The car moved steadily through the dark streets of the city. Julius stared out the window, watching the streetlights pass by one by one.

His mind was spinning from everything that had happened since he left his office. Marcus’s urgent message had led to a hectic afternoon of tracking down small errors in the company files, but now that the rush was over, Julius was left alone with his thoughts.

One question kept repeating in his mind, growing louder with every passing minute.

What am I forgetting?

Ever since Harrison had helped him recover his memories, Julius had felt a strange emptiness. It felt as if a vital piece of the puzzle was still missing.

It was something important. Something deeply connected to his father’s final days.

Unable to ignore the nagging feeling any longer, Julius turned the car around. Instead of heading to his temporary apartment, he drove directly to Harrison’s massive mansion, arriving late that night.

When the front door swung open, Harrison stood there, immediately shifting his shoulders as a deep frown crossed his face. "Baby? It is past midnight. What are you doing out so late?"

Julius walked straight past him into the warm hallway. "Can’t I come to my own house?"

Harrison let out a low, tired sigh, closing the heavy door behind them. "I know it is your house, Julius. That is not the point. It is dangerous for you to be on the road at this hour."

"We need to talk," Julius said, turning to look at him. "Somewhere private."

Harrison nodded, his expression turning serious. The two of them headed upstairs to Harrison’s private bedroom.

The moment the bedroom door closed and clicked shut, Julius turned around and brought up the warning text message he had received during his visit with his mother.

Harrison’s expression darkened instantly. He walked over to a small table, pouring a glass of water, his large frame casting a long shadow across the carpet.

"Daniel contacted me earlier too," Harrison revealed, his voice dropping into a low, quiet rumble. "He has been digging into the underground networks all evening."

"According to his latest investigation, Arthur may only be a puppet in this entire game."

Julius froze, his eyes widening. "A puppet? What do you mean?"

"The person truly searching for your father’s drive has been hiding behind Arthur the entire time," Harrison explained, setting the glass down with a soft sound. "Daniel found traces of large financial movements coming from a hidden source."

"Someone very powerful. Someone who has been incredibly patient. Someone close to us."

Julius fell completely silent, his mind racing back to the conversation he had earlier that afternoon. The memory of his mother’s cold, calculated look at the window flashed in his mind.

"Harrison," Julius said softly, his voice trembling a little bit. "I need to admit something to you. When I was talking with my mother today, she didn’t seem like herself."

"She seemed far more interested in the location and value of the drive than my actual safety."

Harrison’s dark eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "Funny."

Julius looked up, confused by the response. "What?"

"I spent most of today back at the headquarters wondering the exact same thing about my own circle," Harrison said, leaning his hip against the edge of the desk. "Anna has been acting completely strange."

"Her questions about what we plan to do with the drive felt off. Her timing was wrong."

The bedroom became completely quiet. The air felt thick. Neither of them wanted to accuse people they had trusted for years.

Julius loved his mother, and Anna had been Harrison’s loyal teammate through endless battles. But neither of them could ignore their deep, natural instincts.

Julius slowly walked over to the edge of the large bed and sat down, leaning back slightly against the pillows. "This is getting interesting."

Harrison let out a short, cold laugh that didn’t reach his eyes. "Interesting is definitely not the word I would use, baby. It means the snakes are inside the house."

"They have hidden themselves well," Julius murmured, staring at the floor.

"For too long," Harrison’s expression darkened, his jaw clenching. "But they are starting to make mistakes because they are getting desperate. It is time to dim their light."

Harrison straightened up, walking toward the center of the room as the conversation shifted toward their physical safety. "I am considering activating a large part of my private underground network. The deep security teams. I want them stationed around the city perimeter."

Julius immediately shook his head in objection. "Are you crazy, Harrison? If you deploy an entire shadow army into the city streets, won’t people notice? The media and the police will be all over us."

Harrison stopped walking and stared down at him, a look of complete disbelief on his face. "What kind of television dramas have you been watching lately?"

Julius blinked, caught off guard. "What?"

"My people are trained professionals, baby," Harrison said, his voice completely flat. "They don’t run around the city streets wearing black masks and hiding in muddy caves. They look like regular citizens."

Julius looked genuinely surprised, his lips parting. "They... they have regular lives? They have families?"

Harrison’s deep voice held a quiet spark of amusement as he said, "Most of them are married."

"Security guards get married?" Julius asked, his voice full of innocent confusion. "I thought they just lived in your barracks and waited for your commands."

Harrison groaned loudly, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked over to the bed. "Who is teaching you these things? They are human beings, Julius. They have mortgages, insurance, and children."

The heavy, suffocating tension in the room finally broke. For the first time all day, both of them let out a genuine laugh. Julius smiled up at him, feeling the dark clouds in his mind clear up just a little bit.

Eventually, Julius became serious again. He reached out and lightly caught the edge of Harrison’s sleeve. "Don’t activate the underground teams yet, Harrison."

"Why not?" Harrison asked, studying his Alpha face.

"Because if our enemy is as close as we think, they are watching our movements," Julius reasoned, his voice calm and steady. "If they notice we are suddenly shifting our security and bringing in a larger force, they will know we are onto them."

"They will hide back in the shadows, and we will never catch them. We need to stay completely normal."

Harrison studied him for several seconds, weighing the words carefully. Finally, a look of approval crossed his face, and he gave a slow nod. "Good point. We keep the trap open."

With the decision made, the heavy atmosphere in the room completely softened. The constant danger, the missing drive, and the fear of betrayal seemed to drift away into the corners of the dark room.

For a few moments, none of it mattered anymore.

Julius shifted on the mattress, moving closer to the center of the bed. He looked up at the tall man standing over him. "Can we please stop talking about conspiracies and shadow groups now?"

Harrison raised an eyebrow, a small, dark spark lighting up his eyes. "What would you rather talk about then?"

Julius smiled, a playful, soft look completely replacing his business persona. "Me."

Harrison stepped closer, his heavy knees pressing against the side of the mattress. "What about you, baby?"

Julius leaned his head against Harrison’s broad thigh, looking up through his eyelashes with a sudden, wicked grin. "Junior Harrison has been crying for attention all day long. Are you just going to leave him hanging?"

For a brief moment, Harrison completely froze, his mind trying to process the sudden change in topic. Then, a loud, deep laugh boomed from his chest.

He shook his head, a beautiful warmth completely taking over his face as he reached down, his large, warm hands catching Julius by the waist and pulling him up into his chest.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​