"Well, speak," Timothy said. "Why do you want my boss dead?"

Kelvin avoided his gaze.

"That is a story for another time."

Timothy frowned. "Bullshit. I honoured my end of the bargain by telling you what you needed to know-and even went as far as agreeing to work with you."

His eyes hardened.

"You, on the other hand, haven't honoured yours. If this partnership is going to work, we agreed to share information. No half-truths."

A pause.

"Are you going to honour that or not?"

Kelvin moved away from him, pacing slowly.

Thinking.

Measuring.

Wondering how much of the truth he needed to give away.

Finally, he sighed.

"Because I told you," Kelvin said quietly. "Your boss took someone important from me."

He stopped pacing and turned to face Timothy.

"I'm here because I want my pound of flesh."

His voice lowered.

"But unlike him, I don't want anyone else's flesh."

A cold pause.

"Only his."

The two men stared at each other in silence.

Then John broke it.

"So now that both of you have decided to work together, where does that leave me?"

Kelvin turned his attention to him.
"That depends on you," he said. "Either you join our cause, or I tip your leader off about the scheme you've been running behind his back."

John stiffened.

"What scheme?" John and Timothy asked at the same time.

Kelvin smirked.

"The gold bars you've been stealing from the mine," he said. "Selling them off and pocketing the profit."

John's face changed.

Kelvin leaned back slightly.

"I'm sure Julius won't let that kind of betrayal slide."

"How the hell did you come by that information?" John demanded.

"Surely you didn't think I failed to do my homework," Kelvin replied. "I know exactly the kind of man you are, John. You're only loyal when someone has something over you."

John stared at him.

"You're bluffing."

Kelvin shrugged.

"Think what you want. If you want to know how much of a bluff it is, go against me and find out."

John fell silent.

He thought hard.

He couldn't see why Kelvin would bluff-not when he seemed hell-bent on taking revenge against Julius Anderson, a man whose very name inspired fear.

John's gaze narrowed.

"Who is this Phidous MarQueen to you?" he asked. "Why are you so determined to avenge her death?"

The mention of the woman's name-and the mission that had gotten Timothy's brother killed-caught Timothy's attention.

His eyes shifted back to Kelvin.
This time, he waited.

Kelvin went still.

For a moment, the room seemed to shrink around him.

Then he looked away.

Not because he was afraid.

Because the name still hurts.

"Her name," Kelvin said slowly, "was Phidous Bruce."

His voice was quieter now.

"She used to be the headmaid for the Anderson family. Until an unfortunate incident forced her to flee to a distant land, where she later married and became Phidous MarQueen."

A pause.

"She was my mother."

Silence dropped hard.

John's eyes widened.

Timothy's expression sharpened.

Kelvin continued before either man could speak.

"She wasn't the kind of woman who belonged in the world your clan created. She was gentle. Stubborn. Too brave for her own good."

A faint, bitter smile touched his lips.

"She believed people could be saved, even when darkness had already chosen them."

His jaw tightened.

"She wasn't supposed to die."

His gaze moved to Timothy.

Timothy watched him carefully now, no longer with suspicion alone, but with concern.

Kelvin took a slow breath.

"Years ago, she got involved in something she should have stayed away from. She found out Julius was searching for his missing brother. She knew where he was-or at least, she knew enough to make Julius come after her."

Timothy swallowed.

Kelvin's eyes pierced him.

"Your brother was supposed to bring her back alive."

Timothy's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

Kelvin's voice hardened.

"I know the role he played. I know he was part of the mission. I know he was sent after her."

A pause.

"But something went wrong."

The air turned colder.

"My mother died because Julius Anderson wanted something from her. And when he couldn't get it cleanly, his men made sure she never spoke again."

John's eyes narrowed.

"And you know this how?"

Kelvin's gaze snapped to him.

"Because I found her at the foot of a cliff and this necklace."

No one moved.

Kelvin's voice dropped lower.

"I saw my mother's body being wrapped in a body bag. I saw what they did to her. I saw the fear they left on her face."

His hands curled slowly at his sides.

Kelvin stepped closer.
"So understand something, Timothy. I'm not standing here pretending your brother was innocent."

The room held its breath.

Timothy's eyes darkened.

Kelvin held his gaze.

"But I also know he wasn't the one who gave the order."

A beat.

"Your boss did."

Kelvin's voice lowered.

"I might look past the role your brother played, but not enough to forgive it."

A faint, humourless smile touched his lips.

"My mother may not have wanted this for me, but I am not here to honour her wishes."

A pause.

"I stopped being her son in the way she remembered me."

His expression hardened.

"I became something else."

Timothy studied him.

"What exactly?"

Kelvin looked at him.

"The kind of man who learned how to disappear. How to track people who didn't want to be found. How to enter places men like Julius think are untouchable."

A pause.

"How to wait."

His eyes darkened.

"And I have waited long enough."

John shifted uneasily in his chair.

Kelvin turned back to Timothy.

"So now you know why I want him dead."

Timothy said nothing.

Kelvin stepped closer.

"But don't mistake grief for weakness. I'm not here to mourn her."

His voice became cold again.

"I'm here to make sure Julius Anderson understands what it feels like to lose everything."

Timothy leaned back slowly, absorbing every word.

For the first time since waking up restrained, he looked at Kelvin differently.

Not like a captor.

Not like a madman.

Like a man with a wound deep enough to become a weapon.

John broke the silence, his voice quieter now.

"So Phidous MarQueen was your mother?"

Kelvin's gaze remained fixed on Timothy.

"Yes."

Timothy exhaled slowly.

"Then you are our boss’s brother he is looking for."

Kelvin said nothing.

"Then Julius has more enemies than he realises," Timothy adds. "The little brother he's looking for is here to collect his pound of flesh."

Kelvin's mouth curved slightly.

"Yes," he said.

A beat.

"And I intend to collect every last piece of it."