Chapter 4

Damon

I slept for three hours. Not because I couldn't sleep but because every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same person.

Elias Vance.

I kept thinking that he should have been furious yesterday. He should have defended himself, probably raising his voice or making excuses, instead he apologized for a mistake most people would never have noticed.

Even after I embarrassed him in front of his colleagues, he had simply offered to let someone else handle the job. In a tone that carried no resentment or pride.

Nothing. I took the remaining glass of whiskey I had been drinking before and poured it down my throat in one gulp, allowing the hot sensation take over me. 

I shook my head in quick succession and combed through my hair with my fingers before walking toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.

Something about him refused to make sense.

People didn't survive the kind of life he'd lived without becoming bitter.

Unless, It was all an act like Marco suggested. That had to be it.

He was simply better at hiding his true nature than I'd expected.

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in."

Sebastian entered carrying two folders beneath one arm. His eyes locked on mine.

"You look tired."

I forced a smile. "I've just been busy."

He smiled knowingly but didn't press further. Instead, he placed the folders on the table and took the seat opposite mine.

For the next half hour, we discussed shipments, territory disputes, and financial reports. It was routine business, the kind of conversations that had filled my life for years.

Only when the last document was signed did Sebastian lean back in his chair. "I heard you visited Whiteboard Auction House."

At first the information caught me off guard. I hadn't told him. I put the thought aside and answered. "I did."

He nodded. "How was it?"

I reached for my whiskey again. "It was productive." I swirled it the glass , looking into it like it has suddenly turned poison.

"And Victor Vance's son?"

I took a slow sip before answering. "I met him."

Sebastian watched me carefully. "Okaj?"

I set the cup down. "He's not what I expected."

A faint smile appeared on his face. "Appearances are dangerous."

I said nothing.

He stood, buttoning his jacket. "When I was younger, your father used to say the most dangerous enemies were the ones who looked harmless."

He adjusted his cufflinks. "Always remember whose blood runs through Elias Vance's veins."

With that, he walked toward the door and It closed softly behind him. The silence he left behind felt heavier than before.

My eyes drifted toward the city beyond the glass.

Whose blood runs through his veins. The words refused to leave my head.

---

Death would be too merciful. The realization came quietly.

If I killed Elias, everything would end in a single moment and it will be too clean and easy. No fun in that.

I wanted him to lose what mattered most. His career, reputation and definitely his peace. The ordinary life he'd somehow managed to build despite carrying the Vance name.

I picked up my phone.

Marco answered immediately.

"Boss."

I put my hands into my pocket.

"I need everything on Whiteboard Auction House."

A brief pause. "You want me to prepare an acquisition?"

"Not yet."

Marco seemed further confused. "Then what exactly are we looking for?"

"Everything."

He didn't ask another question.

"I'll have a report by tomorrow."

---

Marco arrived the following evening carrying two files. "The auction house has been operating for over a hundred years."

He placed the first file on my desk. "It has an excellent reputation."

I opened it. "With no outstanding debtsbot major lawsuits. They are financially stable."

He folded his hands behind his back. "Nothing obvious to exploit."

I looked up. "That's all?"

Marco hesitated. "There is one thing."

I closed the file. "Go on."

He slid the second folder across the desk. "Someone else has been asking about Elias."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Not Elias directly."

He opened the folder. "Over the last several years, different people have occasionally visited the Auction House."

I studied the pages. It has donation records, archive requests and vjsitor logs. "They all asked to examine historical collections."

Marco nodded. "Old correspondence." He pointed to another page."Private ledgers."

Another. "Uncatalogued estate donations."

The names attached to each request were different. Different signaturest, addresses and occupations.

At first glance, it looked like it was completely unrelated.

"What connects them?"

Marco looked at me. "The names."

I raised an eyebrow. "They don't."

He handed me another sheet. "We investigated."

One visitor had never existed. Another identity belonged to a man who had died eight years earlier.

A third address led to an abandoned building. Every trail ended the same way. It ended nowhere.

"They were using false identities."

Marco nodded. "Every one of them."

I leaned back slowly. "What were they looking for?"

Marco shrugged. "We don't know."

He paused. "But whatever it was..."

His finger rested lightly on one final report. "They always came back to the auction house."

Silence settled over the office. One person using a false name could be dismissed as coincidence but several with Years apart?

That was something else entirely. Someone had been searching for something long before Victor Vance died and long before I ever walked into that building.

I closed the folder. "Find them."

Marco blinked. "Who?"

My eyes remained fixed on the reports. "Whoever started this."

He gave a single nod. "Understood."

After he left, I carried the folder to the window. The city glittered beneath the night sky.

When I'd chosen Elias Vance as my target, I believed I was beginning a game. Now, It seemed s

omeone else had been playing long before I arrived.

And I had never liked sharing the board