Noah leaned back on the couch, a satisfied smile curling at the edges of his mouth as Vivian's gaze dropped sharply to the phone he'd casually placed in her lap. It was already unlocked, the screen glowing faintly. Vivian’s pulse quickened, irritation and unease flooding her veins. She processed the implication quickly: Noah must have unlocked it days ago. His previous taunts of having this leverage were true, drawing her deeper into his carefully crafted web with each calculated move.

  Vivian looked up slowly, meeting Noah’s watchful eyes. Behind his thin-framed glasses, his gaze gleamed with subtle enjoyment. His voice, low and velvety, was edged with quiet, calculating amusement.

  “Did you really think I’d make you wait, Viv?” he asked, his tone deceptively gentle."Breaking into the phone was pretty easy. Convincing your guard dog to leave you alone was the hard part."

  He paused deliberately, letting his words resonate deeply between them.

  Vivian's jaw tightened imperceptibly, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a visible reaction. Anger simmered beneath her composed exterior, but she swallowed it, reassessing him swiftly. Noah wasn't merely manipulative; he was meticulously dangerous, a man who plotted moves days or even weeks in advance. She realized then how underestimated he had been.

  Taking a slow, steadying breath, Vivian glanced back down at the phone. "What exactly did you find?"

  Noah stretched comfortably, one arm draping across the back of the couch, invading her personal space effortlessly. "Plenty," he said smoothly, savoring her restrained impatience. "Meet Justin Lin—Jay, to his friends. Small-time dealer, mostly marijuana and pills—just scraping by. Desperation makes people very useful."

  Vivian’s brow furrowed slightly, fully captured by Noah’s carefully delivered information. "Useful how?"

  Vivian’s brow furrowed slightly, fully captured by Noah’s carefully delivered information. “Useful how?”

  “Jay made a mistake,” Noah continued calmly, as if narrating a casual story. “Hit-and-run accident, teenage cyclist. Poor kid never had a chance. Jay panicked, fled the scene. Unfortunately, the dash-cam footage was crystal clear—perfect blackmail material.”

  Vivian’s eyes darkened, her voice tense. “Blackmailed by who?”

  “Sammy Kwan,” Noah replied without hesitation, carefully watching her reaction. “Mid-level guy with the Red Phoenix Syndicate. Violent, ambitious, and a pretty sick bastard.”

  Vivian inhaled sharply, mind racing. “Sammy ordered Vince’s murder?”

  Noah nodded slightly, almost approvingly. “Seems like it. Messages, encrypted calls, surveillance photos—it’s all neatly documented. Sammy threatened Jay into doing the hit. Textbook leverage, executed flawlessly.”

  Vivian tightened her grip on the phone, the weight suddenly oppressive. “Why Vince? Why specifically him?”

  Noah shifted closer, voice lowering intimately. “Vince Ma had ties to Black Lotus—maybe a strategic hit. Sammy wouldn’t dare act alone; internal Syndicate politics are likely at play. But not sure who gains the most if Black Lotus is forced into conflict.”

  Vivian’s pulse quickened with anxiety. “So it’s a setup? Red Phoenix wants a war?”

  “Possibly,” Noah mused thoughtfully. “But even for Sammy, that’s recklessly ambitious.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Vivian’s frustration a surfaced briefly in her clenched jaw. “I need more. Something solid. I need to find Serena.”

  Noah tilted his head slightly, an unsettling smile tugging his lips. “All in good time, Viv. Patience.”

  She glared sharply, irritation openly flaring. “This isn’t a game, Noah.”

  He leaned in closer, invading her space purposefully, eyes glittering with intensity. “Everything is a game, Viv. The sooner you accept that, the easier things become.”

  The tension crackled between them, charged and volatile. Noah didn’t move, deliberately crowding her, savoring the subtle tremors she fought to hide. Vivian knew she should retreat, but pride—and something darker she refused to acknowledge—held her rooted.

  Finally, Vivian broke the closeness, leaning away. “I need to get to Sammy.”

  Noah smiled slowly, enjoying her impatience. “I have an idea how we can.”

  She waited expectantly. When he didn’t immediately explain, her frustration spiked again. Noah simply stood, offering her a hand with practiced ease.

  “But first,” he said lightly, “let’s update that guard dog of yours.”

  They left the apartment, descending silently in the lift to the underground parking garage. Noah guided Vivian casually to a secluded corner hidden from cameras, unsurprised when Lucas appeared. Lucas stood rigid, dressed entirely in black, eyes filled with hostility directed first at Noah. His gaze softened fractionally when it shifted to Vivian, though it remained sharp and wary.

  "Did he do anything to you?" Lucas demanded immediately.

  Vivian’s mind flashed involuntarily to Noah’s intrusive closeness—the warmth of his thigh pressed to hers, his breath whispering against her skin. Her cheeks warmed, betraying her, but she quickly shook her head, voice firm. "No."

  Lucas said nothing, but his jaw tightened visibly. Noah smiled smugly, openly amused by Vivian’s revealing blush. Seeing it confirmed everything he’d suspected—it was intoxicating, deeply gratifying.

  Briefly, Noah outlined the phone’s contents to Lucas, who frowned deeply. "Sammy Kwan isn’t easy to get to," Lucas mused darkly.

  Noah grinned confidently. "Oh, I have an idea that’ll work. But first, what will you tell your bosses?"

  Lucas glared at him silently.

  "You have to explain something about Viv," Noah pressed lightly. "You've been watching her for days. Thought of your story yet?"

  "I'll handle it," Lucas growled.

  "With your limited brain cells, I'm worried you'll mess it up," Noah taunted lazily.

  Lucas took a threatening step forward, but Vivian’s hand pressed swiftly against his chest, stopping him instantly. The gesture was brief, almost reflexive but Lucas froze, his breath momentarily stuck in his throat, expression tightening with a careful control that betrayed nothing.

  "Don't let him bait you," Vivian said gently, quickly pulling her hand away. She faced Noah with steely determination. "Just spit it out. Clearly, you have a story."

  Noah’s eyes glittered maliciously. "Oh Viv, you know me too well." He locked eyes with Lucas, savoring his discomfort. "Tell them we're dating."

  Lucas and Vivian reacted simultaneously. "What?!"

  "Viv and I—dating," Noah repeated cheerfully. "Explains everything. Classmates turned lovers. She suspected me of cheating, followed me to Orchard Alley. You intervened when some random attacker went after her. Everything neatly explained."

  Lucas clenched his fists, visibly repulsed but knowing Noah’s idea was effective.

  Vivian broke the tense silence calmly. "It works."

  Lucas snapped, "He’s doing this intentionally."

  Vivian’s gaze briefly met Lucas’s, a quiet, unspoken acknowledgment passing between them. He was perhaps the last tangible connection she had to Serena and Vince, and that awareness lingered silently in the small space separating them. Her expression softened subtly, but remained guarded, offering nothing more.

  “I know,” she said simply, her tone calm and clear. “But I need to find Serena, and at least Noah’s neutral.”

  Not Black Lotus.

  Lucas’s gaze lingered on Vivian a moment longer than necessary before flicking away, a subtle tension visible in the set of his jaw. He remained silent, his expression carefully neutral, revealing nothing further.

  Vivian glanced at Noah, who smiled victoriously. “I don’t think he’ll actually hurt me.”

  Noah winked slyly, his voice dripping with implication. “Nothing you don’t want, Viv.”

  In a single swift movement, Lucas’s restraint snapped. His fist crashed hard against Noah’s jaw, the force reverberating audibly in the underground car park. Noah staggered backward, catching himself against the wall. His laughter was edged with pain but remained infuriatingly smug, even as blood welled at the corner of his mouth.

  Vivian didn’t react, her expression turning business-like, cutting sharply through the lingering tension. “You said you had a plan for Sammy?”

  Noah straightened slowly, wiping blood from his lip with a dark smile. “I sure do.”