Alex did not take fifteen minutes.
He took eight.
That was long enough for anger to settle into something sharper.
When he walked back into the living room, Adrian was exactly where he had left him—near the kitchen counter, looking out toward the city.
Alex stopped a few feet away.
"Tell me everything."
Adrian turned.
"Elena's people arrived at your old apartment building."
Alex folded his arms.
"And?"
"Victor went there personally."
Alex felt the words land in his chest like something heavy.
"Why?"
"We don't know yet."
"That's not good enough."
Adrian's voice stayed calm.
"It's the truth."
Alex walked to the window and stared down at the city.
Brooklyn was somewhere out there beyond the towers.
Beyond the glass and money and clean streets.
A place that smelled like late-night food trucks and subway brakes and old buildings that never quite stopped creaking.
His place.
Or it had been.
"You sent security," Alex said.
"Yes."
"They're there now."
"Yes."
Alex nodded slowly.
"And Victor left."
"Yes."
The quiet that followed felt thin.
Alex rubbed the back of his neck.
"That man doesn't visit neighborhoods like mine for sightseeing."
"No."
Alex turned back.
"Did he break in?"
Adrian picked up his phone and checked a message.
"No."
Alex frowned.
"No?"
"He waited outside the building."
"That's worse."
Adrian did not disagree.
Alex walked across the room.
"What did he do?"
"He talked to someone."
Alex stopped.
"Who?"
"We're verifying."
Alex shook his head.
"This is ridiculous."
Adrian watched him carefully.
Alex kept moving, pacing the length of the window.
"You know what this is?"
Adrian waited.
"He's looking for leverage."
"Yes."
Alex turned.
"And if he can't get it through the market…"
He tapped his chest.
"He gets it through me."
"Yes."
Alex let out a short laugh.
"Well."
Adrian didn't respond.
Alex walked to the kitchen and poured himself water.
His hands were steady.
That surprised him.
He drank half the glass and leaned against the counter.
"Did anyone talk to him?"
Adrian checked the phone again.
"Yes."
Alex looked up immediately.
"Who?"
"A woman from the third floor."
Alex closed his eyes briefly.
"Mrs. Delgado."
Adrian watched him.
"You know her."
"She's lived there since the seventies."
Alex set the glass down.
"She probably gave him cookies."
"That seems unlikely."
Alex exhaled slowly.
"Did he threaten her?"
"No."
"Good."
Alex rubbed his forehead.
"What did he ask?"
Adrian's voice stayed neutral.
"About you."
Alex nodded.
"Of course."
Silence settled again.
Alex turned and leaned against the counter.
"You know what's funny?"
Adrian waited.
"Victor keeps talking about you losing control."
"Yes."
Alex met his eyes.
"But he's the one chasing ghosts now."
Adrian said nothing.
Alex continued.
"He went to the one place that has nothing to do with your empire."
"Yes."
"And that means he's running out of moves."
"Yes."
Alex smiled faintly.
"That's comforting."
Adrian's phone vibrated again.
He checked it.
Then he handed the screen to Alex.
Alex looked down.
A photo.
Taken from a distance.
Victor Moreau stood on the sidewalk in front of Alex's old building.
The same gray coat he had worn at the dock.
Hands in his pockets.
Looking up at the windows.
Alex stared at the image for a moment.
"That's creepy."
"Yes."
Alex handed the phone back.
"He's not looking for information."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"He's sending a message."
Adrian waited.
Alex nodded toward the phone.
"He wants me to see that."
Adrian studied him.
"That's possible."
Alex laughed softly.
"That man really loves drama."
Adrian set the phone down.
"Victor rarely wastes time."
Alex pushed away from the counter.
"Exactly."
He walked back to the window.
"If he wanted information, he'd send someone else."
Adrian watched him.
"But he went himself."
"Yes."
Alex looked out over the city again.
"So the point wasn't information."
Adrian asked quietly,
"Then what was it?"
Alex turned.
"To remind me where I came from."
Silence.
Adrian didn't interrupt.
Alex crossed his arms.
"Victor's smart."
"Yes."
"He thinks if I start remembering that place too much…"
Alex shrugged slightly.
"…I'll feel small again."
Adrian's voice stayed calm.
"Will you?"
Alex thought about it.
The cracked hallway floors.
The broken elevator.
The late nights working freelance jobs that barely paid rent.
The sound of neighbors arguing through thin walls.
He shook his head.
"No."
Adrian nodded once.
"Good."
Alex smiled faintly.
"But it's still annoying."
The elevator chimed.
Both men turned.
Elena stepped out carrying her tablet.
She walked straight toward them.
"Update."
Adrian waited.
Elena looked at Alex.
"Victor left Brooklyn fifteen minutes ago."
Alex nodded.
"Did he say anything interesting?"
Elena hesitated slightly.
"That depends."
Alex frowned.
"On what?"
"On whether you find this interesting."
She turned the tablet toward him.
A video clip played.
Security camera footage from outside the apartment building.
Victor standing near the sidewalk.
Mrs. Delgado talking to him.
The audio was faint.
But Victor's voice was clear enough.
"Tell Alex Carter something for me."
Mrs. Delgado nodded.
Victor continued.
"Tell him the past always catches up."
The clip ended.
Alex stared at the screen.
"Well," he said quietly.
"That's dramatic."
Elena studied his reaction.
"You seem calm."
Alex handed the tablet back.
"He wants me angry."
"Yes."
Alex leaned against the window.
"Unfortunately for him…"
He smiled faintly.
"…I'm mostly irritated."
Adrian almost smiled again.
Elena noticed.
She pretended not to.
"We still have the investor lunch in forty minutes," she said.
Alex sighed.
"Right."
Adrian looked at him.
"You don't have to attend."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"That's new."
"It's optional."
Alex shook his head.
"No."
Elena watched him carefully.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Alex pushed himself away from the glass.
"If Victor wants to remind me where I came from…"
He grabbed his jacket from the chair.
"…then I should probably remind him where I'm standing now."
Adrian studied him.
"That's not a safe strategy."
Alex smiled.
"Neither is anger."
Elena closed her tablet.
"Good."
Alex looked at her.
"That sounded approving."
"It was."
Alex turned toward Adrian.
"So."
Adrian waited.
"Lunch with rich people."
"Yes."
Alex straightened his collar.
"Fantastic."
They walked toward the elevator together.
Before the doors closed, Alex glanced once more at the skyline.
Brooklyn was somewhere beyond the river.
Somewhere behind the glass towers and expensive silence.
Victor had gone there looking for leverage.
Alex shook his head slightly.
"Wrong neighborhood," he muttered.
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
Alex stepped into the elevator.
"Nothing."
The doors slid shut.
And somewhere across the city—
Victor Moreau was still smiling, waiting to see whether the past could still shake the man who had escaped it.