Gabriel and Dominick finally found Casaio in the VIP lounge of a high-end bar. To their surprise, he wasn’t drinking or lounging. Instead, he sat with sharp focus in front of a laptop, tapping away.
The two younger brothers exchanged a confused glance.
"Now that you’re here, don’t just stand there. Come in," Casaio said without looking up.
They stepped inside, and Gabriel shut the door behind them. As they approached, Casaio leaned back and looked directly at Gabriel.
"I didn’t expect you to come here. Amelie must’ve sent you."
"You could’ve answered properly," Gabriel replied flatly. "Then I wouldn’t have had to come all the way here with Nick."
Dominick crossed his arms. "Why are you working from a bar? What’s going on?"
Casaio’s expression turned grim. "The Alpha of the Blood Dominion is in the capital."
Both Gabriel and Dominick froze in shock.
"Wait, what?" Dominick asked, brows furrowing. "How do you know? Did Zilia tell you? She always insisted she didn’t know what that bastard looked like."
"It wasn’t Zilia," Casaio replied. "It was Idris. But that’s not the point right now."
He turned the laptop around to face them. The screen displayed a series of pictures that had captured pictures of the same bald man from different locations across the city.
"Zilia had gone out to buy groceries when she encountered him. At first, I dismissed her concerns. She said a bald man was staring at her in a strange way, and I thought she was just rambling. But then Idris described him... and something clicked. I went back to Zilia and dug deeper. That’s when I realized, this man wasn’t just observing. He intended to harm her."
"I’ve since deployed trained warriors at all possible escape routes," Casaio continued. "Simultaneously, I began a full-scale search to track his movements."
Dominick narrowed his eyes as he scanned the images. "You’ve managed to pull a lot of footage. He definitely gives off a dangerous vibe."
"What if he can teleport?" Gabriel asked, leaning forward with a grim expression.
"That’s impossible," Dominick countered. "Only the Sinclair family possesses that ability."
Casaio gave a short nod in agreement. "Exactly. Which means he’s been physically moving around the city, possibly observing us. We’ve never been able to infiltrate his domain, but he walks freely into ours. It’s as if he knows our family’s every move. He’s one step ahead, and that worries me."
He tapped the laptop. "These images suggest he’s been checking in regularly, especially on Zilia. She even received a note... a clear order to kill Gabriel. If she fails to carry it out, I suspect she’ll be targeted next. That’s why we need to focus on her. Whoever comes for Zilia will be someone directly connected to him."
Gabriel laced his fingers together and leaned them on the table, his eyes hardening. "Every spy has an expiration date. Casaio, the moment anyone makes a move on Zilia, we capture them alive. The assassin will lead us straight to him."
Casaio went still. The words struck something deeper in him, something he was struggling to bury. He didn’t want to lose Zilia. No matter what she had done, there was a part of him that still wanted to protect her.
But to the world, she was meant to die.
Gabriel noticed the troubled look in his elder brother’s eyes but didn’t comment. He knew exactly what that expression meant.
’He’s falling weak for her again,’ Gabriel thought. ’It was inevitable. They shared something real... it’s not his fault.’
"So, what’s the plan now?" Dominick asked, breaking the silence.
"It’s simple," Casaio said. "I’ll keep a close eye on Zilia."
Gabriel chuckled dryly. "Then why are you here instead of being with her? Don’t you think she might be in danger right now?"
"Estelle is with her," Casaio replied calmly. "I wanted to use this time to investigate and gather data."
He glanced at his younger brothers. "You two should go back. If Mom asks about me, just say I’ve got urgent work to handle."
"I’m staying," Dominick said without hesitation.
"No. Don’t disturb your peace because of me," Casaio told him firmly.
"We’re supposed to handle this together. I’m not going anywhere," Dominick said with defiance.
Gabriel stood up with a sigh. "Fine. I’ll take my leave. I still feel like hell from that injection. And who knows, maybe the same woman who attacked me is the one sent after Zilia."
He paused at the door, casting a meaningful glance at Casaio. "Make sure you catch whoever it is. She has to pay for what she did to me."
With that, Gabriel turned and walked out, disappearing into the night.
~~~~~
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