"A boy trying to play in a world he didn't understand."
He paused.
"And yet here you are."
Carlos did not smile or react strongly. He simply lifted his glass and took another slow sip.
"People see what they want," he said.
Daniella's breath caught. Those words felt aimed at her, even through the screen. She had seen Carlos as someone safe. Someone simple. Someone who could share a real life with her. Now she watched a man who talked about moving shipments, about sources, about people who disappeared, as if it were normal work he had always done.
Nikolai set his glass down with a soft sound. He studied Carlos one last time.
"Well," he said quietly, "as long as things keep running this smoothly… we won't have any problems."
Carlos nodded once. His expression stayed calm and certain.
