet space. “I am sure you are wondering whether you are going to be sacked, whether this is the beginning of layoffs, whether I bought this facility just to shut it down or replace you with cheaper labor. The answer is no. You are not going to be sacked. I am going to be retaining each and every one of you.” He paused, letting that sink in. “But I am also going to be asking something of you in return. I want you to do your job perfectly. To do your job really well. Do it as if it is something you love doing, as if it matters to you personally. Do it with passion. Do it like your life depends on it, because in some ways it does.”He paused again. “And from now on, I am giving a direct order that all of your

At that moment the right-hand man straightened slightly, his hands clasped in front of him in the posture of someone delivering a report and waiting for further instructions.“As of now,” he said, “we do not have much more information beyond what I just told you. His mother owns the restaurant that was burnt. We know he exists, we know his face, we know his general background. But beyond that, the details are limited. We are still gathering intelligence.”He paused, waiting to see if Damian had follow-up questions or additional instructions.Damian did not wait.He did not ask for clarification or request more data or suggest alternative approaches.He made his decision immediately.“Well,” Damian said, his voice carrying the finality of someone who has seen enough to reach a conclusion and does not need further deliberation.“Since that is the case, this person is our number one suspect. This person is the one we need to focus on, and he needs to be dealt with. He needs to be taught

He paused, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.“But that is not my primary problem right now,” he continued. “That is not what I am focused on at this moment. My problem, or rather my opportunity, is that I have gotten a very good lead today. A breakthrough, actually. I met somebody. Somebody who is very, very close to William. Somebody who knows him well, who understands his weaknesses, who has access to information that could be extremely useful.”Victoria did not interrupt, and Kai took her silence as permission to continue.“I met this person earlier today,” he said, “and according to the conversation we had, according to what was discussed and what was agreed upon, we are going to join forces together. We are going to work together to make sure that we bring William down. Bring him down for good. Permanently. In a way that he will not be able to recover from.”There was a faint edge of satisfaction in his voice now, the sound of someone who believes they have found the lev

Kai sat in the driver's seat, the phone pressed to his ear, and as Victoria's words settled over him, as the full scope of what she was proposing became clear in his mind, he nodded slowly.The gesture was deliberate, the physical manifestation of a decision being made, a line being crossed."Absolutely," he said, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction now, the tone of someone who has just been handed a solution that feels both elegant and devastating. "That is a very nice idea. That is something I, myself, actually look forward to. Yes, that is a very nice idea."He paused, his mind already working through the mechanics of it, the way the pieces would fit together, the way the narrative could be shaped and controlled."We can use the idea of malice," he continued, his voice becoming more animated now, more engaged. "We can use the idea of jealousy to get to him. We just have to change the narrative. We just have to twist it in our favor, twist it to the point that people will not