Chapter Eighteen-The threshold

“Okay, Boss” she muttered, the sarcasm a quiet defense mechanism. Then her eyes widened upon realization. “I don't know where your room is!”

The words were spoken into empty air. Khaid was already gone, his heavy footsteps retreating up the stairs. She looked down at the ceramic bottle of dark, aromatic liquid. She had just been granted access to the one area of the fortress no one, not a mistress, not even Agnes, based on the rigid protocols has ever breached. The Master Suite.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the bottle and left the kitchen. She navigated the Central Wing, following the general direction of his footsteps until she reached a set of double doors guarded by a discrete, flickering biometric scanner. This had to be it.

She paused, looking at the door. Her hands were clean, the bottle warm, the intent purely medicinal. Yet, the act felt like an intrusion of the most profound kind. She pressed the faint intercom button.

A moment later, Kael’s voice, flat and mechanical, answered: “West Wing Asset. State your purpose.”

“The Boss requested the herbal concoction” she relayed, holding the bottle steady.

The lock clicked open. Kael stood just inside, blocking the view, his immense frame filling the doorway. He looked at her with suspicion bordering on threat.

“The Boss's room is the third door on the left. Leave the bottle and return to your wing immediately” he ordered. Bluey nodded, quickly passing Kael.

The Master Suite corridor was silent, carpeted in deep gray wool that absorbed all sound. It felt more like a vault than a living space. The third door was slightly ajar.

She pushed the door open gently. The room was huge, austere, and overwhelmingly male. The dark woods, polished leather, and floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the still-darkening city. Khaid stood by the window, toweling his hair dry, his back to her. The raw, red welts on his torso from the vigorous training were visibly seen.

He didn't turn around. “Put it on the table.”

Bluey placed the bottle on the nearest polished chrome side table. She was careful not to bump into anything.

“The dosage is a quarter cup” she murmured, unable to leave without the professional instruction. “Don't add anything to it. It works best on an empty system.”

“Understood” Khaid replied, still focused on the dark cityscape. “Now go.”

Bluey retreated, a mix of triumph and fear warring within her. She had been in his room, where she heard no one had ever been except Kael and family. As she was about to get past the door, his question made her halt.

“Did you brew aphrodisiacs?” He asked.

“Only the amount to be delivered to you” She responded. A coded response that she had accepted to quit going to the club for a while.

Khaid looked at her but quickly averted his gaze and turned to the window side again. “You can go”

★

Anna Jager did not subscribe to the sterile, digital violence of her brother, Khaid. Her style was direct, physical, and personal. Her regular Thursday morning was dedicated to “corrective visits” A day where she ensures the Clan's moral code was upheld, particularly protecting the vulnerable from unauthorized predation.

Anna's black, unmarked SUV pulled silently into the alley behind a high-end financial brokerage firm. She stepped out, impeccably dressed in a tailored crimson suit that was both elegant and terrifying. Her destination was the private apartment of Victor Hanes, a mid-level associate who had been exploiting his position to repeatedly assault a young female intern.

She found Hanes in his minimalist living room, nursing a glass of scotch. He turned, his face blanching white when he saw her.

“Anna! This is unexpected. . .” He was bewildered.

“Silence” Anna commanded, her voice cutting through his panic like chilled steel. She didn't raise her voice. The authority was inbuilt and absolute. “I have received reports, Victor. Reports of inappropriate physical contact and coercion involving a minor asset. Are you now a paedophile or a rapist?”

Hanes tried to stammer a denial, but Anna was already across the room. Her movement was a blur of practiced precision. She struck him once, a devastating, open-palm slap across his cheek that echoed sharply in the room, sending him sprawling to the floor and groaning like a wounded bull.

“Unauthorized touching of non-designated personnel” she murmured, standing over him. “Violation of Section Four, Article Seven.”

She knelt, grabbing his jaw and forcing him to look up at her bright but dark eyes. Her make-up only amplified the dark effect.

“You need to understand” Anna continued, her tone conversational, “that my brother and I tolerate many sins. Theft, murder, deceit. But we do not tolerate messy, unauthorized indiscretion. You have been warned.”

She shoved him back onto the floor and placed her shiny stilettos heels on his neck. Hanes opened his mouth but nothing came out. He dare not speak up in this situation.

“Repeat after me, Hanes. I will respect the integrity of all Clan personnel.”

Hanes coughed, his eyes watering. “I... I will respect the integrity of all Clan personnel.”

“My hands are for ledgers, not for leverage.”

“My hands are for ledgers, not for leverage”he repeated, defeated.

“I will not sexually harass a minor”

“I will not sexually harass a minor” He groaned in pain.

“I will not initiate sex without consent”

“I will not. . Initiate sex without consent” He shut his eyes this time.

Anna then delivered a sharp kick to his side, ensuring the message left a lasting, painful impression without causing irreparable damage. “The next report will result in the loss of those hands and the tongue that denied it and then the dangling thing between your legs, Do you understand, Victor?”

Hanes nodded violently, whispering, “Yes, Anna. I understand.”

Anna stood up, smoothing the wrinkles from her crimson suit as if she'd merely dusted a shelf. The call came precisely as she retrieved her purse. The screen flashed 'N-2' Nicholas. It was her brother, Khaid.

“The sun sets, the lion wakes” Anna answered, using the coded Mafia pleasantry that acknowledged Khaid's dominance and their shared reality.

Khaid's voice, devoid of emotion, came through the line. “Where are you?”

“Handling business, brother. Important business” She responded while sparing a glance to the writhing Hanes on the floor who was trying unsuccessfully to get up.

“Meet me in the company” Khaid said over the phone.

“Brother, you know I'm not cut out for the behind the table job. . .”

Khaid scoffed. “How can I forget such an important information” He exclaimed sarcastically which made Anna rolled her eyes.”

“Get here before noon. We need to discuss business”

"Understood," Anna replied instantly, the pleasantries dropped for the directness of business. “A matter of family finance or external interference?”

“I need your eyes on a tactical matter.”

“I am already in motion, Brother” Anna confirmed. She looked down at Victor Hanes, who was weeping silently on the floor.

“If I hear a single, solitary word about this incident, Victor” she warned, pointing a sharp finger at him, “I will ensure your death looks like an unfortunate accident involving a very large, hungry shark and no witnesses. Get up. Clean this mess. And pray I don't see your name on another report.”

She turned and left the apartment, the crimson suit disappearing into the back of her black SUV, heading towards Niche Group of Companies.