"Wake up." Dante said in a serious tone as he splashed water on Stephans face. I watched from the corner of the room as Stephan stirred in his seat, shaking his head slightly before looking up at us. 

His hands were tied behind his back, and his ankles were bound to the legs of the chair. Isa, Natalia, Dante, and Angelo watched intently as their cousin regained consciousness. 

"The fuck..." Stephan mumbled as he examined his situation. 

"You can't be serious." Stephan said seriously as he looked up at his cousin. Dante was standing in front of him, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. 

"Start talking." Dante said as he cracked his knuckles, filling the air with the pops of his joints. 

"Talking about what? I have no idea-" He began to say, but was cut off by Dante's fist colliding with his face. The impact made me cringe slightly as I continued to examine Stephan for any signs of lying.

There are many ways to spot a liar: micro-expressions, eye movements, signs of stress, etc. 

However, Dante succeeded in making my job significantly harder. I opted for Stephan to be in a regular room, where he wasn't tied up. Seeing that touching the face and overall body language is a large indicator of lying, it would have been easier for me to see if he was telling the truth. 

But of course, Dante had to have it his way, and tied up the poor bastard in the basement. 

"Start. Talking." Dante repeated as he bent down, looking Stephan in the eyes. 

"Cousin, I have no idea how that device got in my phone. I have no idea what the hell that thing even is!" Stephan said loudly. His wide eyes were locked onto Dante, not looking away for even a second. 

"You don't know what that device does?" I chimed in from my corner, making Dante look over his shoulder. 

"No, I have no idea what that thing is." Stephan said as he looked at me. I looked at his face, looking for any signs of micro-expressions. 

A micro-expression is a flash of true emotion that shows briefly. And when I say briefly, I'm talking from one-fifth to one-twenty fifth of a second. The main one I'm looking for would be signs of guilt.

"Then let me enlighten you." I said as I walked closer. 

"That 'thing' that was attached to your phone is a Russian tracking device." I said as I looked down at him, revealing no emotion as I spoke. 

"So anything you've been doing, the Russians have been able to see and hear everything." I explained, making his eyes go wide once more. 

"I did a sweep on every phone within the estate, and yours is the only one that was compromised." I stated. 

"There's no way, no way! I would never work for that bastard!" Stephan said as he balled his hands into fists. He displayed signs of distress, but so would I if I were tied to a chair pleading my innocence. 

Who am I kidding, I would still be calm as hell. 

"Then why was your phone the only device on the property that was compromised?" Dante said slowly, repeating my words once more. 

"I-I  have no clue." Stephan said as he looked at us. His constant eye contact was a hint that he was telling the truth.

"You were undercover for a while, what were you doing?" I asked as I tilted my head, remembering that he was in France preparing for Pavlovski's imminent attack. 

"I was making sure our weapons made it into France." He said quickly as Dante stood up once more. "I-I was at our estate the entire time, you can even check the cameras." Stephan said as he looked at Dante with wide eyes.

"Well, I already did that." I said calmly as Dante began to step forward. I gently grabbed his shoulder, making him freeze as he looked at me. His touch was bittersweet, bringing back a wave of unwanted emotions. 

"You were there... most of the time." I said, pausing for dramatic effect. "On one of your last nights there, you were missing for a few hours." I explained as I looked at him. 

"Night.. which night..." Stephan mumbled under his breath, trying to remember the events that occurred. 

"I wasn't there, you're right!" He said as his eyes lit up. 

"Then you lied to us." Dante said as his eyes narrowed and he began to step forward. Once again, I placed my hand on his shoulder, forcing the brute to calm down. 

"Where were you?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow. 

"A bar in Paris. Le Lieu." Stephan recalled. "I left around 7pm, and got back around 1am." He said quickly as he looked up at me. There was no indication of lying within his expression, making me believe him. 

"And what were you doing there?" Dante asked in a deadly tone.

"I was... drinking." Stephan said after he swallowed. His demeanor changed, and his confident composure began to slip away as he finished his sentence. 

He's lying. 

Dante looked at me, as if arriving at the same conclusion. I gave him a small nod before he cocked his fist back and hit Stephan across the face once more. 

"Fuck!" Stephan called out before he spat out blood. 

"You're lying." I said calmly as I looked at him and crossed my arms. 

"Fuck, okay fine. I was..." Stephan said as he looked around the room. 

"I was with another man." Stephan said seriously as he looked up at me. 

"Who?" Dante asked. 

"I didn't know him. I met him there and... yeah." Stephan said awkwardly before sighing. 

"Then why were you with him? That doesn't make any sense?" Dante exclaimed, not realizing what Stephan was trying to say. 

"No you idiot, I was with another man. I'm gay!" Stephan said, making everyone look at him in surprise. 

"I don't give a shit if you're gay," Dante said as he bent down to look his cousin in the eye. "Did you betray the family or not?" He said seriously. 

"No." He said seriously. "I'm sure there's security footage from the bar. We... went into the bathroom." He said as he looked up at me. 

I stared at him for a moment before walking to the small table in the corner, and opening my laptop. I began to access the street cameras and security footage of Le Lieu. I quickly scanned for Stephans face within the images of the time frame, and had three windows pop up within seconds. 

Everyone gathered around my screen as we watched Stephan enter the bar, get approached by a very attractive woman, and shoo her away. About 30 minutes later, an equally attractive man sat beside him. The two began talking, and eventually started making out furiously at the bar top. 

Stephan looked around, and held up his finger before walking into the bathroom, leaving his drink and phone on the counter. My eyes narrowed as I saw the man look towards the direction of the bathroom door, before opening Stephans phone, and placing the tracker within it. 

"Idiot, why would you leave him alone with your phone?" Dante said as he ran his hand through his hair. 

"Cousin, when you're dealing with someone as attractive as that, time is of the essence. That and I was already a few drinks down." Stephan explained before he sighed loudly. 

The film continued to play, and we all watched as Stephan ran out of the bathroom, whispered something into the mans ear, and threw him over his shoulder before running into the bathroom. 

"Well, it checks out." I said as I began to rewind the footage. 

"Dante... I'm sorry." Stephan said as Dante began to walk towards him. 

"You should be. Leaving your phone behind was a stupid fucking mistake." Dante said as he grabbed his pocket knife. The all black metal looked sleek within his hand, and I couldn't help but stare at the present I gave him, shocked that he still carries it around. 

"So, you're not upset that I'm gay? It doesn't bother you at all that I'm the first openly gay member in the Vino family? That a gay man would take your place if something happened to you?" Stephan asked as he looked at his cousin with his eyebrow raised. 

"Why would I be upset? I don't give a shit who you stick you dick into." Dante said as he cut Stephan free. "You're still family." Dante said seriously as he held out his hand to help him up. 

"Yeah Stephan, we'd accept you no matter what." Natalia said as she walked up to him and gave him a massive hug. 

"What she said." Angelo said as he gave Stephan a rough pat on the back, making Stephan look down at the floor and smile.

I watched their family moment from my corner, watching as Dante awkwardly stood there as they showered Stephan with acceptance. I could tell he wasn't in his element, but the look he gave me showed that he was at least making an effort. 

"So, what now?" Isa asked as she looked over at Dante, then at me. 

"If I could make a suggestion." I said as I looked at Dante, who nodded immediately. 

"The Russians have heard every conversation Stephan has had since that night. They know we're preparing for an attack. We have to completely redo our defenses, both in France and here in the estate." I said as I looked down at my computer. 

"I told Stephan I wasn't attending the ball, so if Pavlovski is after me, they'd most likely attack the estate." I said as I looked up at Dante, making his posture tense slightly. 

"We'll move everyone to a safe house before we leave." He said as he walked towards me. He stood behind me, making my heart unsteady as his breath tickled my neck. 

"Looks like you're coming to France with me." Dante whispered in my ear.