Luke's phone buzzed just as he stepped out of the Carver estate, the cool air brushing against his face. The sky above was dimming into evening, soft streaks of orange fading into gray. He barely spared it a glance. His attention was already on the screen.
Juliet.
His expression sharpened instantly.
He answered without hesitation, lowering his voice as he moved further from the entrance, putting distance between himself and the guards stationed nearby. "You always have perfect timing," he muttered.
"Cut it," Juliet replied immediately, her tone sharp, all business. "Where are you at? How far have you gotten?"
Luke leaned against the side of the building, one hand slipping casually into his pocket as his eyes scanned the area out of habit. Cameras. Guards. Passing staff. Nothing unusual—but he never assumed safety.
"Further than expected," he said calmly. "I'm in. Fully. Assistant position—close access."
There was a pause on the other end, then a quiet exhale. "That's faster than we thought."
Luke smirked faintly. "Yeah, well… I'm good at what I do."
"Don't get cocky," Juliet snapped. "What have you found?"
His smirk faded into something more focused. "There's a shipment," he said, lowering his voice even more. "Drugs. They're moving it from one warehouse to another. High risk, tightly controlled. It's not small, Juliet—it's coordinated. Careful."
Juliet went silent for a second, clearly processing. "Do you have anything on where it's going?"
Luke hesitated, replaying the meeting in his head—the tone, the phrasing, the tension in the room. He was close. Close enough to feel it, like a word on the tip of his tongue.
"I'm working on it," he said. "I almost—"
His phone buzzed again.
Luke frowned slightly, pulling it away to check.
Another call.
Leonardo.
For a second, everything felt… off.
The timing was too perfect. Too precise.
Juliet was still on the line. "Luke?"
He stared at the screen for a moment longer, a quiet unease settling in his chest. Then he made a decision.
"I'll call you back," he said quickly.
"Luke, wait—"
He hung up.
The silence that followed felt heavier than it should have.
Luke answered the second call.
"Come to my office," Leonardo's voice came, calm as ever.
No explanation. No hesitation.
Just an order.
The line went dead.
Luke slowly lowered the phone, his expression unreadable now.
"…Yeah," he muttered under his breath. "That's not suspicious at all."
By the time Luke stepped back into the estate, his usual smirk had returned, slipping back into place like a well-practiced mask. Anyone looking at him wouldn't notice a thing. But beneath it, his mind was racing.
The timing.
Juliet's question.
Leonardo's call cutting him off at the exact moment he was about to say something important.
Coincidence?
Luke didn't believe in coincidences.
Still, he walked down the hallway like nothing was wrong, his posture relaxed, his expression confident. If Leonardo was watching—and he probably was—Luke wasn't about to give anything away.
When he reached the office, he knocked once before stepping inside.
Leonardo wasn't behind his desk this time.
He was standing near the window, the city stretching out behind him, one hand casually spinning a pen between his fingers. The motion was slow, controlled, almost hypnotic.
Waiting.
Luke closed the door behind him. "You called?"
Leonardo turned, the faintest smirk on his lips. "We're going on a trip."
Luke raised an eyebrow, leaning slightly against the door. "A trip?"
"A cruise," Leonardo clarified, walking closer. The pen stopped spinning, now held still between his fingers. "Five days."
Luke blinked once, caught slightly off guard despite himself. "That's… sudden."
"It's necessary," Leonardo said smoothly. "We're meeting someone important."
Luke tilted his head, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "And who would that be?"
Leonardo's smirk deepened, just slightly.
"Violet."
The name landed heavily.
Even Luke had heard it before—whispers in intelligence briefings, fragments of conversations in dark rooms. Violet wasn't just known—she was feared. A ghost in the system, someone who operated above most of the underworld without ever being fully seen.
Interesting.
Dangerous.
Luke let out a soft breath, masking his intrigue with a light tone. "Sounds like a fun vacation."
Leonardo ignored the comment completely. "You'll be coming with me. As my assistant."
"Of course," Luke said smoothly. "Wouldn't want you to go alone."
Leonardo stepped closer.
This time, the air shifted.
"There's one rule," he said.
Luke didn't miss the change. His eyes sharpened slightly. "Only one?"
"No technology," Leonardo said. "No phones. No recording devices. Nothing."
Luke's smile faltered—just for a fraction of a second.
That wasn't just strict. That was deliberate.
"It's a private cruise," Leonardo continued. "Completely off-grid. No signals. No outside contact."
Luke stayed quiet, listening. Watching.
"If anyone is caught with any kind of recording technology…" Leonardo paused, his gaze locking onto Luke's.
Then, casually—
"They'll be thrown off."
Silence.
"…Thrown off?" Luke repeated, his tone light, but something sharper edged underneath.
"To drown," Leonardo finished.
No hesitation. No emotion.
Just fact.
Luke studied him carefully, searching for even the smallest hint of exaggeration. There was none.
He wasn't joking.
Slowly, Luke's smirk returned—but it wasn't the same as before. This one was thinner. Controlled. Measured.
"Good to know," he said.
Leonardo watched him for a moment longer than necessary, like he was waiting—testing—seeing if Luke would react differently.
He didn't.
"Pack what you need," Leonardo said finally, turning back toward the window. "We leave soon."
Luke nodded once. "Understood."
He turned toward the door, his hand resting on the handle—but he didn't open it right away.
For a split second, he stood there.
Thinking.
The call.
The timing.
The rule about no technology.
And the fact that he had just been cut off from Juliet at the exact moment he was about to reveal something important.
Luke opened the door and stepped out.
The hallway felt quieter now.
Or maybe it was just him.
Luke walked slowly, his steps measured, his expression calm—but his mind was anything but. Every piece was starting to fall into place, and none of it felt accidental.
A five-day cruise.
No communication.
Surrounded by dangerous people.
And a man who might already know exactly who he was.
Luke let out a quiet breath through his nose, shaking his head slightly.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "This just keeps getting better."
He slipped his hands into his pockets, continuing down the corridor.
If this was a test, it was a dangerous one.
If it was a trap—
Then he had already walked into it.
Back in the office, Leonardo stood by the window, watching the city below. The pen spun slowly between his fingers once more, steady, controlled.