22. Traitor

*Drake POV*

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It took me a three-hour drive to reach the location I had received in my DMs early this morning, with two words written alongside it.

Be there.

I wasn’t naive enough to mistake it for a request because it could be anything but that.

I stopped in front of the rundown building that looked like it could come down at any minute. The least they could do was take safety measures if they were calling me here, but I doubted that.

Whooshing out a breath, I got out of the car and stepped inside the abandoned property.

The sound of my footsteps echoed through the empty space. It was so damn quiet that I wouldn’t dare to be here if I hadn’t been threatened.

This building had been shut down for almost half a century, yet, surprisingly, the electricity was still working.

I got into the elevator and pressed the downward button.

In the snap of a finger, the elevator doors reopened, revealing a completely different scenery. The underground level of the building was a whole other story. The old white walls had been replaced with elegant cream and gold. The empty space was now filled with expensive furniture and people working as if it were just another regular job.

“Oh, hello, Drake. It’s good to see you after so long, son.”

The old lady with cat-eye glasses and silver hair—always tied into a bun at the back of her head—looked at me with a genuine smile.

Mrs. Willson was one of the few people who actually seemed happy to see me here, but that was only because I always came bearing gifts.

I fished out an almond bar from the pocket of my jacket and placed it on her desk. Seeing the almond bar, her smile widened.

“Oh, you didn’t forget. Thank you, hun.”

Mrs. Willson and I had one thing in common—our love for almond bars. I smiled softly and nodded.

“Cody called you here?” Once she secured the almond bar in her drawer, she got down to business. She was one of the few who had been here since the beginning, which meant she was allowed to call the boss by name—to his face.

I nodded in reply and asked in a hushed tone so only she could hear me. “Any idea what it’s about?”

She sighed dramatically and shook her head. “Only the Lord knows what’s going on in that evil head of his. Since he returned, he seems happy—too happy for our liking. That can’t be good.”

“Great,” I muttered before making my way to the boss’s office.

I knocked before walking in to see an orange head, clad in a traditional black and white suit sitting on his chair behind the desk. Diamond studs in his ear gleaming in light falling down on him from the ceiling. The guy was in his late 80s but managed to cheat age quite well. If you didn't know you could never guess his age right.

“There you are. Little Duke.”

I gritted my teeth at the nickname he had given me. I hated it, but he seems to enjoy messing with me.

“Hello, Cody.”

His face twisted when I called him by his name. I wasn’t allowed to, but I kept doing it just to piss him off for calling me that stupid nickname.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, replacing the frown with an annoying smile.

“Anyway, I called you here for a reason. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chair.

Something didn’t feel right. He seemed too happy, which couldn’t be good.

Yet, I took the seat. Not that I had a choice.

“I just returned from my little trip, and you are the first person I wanted to meet. Do you know why?” His gaze studied my every movement, and the smile from earlier vanished from his face like ice under scorching heat.

I gulped. “How would I know?” My palms started to sweat.

He stared at me for another second before picking up his phone and typing something. Once he was done, he placed the device on the desk and gave me his attention once again.

His annoying smile returned, and I had to fight the urge to punch his face so hard he’d never smile again.

“Dear Drake… You see, I gave you a chance to accept your mistake, but you stayed a brat. And you know how much I dislike brats like you—and what I do to them.”

I held my breath, my grip tightening on the chair’s arm.

The door behind me opened and closed. I didn’t need to look to know he had called his guards.

“You thought you could betray us, and we wouldn’t find out? But did you ever think I gave you the location so you could tell your sister? I was dying to meet her and witness her gifts with my own eyes. And thanks to you, I discovered a diamond.”

He stood up, leaning forward until his ugly face was way too close to mine.

“I knew you would betray me, just like your father. But I’m glad you did—it gives me an excuse to teach you a thing or two about loyalt—”

Before he could finish, my fist slammed into his face, hard enough to send him stumbling back into his chair.

“Fuck you!” I spat.

How dare he talk about my dad? And who the hell does he think he is, lecturing me about loyalty?

In a second, his men grabbed me in case I tried to hit their boss again. Not saying I didn’t like the idea.

Cody got up, wincing when he saw the blood dripping from his nose and down his lips.

This time, I was the one smiling. This bastard.

“Take him!” he barked at his men, glaring at me furiously. “I will make you pay for what you’ve done today. You just made the biggest mistake of your life!”

He kept throwing threats as his men dragged me out of his office.

I didn’t fight back. I knew it was futile. I stayed calm.

I knew this was going to happen.

I knew it was risky to help Rebel, but I did it anyway.

Not because I was getting soft for my sister and my new friend—but because I needed Rebel for what I had planned to do next.