LOGINThe office sat in silence for a moment. The only sound coming in being the faint honk from cars below the building, his eyes fixed on his friend seated across from him.Because if he was being honest, Raphael was pissing him off more than he wanted to address, and there were only a few ways he could handle this without burning the entire city with it.Micheal scoffed, his eyes finally shifting from the will in his hands to Ronan’s face. “Man, your wife is badass.” He said with a small smile. “How the hell did she manage to keep this from everyone?”Ronan didn’t respond, he just watched him slide the will towards him again.“I mean, this isn’t something you just shove in a drawer and shut.” Micheal added. “There are names on there. Did Atlas really have that many properties?”“That’s not important.” Ronan said, pulling the file towards himself. “What’s important is that my brother’s probably after everything on here and he’s going to fight for it like the asshole he is.”There was a b
Solène barely had a wink of sleep after that hospital visit.The car ride back home had to be the most uncomfortable she’d ever had with Ronan since the time she found out he had a brother he never told her about.And now again, the problem was this same brother.Because who the hell did he think he was to do that to Mr Laurent?Solène was still beyond furious when they eventually pulled into their driveway. And she barely spared Ronan a glance when she got out and headed straight for the house.Ari was her top priority. Because if Raphael was as psychotic as Ronan said, then who knows what he’d do next.“Finding him won’t be hard. But stopping him might.” Ronan had said that night as she sat, arms folded, staring at him.“What does he really want?” She asked dryly.“Power. To prove a point.” Ronan said. “To prove he can be useful.” Solène let out a scoff as her fingers moved across the laptop’s keyboard in front of her.Because clearly, this was more personal than Raphael trying to
“Who did this?” Solène asked, her voice sharpened slightly, as anger coursed through her veins.Ronan looked from her face to Mr Laurent’s battered one, then back to her again, his jaw tightening even more.Solène caught the look instantly. “I know you know who did this, Ronan. Talk to me.”“They saw Doug leaving his office yesterday.” She frowned, her fingers twitching against the strap of her bag. “Who is Doug?” Ronan hesitated, letting out a sigh. “Douglas Pierce. He’s this guy who used to work for us. Before he…shifted gears.”“Us,” Solene picked out immediately, her eyes narrowing. “Who is us?”Ronan stared at her and didn’t respond for a second, the steady beeping of the machines filling the silence.But Solene’s frown deepened as she stepped closer, reminding herself to keep her voice down so she didn’t cause unnecessary alarm.“Ronan, who did Doug used to work for, and how the hell does he know Mr Laurent?” “My brother,” the words left his mouth before he could stop them. T
Solène's office was in a bit of disarray as her hands moved from one file to the other, then back to her computer. A tablet sat to her right with slides of different pieces displaying patiently on the screen. Mae stood beside her chair, her eyes on her own screen, as she explained the details of their trip. “The venue was confirmed this morning,” she said. "The lighting team has also agreed to the modifications you requested." Solène nodded once, her eyes moving over the documents in front of her. “And the emergency collection?" “Ready." Miss Wells, who was sitting across from her said immediately, handing over the file. “Three alternative concepts, ma'am. I've included the adjustments you advised." Solène took it from her and glanced at the first design. Then the second and third. A corner of her lips twitched. Miss Wells straightened, a wave of nervousness washing over her. "Is something wrong?” "No,” Solene shut the file, stretching it towards Mr Hathaway sitt
“You'll only speak when you're asked to." Raphael said firmly. “Am I clear?" Mr Laurent didn't respond, he just sat on his knees, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, staining his shirt as he stared back at Raphael.Defiance shimmered in his eyes. But he didn't dare say a word.That made Raphael grin. “Good boy." He tapped him lightly on his cheek and stood up, turning away again.He took another drag of his cigarette and stared out across the city."You know, you're right.” He said casually, smoke curling from his lips. "I do have nothing.”Mr Laurent didn't respond."So that means, I clearly have nowhere to go.” He turned around again. "I can do this all fucking day."Mr Laurent tried to swallow, tried to blink through the fog in his eyes. Then he spat a mouthful of blood onto the concrete. “Your brother is much better than you."“God," Raphael groaned, running a hand over his face. “Do people have meetings where they practice that line?" No one spoke.Then he sighed dram
The rooftop was windy as usual.Below, the city hummed with life, with the sound of car horns, loud engines, and people moving around, not caring what was going on beside them.In the distance, dark clouds were gathering. Or maybe it was raining somewhere beyond the skyline. He really couldn’t tell.Or rather, he didn’t care.He didn’t care that the city had outrageous laws against things he loved. And he definitely didn’t care that his arrogant brother had stormed into his territory the other day just to talk shit to him.He took a drag of the cigarette and slowly let the smoke out through his nose, veins rising along the side of his neck.“You’ve spent your entire life angry that someone always has more than you.” Ronan’s voice echoed in his head.Raphael swallowed, his foot shifting closer to the edge of the building.Because once again, Ronan had proven himself to be the annoying older brother he was. Talking like he knew him better than he knew himself.Putting words in his mouth







