However, he still decided not to answer the question, only to leave it unanswered between them.

Accepting Michel's silence, Charles finally pulled out a chair and sat down, arms crossed on the table.


"Okay. Let's go down to the essentials. How many?" He goes straight to business, branching out into topics that, to him, are far more important than some little girl's feelings.

"Three. I had two in my chest before she woke up and one right when she was coming."

"Are you sure they're Phoenix?"


"Who else."

"Michel."


Michel raised his head and immediately saw Charles, unable to move his gaze.

He gapes at Charles, eyes wide.

"What?"

"I was going to talk to you."

"Talk to me? Talk to me about what? What the hell is going on?" Michel cursed as he watched his mafia brother get up again, reaching for the whiskey bottle to refill his glass once more.

"I want to gather a little more information before..."

"Before what? Fuck, spit it out, Charles!"

Charles sighed as he placed his drink in front of Michel and then crossed his arms over his chest, slowly pacing the room as he spoke.

He didn't know how Michel would take it, but he knew that of their entire family, he would be the safest person to talk about this.

"The first time I had a strange feeling when you were shot. It was so strange. Too coincidental. We were in Davies territory and they knew we would need their protection. It had no Mr. Aiden was furious when we asked for a return and then Gwen stepped in to defuse the situation."

Michel stared at him with wide eyes as he waited for him to continue, not touching his whiskey.

"I don't have any proof other than she was acting weird. But think about it. Phoenix was trying to get us to cooperate, trying to lure us in with profits and more territory. And we have repeatedly refused. It will make absolute sense for them..."

"Let them reach out to Davies and get them to work against us." Michel finished thinking for him, immediately catching up.

Charles nodded.

They were both silent for a few seconds, Michel returned his blow before speaking again.

"You think Wilson can be broken too?"

"We can never be too sure, but I doubt it. They don't have much to offer and Phoenix is ​​after the big fish."

Michel leaned back in his chair and let out a deep breath, one hand running through his hair and wincing as his fingers brushed the bruise along the hairline, dried blood on it.

They fell into another silence, both seemingly assessing the situation before Charles sat down again.

"In any case, we should keep this between us. We can't bring this up until we have some concrete evidence to blow up this trash and clean the pipes. I'll tell you sooner, I just want to wait before making this kind of accusation. It can't go down too well."

"Yeah, especially with Carlos. God, we need to watch our backs around Gwen."

"You need to take precautions behind your back, Michel."

"What?"

Charles' eyes narrowed at his mafia brother, staring at him intensely.

"Why do you think you're the one who got shot and not Vengo."

Michel didn't answer, but just stared back.

He wanted to say that Vengo wasn't with them when it happened, but he was beginning to understand that Charles wasn't just referring to that day in the barn.

"You're the rightful heir, Michel. I know Vengo is my brother, but let's face it. He's just the leader by name. It's your brain that keeps this organization running. And they know this. They know this, Michel. And how do you think that's possible? Because Gwen filled in the blanks for them."

Knowing how right Charles was about this, Michel couldn't help but feel the blood pumping through his veins.

Treachery. Computational behavior. His unsuspecting cousin was married to a snake.

And then there was the weight of Charles' words.

He will be a constant target.

And if he becomes a target, so will anyone around him.

Including Fanny.

---

Fanny woke up startled and looked up to see her lying on the bed, covered in sweat.

She was panting, her heart pounding in her chest while the veins in her neck throbbed and her head ached.

She feels hot. Too hot.

She was burning hot and she could feel her body shaking violently with silent shivers because she could barely breathe.

Quickly getting out of bed, she got up and paced around the room.

Unstable with vertigo, everything around her blurred. Her ears made a strange, stinging noise and then everything was suddenly silent.

'A nightmare. It was just a nightmare, Fanny. Just a nightmare.' She kept mumbling to herself.

But it's not just a nightmare.

That is her reality.

Her truth.

Images suddenly flashed through her head all at once, causing her to fall to her knees.

Michel put a gun in someone's mouth. A big bang. Blood on the windshield...

It is too much.

Fanny closed her eyes against the pain that pierced her body.

Burying her face in her hands, she couldn't hold back the sobs that began to rise in her throat as pressure built up in her chest and her stomach felt heavy.

It was like a huge wound suddenly opened in her midsection, sucking all the air and energy out of her.

She could feel the wetness on her face, tears streaming down a never-ending stream as she once again struggled to breathe steadily.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't control herself so lying on the floor, she curled up as she continued to cry.

No, this is not correct. It didn't happen. He didn't...

She thought by admitting to herself that she loved Michel, that she would eventually be able to handle who he was, who they all were.

But that's not the case.

No more.

Not after what she saw.

His eyes were devoid of any emotion, a cold shiver ran down her spine at the memory.

They didn't keep the warmth they had when he looked at her after the party.

There is no affection when he hugs her.

This couldn't be the man who kissed her gently and touched her as if she were a delicate crystal.

No, she is afraid of this man.