Harrison’s voice turned harsh. "Leave." Julius frowned and stepped forward. "What the hell is wrong with you? What’s going on?"

Harrison let out a short laugh. "What? You don’t want to leave now after coming here uninvited?" Julius stared at him coldly. "You don’t get to tell me what to do. You don’t tell me when to come, and you definitely don’t tell me when to go."

The moment those words left his mouth, Harrison moved fast. He grabbed Julius by the waist and ribs with a firm grip and dragged him through the hallway into his personal bedroom.

"Hey—what the hell—!" Julius struggled, but Harrison’s strength as an Enigma overpowered him. Harrison pulled him all the way inside and slammed the door shut. The lock clicked.

Then Harrison turned and walked out, leaving Julius alone. Julius stood there for a moment, stunned. He rubbed his ribs where Harrison had gripped him hard.

The rough dragging had left them sore and aching. "What the hell just happened?" he muttered to himself. He walked to the door and tried the handle.

Locked. Before he could process the situation, his phone rang. He pulled it out, still angry and confused.

"Sarah." "Sir!" Sarah’s voice was tense. "The stocks—" "How bad?" Julius cut in.

"They’re stabilizing," she said quickly. "Not as bad as before. They stopped dropping and they’re slowly recovering. But sir, there’s another issue."

Julius’s expression darkened. "Say it." "When we banned Vault Cooperator, they reacted immediately," Sarah explained.

"They’re causing trouble now. Demanding explanations. Threatening to take this public and drag your name through the media." Julius smiled.

"Let them try." "Sir...?" "They’re nothing," he said coldly.

"Just small fish making noise because they didn’t get what they wanted. They can’t actually do anything to damage me." Sarah kept quiet.

Then she spoke again, her tone softer. "Are you okay, sir? You sound different. Do you want me to come pick you up?"

Julius glanced around the empty room. Harrison was gone. He was locked in here alone.

"No. I’m fine. I’ll go home myself." "Yes, sir."

The call ended. Julius lowered his phone and sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to make sense of everything.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Harrison stood by the window in another room. His assistant was the only one who dared speak.

"Sir... do you really think it’s okay to lock him in like this?" Harrison turned slowly. "You think you can lock an Alpha against his will? He’s willing to be there. He went in because he chose to."

The assistant hesitated, then spoke carefully. "Sir, I’ve known you for a long time. The way you care about him... don’t you think you should just tell him everything? Tell him the truth?"

Harrison’s face went cold. "You think telling him will change anything? You think his life will be different if he knows?"

The assistant didn’t answer. "I don’t want pity love," Harrison continued. "I don’t want him to stay because of some story that makes him feel sorry for me. If he comes to me, it will be because he chooses me. Completely. Not out of sympathy."

The assistant nodded slowly. "Understood, sir." Three hours passed.

Julius had been sitting in the locked room the entire time. It was evening now. The sun had set outside.

He had tried the door several times. Still locked. He thought about everything—Harrison’s behavior, his mother’s warnings, the phone call that changed everything.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled out his phone and dialed. His mother answered.

"Julius?" "Mom. This is the last time I’m going to ask you this question." His voice was tight with frustration.

"If you don’t tell me the truth, we’re going to have a serious problem."

His mother’s voice came back calm. "Are you threatening me? Or are you threatening yourself? Because you can’t even do anything right now."

"What do you want from me?" Julius demanded. "What do I want?" His mother’s voice changed.

"Where are you right now?" "He locked me inside his room the moment he received a call," Julius replied.

"Before Harrison locked you in that room, did you see him? Did you really look at him?" Julius went still.

"If Harrison really wanted to lock you up, you wouldn’t be able to get out at all," his mother continued.

"But he didn’t lock you in to trap you. He locked you in to keep you safe. To get you out of his sight. Away from whatever was about to happen."

Julius’s breathing changed. "Do you want to know the truth?" his mother asked.

"Then don’t ask me. Ask yourself why he locked you in that room the moment he received that phone call. Ask yourself why he was so eager to get you away from him."

"If you have any conscience at all, go to him now." The call ended.

Julius sat there for a long moment, his mind racing with everything his mother had said. Then he stood up and walked to the door.

He gripped the handle. Turned it. It opened.

It had never been locked from the inside. He could have left anytime.

Julius stepped out into the hallway and started walking. His heart was pounding now. Something was very wrong.

He needed to find Harrison. As he moved through the house, Harrison’s assistant appeared in front of him.

"Sir, are you looking for something?" Julius stopped. "I’m looking for Harrison. Where is he?"

The assistant looked at the ground. "I’m sorry, sir. I can’t tell you that right now." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Julius’s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you can’t? This is important."

"I understand, sir," the assistant replied. "But this is my job. I can’t say anything at the moment."

Julius could see it in his face. This man wanted to tell him. He clearly wanted Julius to know the truth.

But he couldn’t. His duty wouldn’t let him. "If I force my way past you," Julius said quietly, "what are you going to do?"

The assistant looked pained. "I’m sorry, sir. I won’t allow it."

Julius was about to push forward anyway when a voice came from one of the rooms down the hall. A loud voice. Strained. Raw.

Harrison’s voice. But it was different.

Not the controlled, calm Harrison he knew. This voice sounded broken. Struggling.

Julius froze—not because he didn’t understand what he was hearing, but because he had never imagined Harrison could sound like that.

The assistant’s face went pale. A woman—one of the house staff—appeared at the door.

She looked at Julius, then at the assistant, then back at Julius. Without a word, she pushed the door open.

Julius walked forward and stepped inside. What he saw made him freeze completely.

The room was a mess. Furniture was overturned. Things were scattered across the floor.

Papers everywhere. A lamp had been knocked over. The entire space looked like a storm had torn through it.