Donovan Fallon sat behind his desk.
He pushed his silver-framed glasses up his nose, his grey eyes scanning the endless stack of acquisition documents.
The penthouse office of Fallon Industries was a fortress of glass and steel. It hovered high above the sprawling city of Koria like a silent, watchful predator. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights blurred into a sea of neon and shadows. Inside, the only sound was the sharp, rhythmic scratch of his expensive fountain pen against thick paper.
Donovan didn’t look up from his desk. He was a man carved from ice and calculated ambition. He didn’t take breaks. He didn’t entertain useless distractions.
His grey eyes flicked across the endless financial reports with ruthless, machine-like efficiency. The world saw him as a cold, distant workaholic, and he preferred it that way. It kept the annoying people at a distance.
But the comfortable, productive silence couldn’t last forever.
A loud, obnoxious laugh shattered the quiet atmosphere of the room.
"I still cannot believe it," Elias choked out, clutching his stomach.
Elias kicked his expensive leather shoes up onto the pristine glass coffee table, completely ignoring the scuff marks he was definitely leaving behind. He lounged on the white leather sofa like he owned the building, a massive, teasing grin plastered across his face.
Donovan’s jaw tightened. He flipped a page. He signed the bottom line. He completely ignored the man on the couch.
"The great Donovan Fallon," Elias continued, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "The ruthless CEO. The man who makes grown men cry in boardrooms. Robbed blind by a girl in a cheap black dress."
Donovan didn’t flinch.
"Another one of your crazy stalkers struck again," Elias teased, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He was entirely unbothered by the freezing aura leaking from the man behind the desk. "And this one actually stole something you wanted right under your nose. She marched straight into Lily’s underground auction, and walked out with the prize."
The Eyes of the Moon.
Donovan pressed the tip of his pen harder into the paper. The ink pooled slightly.
"Do you want to know the best part?" Elias asked, his voice dripping with pure amusement. "She claimed to be your girlfriend. That was her master plan. She literally looked Lily Donne in the eyes, dropped your name, and Lily just handed it over. A stranger waltzed in, called herself your woman, and took your merchandise. That is a bold move. I actually respect her."
Girlfriend.
The word tasted completely foreign to him. Donovan didn’t do relationships. He didn’t do romance. He barely even tolerated the people he paid to be around him on a good day.
The idea of him having a secret lover running around the underground market was completely absurd.
But despite his annoyance, the memory of that fiery red hair flashed through his mind uninvited. He remembered the faint scent of cheap soap and pure panic in the hallway.
He pushed the thought away. It was a useless distraction. He had actual, tangible problems to solve, and indulging Elias in this ridiculous gossip was not on his schedule.
"How are the orphanages in the southern district?" Donovan asked.
His voice was entirely flat, cutting through the teasing banter like a freshly sharpened knife. He didn’t look up from his documents.
Elias blinked. The sudden pivot gave him whiplash. "Wait, what? We are talking about your secret fake girlfriend right now."
"I am talking about the orphanages," Donovan corrected smoothly. He flipped another page. "Did they receive their monthly rations yet?"
Elias let out a loud, dramatic groan. He threw his head back against the leather cushions and stared at the ceiling, looking like a man who had just been deeply wronged.
"You are so boring," Elias complained. "I bring you prime gossip from the underground, the kind of news that has every boss in the city whispering your name, and you immediately pivot to logistics and charity work. Who does that?"
Donovan finally stopped writing. He set his pen down on the mahogany wood, the soft click echoing in the large room.
"The southern district," Donovan repeated, his tone leaving absolutely zero room for argument.
Elias sighed heavily. He dropped his feet from the glass table and sat up straight. "Yes, they got the shipments. Three cargo trucks full of grain, clean water, and medical supplies were dropped off at the main warehouse this morning. The directors confirmed receipt. The kids are fed. Are you happy now?"
"Good."
"Sometimes I think you treat me more like your slave than your best friend," Elias grumbled, crossing his arms. "I manage your calendar. I track down your weird rumors. I handle your secret charity drops. I am basically your highly paid errand boy."
Donovan looked at him. He didn’t even crack a smile. His expression remained completely deadpan.
"You get off on it," Donovan stated.
Elias choked on his own spit. His eyes went wide, and his face flushed bright red as he scrambled to defend himself.
"Shush!" Elias yelled, pointing a finger at the desk. "Don’t expose me like that! I have a reputation to maintain!"
Donovan just stared at him blankly, totally unaffected by the outburst. He stacked the paperwork neatly to the side and checked his silver wristwatch. The time for playing around was officially over.
The playful energy completely drained from the room. It was replaced by a heavy, suffocating tension that made the air feel incredibly thin. The temperature in the office seemed to drop ten degrees in a matter of seconds.
Elias noticed the immediate shift. His teasing smile vanished completely, replaced by genuine concern. He knew that look. It was the look Donovan got right before he did something incredibly dangerous.
"Are you sure you are really going to the Viper’s Den tonight?" Elias asked, his tone dead serious now.
Donovan opened a side drawer and pulled out a pair of black leather gloves.
"He isn’t a friendly foe, Donovan," Elias warned, standing up from the couch. "The Viper Boss is completely unhinged. You know the rumors. They say he Awakened early. He has strength that isn’t human. It is a literal bloodbath down there on a Friday night, and the crowd loves it. If you walk in there demanding things, he won’t care about your CEO title. He will just order his men to lock the cages."
Donovan finally looked up. He reached up and slowly removed his silver-framed glasses, setting them carefully on the desk.
Without the lenses, his cold gray eyes were even more piercing. They locked onto his friend, completely devoid of fear or hesitation.
"He has something that I need," Donovan stated.
The Black Lotus was down in that arena. It was a crucial piece of the puzzle, and he was not going to let another random thief snatch this one away from him. He needed it tonight, and he did not care how much blood he had to step over to get it.
Elias frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "You’ve been collecting a lot of strange stuff lately."