"Dismissed."
The word echoed behind Raven as she turned away from the table.
The meeting room slowly emptied, but the tension stayed behind.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
If Liam didn't take Kelvin…
Then someone else had.
And that meant someone had planned this very carefully.
Kelvin
Today started weird.
Big sister called me during school.
She almost never calls people unless it's about work. Usually she just sends messages. So when my teacher told me I had a call, I thought something bad happened.
Turns out she just wanted to tell me Uncle Liam would pick me up.
That was the best news ever.
I had to leave P.E. class for the call, which was a bit annoying because I came second place in the running race. But big sister always says it's fine as long as I had fun.
Still… I wanted first place.
After the call I couldn't stop thinking about something.
The amusement park near my school.
Big sister never lets me go there. She says roller coasters are "too dangerous," which is kind of unfair because she literally owns more guns than my entire school probably has pencils.
But Uncle Liam is nicer.
Maybe he would take me.
School ended at 12:30 like always.
Pick-up time was 1:00, so we usually had thirty minutes to finish notes or eat lunch.
But I already finished everything.
So I ran outside.
And there he was.
Uncle Liam.
He was standing near the gate with his hands in his pockets.
But something felt… strange.
He looked tense.
Like when big sister yells at someone in meetings.
Did she do something to him again?
I walked up to him.
"Uncle Liam!"
He turned toward me.
And smiled.
But it looked a little stiff.
"Ready to go, Kelvin?" he asked.
I nodded quickly.
"Yeah! Can we go to the amusement park near the school?"
For a moment he didn't answer.
Then he looked around.
Not like someone checking traffic.
More like someone making sure no one was watching.
"…Not today," he said.
His voice sounded wrong.
I frowned.
Usually Uncle Liam jokes with me first before saying no.
"Big sister said to take you home," he continued.
Something in my chest tightened.
It wasn't his voice.
It was his eyes.
They didn't look like Uncle Liam's eyes.
But I still followed him.
Because he had Uncle Liam's face.
And because I wanted to believe I was wrong.
When we stepped out of the school gate, the car was already there.
A black one.
Parked where it was supposed to be—visible, normal.
No bodyguards.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Usually, even if Uncle Liam came alone, someone stayed nearby. Watching. Waiting.
But this time… nothing.
Still, I didn't say anything.
I got in.
The driver greeted us briefly, then pulled off without a word.
At first, everything felt normal.
Until it didn't.
We didn't take the usual route home.
Instead, the car slowed and turned into a quieter part of the road, moving toward a shaded corner where another vehicle was parked.
Another black sedan.
This one wasn't visible from the main road.
We stopped.
I frowned slightly.
Before I could ask anything, the driver spoke.
"Switch."
The word was casual.
Too casual.
The door opened.
Uncle Liam stepped out first.
I followed.
The second car's doors were already open.
And this time—
There were people inside.
Men I didn't recognize.
They weren't sitting like bodyguards either.
Too close.
Too relaxed.
Watching.
That was when something in my chest tightened.
This was wrong.
Very wrong.
I shifted slightly, my fingers brushing against my watch.
If I pressed—
Something covered my face.
A sharp smell filled my nose.
My body went heavy instantly.
The last thing I saw was Uncle Liam—
No.
Not Uncle Liam.
Just his face.
When I woke up, everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
I was lying on a bed.
Soft.
Expensive.
The room was large—almost like my sister's.
But not quite.
The walls were blue.
My sister hated blue.
There were gold decorations too.
She hated those even more.
So this wasn't home.
I sat up slowly.
No restraints.
No chains.
That meant one thing.
I wasn't here as a victim.
I was here as something else.
Leverage.
I turned toward the window.
The city stretched out below.
And there it was.
Our company building.
Tall. Impossible to miss.
One of the biggest landmarks in the city.
So whoever brought me here…
Wasn't hiding far.
That was bold.
Or stupid.
"…or confident," I muttered.
"Shameless."
The word slipped out before I realized it.
A soft chuckle followed.
I froze.
Then turned.
A man sat across from me in an armchair, like he had been there the whole time.
Watching.
His arms rested lazily on the sides, but his posture wasn't relaxed.
It was controlled.
His gray eyes locked onto mine.
Sharp.
Cold.
Like he was looking at something valuable.
Not a person.
An asset.
He smiled.
It reminded me of my principal.
The same kind of smile he had when he convinced my sister to pay for programs I didn't even need.
I didn't look away.
Neither did he.
"Shameless, hm?" the man said.
His voice was calm.
Amused.
I didn't answer.
I just stared back.
Waking up, I was greeted by a man I recognized from the news—one of my sister's rivals.
He wore a navy-blue suit, clean and expensive, like he wanted to look harmless.
He offered me a cup of hot chocolate.
There was bread, grapes, pies… all the things kids are supposed to like.
All the things I was supposed to like.
I looked at the table, then back at him.
Even though I was a child—
I wasn't dumb.