NATHANIEL
Lightning struck once, revealing the huge mansion…
The Abraham Estate.
Reminding me of the scenes of horror stories.
In truth, that wasn’t far from reality though.
I was scared.
Even though I had been here countless times since childhood, the place still made me straighten my back unconsciously, the moment the black SUV rolled into the estate.
My hand instinctively pressed against the scarf wrapped around my waist as the car came to a stop in front of the main entrance.
Immediately, the door was opened, and I was taken inside in haste…
Half an hour later…
I was lying on the bed.
The bullet wound had already been treated by the family doctors the moment I was brought here after sending the emergency signal.
The pain was still there, dull and persistent, but the doctors had reassured me that the bullet had narrowly missed anything vital.
A few weeks of recovery would be enough.
Still, the physical pain was the least of my worries.
What truly weighed on my mind was the fact that I had failed the mission.
And more than that— the man I had to answer for it…
I glanced at Cassius.
“Is Uncle— still here?”
Please, just say no.
Please…
“Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate!
“Director is waiting for you in the living room.” He added.
I swallowed hard.
I truly wished I had passed out for the night!
But, what could I do now?
Eventually, I walked out of my room, feeling the burning knot of tension within my stomach.
Even after all these years, facing him never became easier.
When I finally stepped into the living room, my eyes immediately landed on the tall figure standing near the floor-to-ceiling window.
His back facing me, one hand holding a glass of red wine as he gazed out at the dark garden outside.
The faint light from the chandelier above cast a soft glow over his tailored black suit, outlining a posture that carried effortless confidence and quiet authority.
Even without seeing his face, anyone would recognize the kind of man he was.
Noble, aloof and extremely elegant. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Perhaps, hearing my sound, he slowly turned around.
The light revealed a face that many people would have described as strikingly handsome.
His features were sharp and refined, his expression calm, composed and absolutely unreadable.
He was Victor Abraham.
The youngest son of my grandpa, Ronald Abraham, and the current head of the Abraham family.
Despite being only 31 years old, he had already taken control of the entire Abraham Empire after grandpa stepped down due to declining health.
Under Victor’s leadership, the family’s wealth and influence had grown even further, spreading across industries from pharmaceuticals to international trade.
Technically, he was only a few years older than me.
But the difference between us felt far greater than that.
And, I would never dare to call him anything else but Uncle, specifically after he had taken over the family business, even though it felt weird as hell.
“You’re up.” His deep baritone rolled out, almost making me flinch.
I straightened instinctively, “Yes, Uncle…”
The word still felt strange every time I said it.
His cold gaze scanned me quietly while taking a slow sip of wine.
And then— “You look fine.” He said, his tone was calm, yet something about it carried a quiet authority that made people instinctively careful with their words.
“Yes, Uncle.” I breathed out.
“I— am sorry.
I failed the mission.” And paused.
He didn’t interrupt.
Encouraged by the silence, I continued explaining…
“The shipment was intercepted near the Port of Oakland.
We were transporting the encrypted pharmaceutical data that the research division had acquired from the European market.
According to the original route, the convoy should have reached the warehouse without any issues.”
My jaw tightened slightly as I remembered the ambush.
“But someone leaked the route…”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Black Harbor?” he asked calmly.
I nodded.
“They set up an ambush two miles from the port.
Two vehicles blocked our path while their shooters opened fire from a rooftop overlooking the road.
Whoever planned the attack knew exactly when we would arrive.”
The memory of gunfire and shattered glass flashed through my mind.
“I managed to grab the encrypted drive and escape through a service alley behind the warehouse district.
But they took the rest of the cargo…
and one of their shooters managed to hit me while I was— getting away.” I didn’t know why I felt a bit ashamed while talking about it.
“Is the injury serious?” he asked, sipping into his wine again.
“No,” I answered quickly.
“The doctors already checked it.
The bullet passed through without damaging any vital organs.”
I straightened slightly, forcing confidence into my voice.
“Next time, I won’t make the same mistake.
I’ll recover the stolen data and eliminate whoever leaked the route.”
He watched me quietly for a moment before speaking again.
“Find the traitor first.” His tone remained calm, but there was a faint edge to it now.
“If someone inside our network betrayed us once…
they will do it again.”
A chill ran down my spine at his tone.
I truly wondered who dared to betray him and invited his misery.
“Yes, Uncle…”
And once again, silence took over.
And before it stretched to a level of awkwardness, I decided to leave and turned around, almost, when—
“Nathan.” Uncle’s voice paused me, and immediately, I looked back.
“Yes, Uncle?”
What did I do now?
However, his eyes had shifted toward my wrist.
One of his brows arched, “Since when did you start writing numbers on your arm— with blood?”
I blinked in confusion before following his gaze.
The faint line of red numbers was still visible across my wrist.
And immediately, the memory returned vividly…
The quiet girl…
Her calmness…
And the strange indifference in her eyes when she told me to transfer money if I survived.
A small smile appeared on my face.
Honestly, I was more amused than shocked.
She didn’t even bother to hide her need of money, and surprisingly, I was interested.
I had seen hundreds of money minded girls, who roamed around me like flies, but she— she was different.
“That— belongs to a girl who saved my life tonight.” I said softly.
“A girl?” Uncle’s brows arched again, seemingly surprised, only lasted for a second though.
“Yes.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
“I was hiding near a rural road when I ran into her.
She helped me initially.”
I glanced again at the numbers, “This is her account number.
I promised I would send her money if I survived.”
I couldn’t help but smile faintly at the remembrance of her.
Too bad, I couldn’t have her name…