The hotel operation had not simply failed. It had been interfered with. That was the difference. Someone had taken Clara before she could become part of the trap.Maybe someone had disrupted the timing. Someone had allowed Alexander to arrive without the woman he was supposedly coming to rescue, and now that same person had left Aurelia convinced that Nahir was responsible.It was almost as if the entire situation had been deliberately designed to make everyone suspect everyone else.Nahir's fingers tightened around the glass. “Whoever took Clara knows what they're doing.”Scar's brother looked uneasy. “Why do you say that?”“Because they didn't simply take her.”Nahir set the glass down carefully. “They took her at exactly the right moment.”He began mentally arranging the events in chronological order: Clara disappeared; Alexander arrived without her. The hotel trap failed.Aurelia became suspicious, and now Nahir was being blamed for a kidnapping he had ordered. None of it felt ran

Alexander gave him a brief nod. “You're here.”The Butler looked from Alexander to the Crime Boss. “What update do you have for me?”The Crime Boss immediately gave him a summary of everything that had happened since Alexander left.The Butler listened carefully. When the explanation was finished, he handed a small device to one of the men waiting outside before turning his attention back to Alexander. “I've been investigating the movements around the hotel and the safe house.”Alexander folded his arms. “What did you find?”“The first thing we discovered was that Nahir had more people around the Radisson Blu than we initially realized.”The Crime Boss's expression changed. “How many?”“We are still determining the exact number, but our people hacked into additional CCTV feeds covering the surrounding streets. We identified several men who were positioned around the hotel before Young Master arrived.”Alexander's eyes narrowed. “Describe them.”The Butler did.None of the faces were f

Across the city, Nahir sat alone in a dimly lit room with a bottle of expensive vodka sitting on the table in front of him.The liquor had barely touched the bottom of his glass before he poured himself another drink. His hands remained steady, but his mind was anything but calm.Everything that had happened at the Radisson Blu kept replaying in his head. Alexander had known about the poison. Alexander had known there were people positioned around the hotel.Alexander had somehow turned what should have been Nahir's victory into a humiliating confrontation, and now Clara was missing again. Worse still, Aurelia believed Nahir was responsible.Nahir lifted the glass to his lips and swallowed the liquor in one long gulp. The burning sensation in his throat did little to ease the anger building inside him.Across the room, Scar's brother watched him carefully.He had been standing there for several minutes, observing Nahir drink as though the man were trying to drown his frustration in al

Nahir stared at him. The more he considered the plan, the more appealing it became. Only a few minutes earlier, he had viewed Clara's second kidnapping as another threat hanging over his head.Now he was beginning to see it differently. It could become an opportunity.Someone else had created the perfect circumstances for Nahir to step into Aurelia's life as the innocent man who had been wrongly accused.The irony almost amused him.Nahir picked up his glass again, but he did not drink. “If Clara is eventually released and she confirms that I had nothing to do with her disappearance,” he said slowly, “Aurelia will have to reconsider everything she believes about me.”Scar's brother nodded. “Exactly.”Nahir looked toward the window. The city lights reflected faintly against the glass, creating a distorted image of the man sitting in the darkness.For the first time that night, he was no longer thinking about what had gone wrong. He was thinking about what he could gain.Aurelia would b

Nahir stared at him. The implication was uncomfortable. The unknown kidnapper might not simply be another criminal looking for money. They could have resources. They could have information.They could have people capable of bypassing security systems and trained guards, and if that were true, then the third player had not simply stumbled across Clara. They had deliberately targeted her.Nahir picked up his glass but did not drink. “So you think they're dangerous.”Scar's brother took a deep breath before answering, “I think we should assume they're dangerous until we know otherwise.”A faint smile appeared on Nahir's lips. “That sounds like fear.”Scar's brother raised his head. “It's caution.”“Is there really a difference?” Nahir asked.“There is,” Scar's brother replied. “Fear makes you run when you don't understand what you're facing. Caution keeps you alive long enough to understand it.”Nahir gave a quiet laugh. For once, he did not disagree. His attention returned to the phone.