The Johnson family never knew how to host anything quietly.

Even a child’s birthday party had turned into a full gathering, with cousins spilling across the garden, more senior ladies claiming the best chairs as if they had won them in battle, and more aged men speaking loudly enough for the entire neighbourhood to know which football club had ruined whose peace.

The long table near the patio sagged under trays of food, the scent of grilled meat and buttered bread hanging in the warm evening air, while balloons in too many colours bobbed lazily above the children’s heads.

Nelson stood near the drinks table with a glass in one hand, though he had barely touched it. His thoughts seemed distant.

"You vanish in crowds exactly the same way you did when you were sixteen."

Nelson turned at once, only to find his elder brother, David, smiling at him.

His older brother stood there in a dark shirt with the sleeves folded neatly to his forearms, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a glass of whiskey he wore as naturally as his watch.

Nelson’s mouth curved faintly. "And you still judge from the sidelines exactly the same way you did at twenty-two."

David gave a short, amused breath. "I rarely find anything interesting nowadays."

"Why? No finding any cartel to raid and get expensive drugs for you and your men?"

At that, something unreadable flickered across David’s face. "No, I need something else. A new challenge." He took a slow sip of his drink before asking, in a tone too casual to be truly casual, "Speaking of challenge... What happened to that girl your wife spoke to every family member about how a young girl tried to seduce you?"

Nelson stiffened as he looked at David pointedly. "What about her?"

"I," David’s gaze remained on the crowd, "met her. In the hotel Crowns. "

That made Nelson pause. "What was she doing in the hotel?" Jealousy ran over his heart.

For a second, all Nelson did was watch his brother because David did not ask idle questions. If he had brought this up here, in the middle of a family birthday, while children screamed over cake and cousins argued over cards, then the matter had stayed in his mind longer than he cared to admit.

Nelson lowered his glass. "Answer me?"

David took his own time, looking towards the children gathered around the bouncing castle. Then he said, "Does she know Cassian Crown?"

Nelson frowned. "What?"

"Does she," David repeated with mild patience, "know Cassian Crown?"

"She is poor!"

David raised an eyebrow and looked at his brother expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

Nelson clicked his tongue, then said more flatly, "She is an orphan. She worked part-time at my company while studying in college. There is no way she should know a man like Cassian Crown." Yet, a doubt began to creep into his mind. Cixi appeared so fresh, innocent, and youthful that any man would be drawn to her. He hoped that wasn’t the case. "Whatever you heard was false."

Nelson had wanted her long before he ever touched the edge of a real opportunity, and the mere thought of someone like Cassian laying eyes on her stirred something ugly in him.

"Do you still have a video of her?" David asked.

Nelson shook his head in denial. "No, I deleted it."

David hummed softly before saying, "I know she didn’t make that video. And I know she didn’t send it to you."

This time Nelson truly looked at him.

The noise of the party seemed to fall away for a second.

"What do you mean?"

David swirled the whisky in his glass, watching the amber turn against the light. "I mean, I already know that was a deepfake video."

Nelson stared, suspicion rising at once. "You are wrong! She is madly in love with me!"

That earned him a glare from David that said, ’Stop talking nonsense.’

"Why are we talking about her?" Nelson was now worried that his elder brother might become interested in Cixi. No! He wants her for himself.

David finally looked at him properly. "Because I want details."

"What kind of details?"

"The kind you already have."

Nelson’s fingers tightened slightly around his glass. He did know things. But he did not want to share with anyone. Especially his brother.

When Nelson said nothing, the surrounding air began to tighten with a tension too subtle for the rest of the family to notice.

David looked at Nelson with calmness, as though he had already weighed the answer before hearing it.

"You know," he began lightly, swirling the whisky in his glass, "I came across a very interesting piece of information about you. One of my men told me he had seen you several times talking to street druggies. Not only that, but from time to time, you were giving them money."

For a second, Nelson’s grip on the glass loosened so sharply that it nearly slipped from his hand.

"Are you spying on me?"

"No. Of course not, brother." David’s tone remained even, almost amused. "My man saw you around them, got worried, and thought I should know."

Nelson looked away for a few seconds, jaw tight, before returning his gaze to David. He could tell from his brother’s face that silence would only deepen suspicion. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

So he answered.

"I hired them," Nelson said at last. "To keep an eye on Cixi."

David’s brow lifted just slightly. "So you are more interested in her than in your wife?"

Nelson did not even hesitate to respond. "She is far more interesting than my wife." His voice dropped, his stare going flat and shameless. "And far more beautiful."

That answer seemed to please David far more than it should have. A faint, knowing smile touched his mouth as he studied his younger brother, as though he had finally confirmed something he had suspected from the beginning.

"And the video?" David asked.

Nelson gave a quiet scoff. "I didn’t even know it was a deepfake until you told me just now." His mouth twisted with irritation. "You really had to ruin my mood, didn’t you?"

David smiled properly then.

It was not a warm expression. It was the kind of smile that appeared when a man found something useful.

"Well," he said slowly, "if you want her that much... perhaps I’ll help you."

Nelson turned to him at once, suspicion hardening his face. "And why would you help me?"

David took another sip of whisky before answering, his gaze drifting over the cheerful family gathering as though the scene before him amused him in ways no one else could understand.

"Because some bitches do need lessons to know their place!"