A day had passed since the incident at the estate.
And everything had shifted.
Especially at school.
After the interview with Lucas, after the quiet acknowledgment that they weren't just "boys from nowhere" anymore, something changed in the air around Neo and Aiden. People looked at them differently. Spoke to them differently. Moved differently around them.
Recognition.Influence.Power.
Girls who once walked past them like they were invisible now lingered too long in the hallways. Conversations paused when they entered rooms. Smiles were sweeter. Touches were bolder. Even the guys who used to barely nod in greeting suddenly wanted to be seen beside them.
Money did that.
Or maybe it wasn't money.
Maybe it was proximity to power.
But Neo and Aiden barely noticed.
School had become background noise compared to the lives they were quietly stepping into.
They hadn't spoken much to their superiors since that night at the estate. Not properly. Not beyond short acknowledgments and structured instructions. And Pia well, Pia had made sure to express her outrage.
She had scolded them endlessly for sneaking out without her.
"You left me alone in that boring place!" she had snapped. "You didn't even involve me in the thrill. Do you know how bored I was?"
She was still young after all. The chaos that tempted them was far beyond her age bracket, even if she refused to admit it.
Now, the estate had returned to routine.
Neo and Aiden had been at the office since morning, separated into their respective wings. Heads low. Focused. Quiet. The playful tension from the night before replaced by structured discipline.
Lucas stood near the center of his office, report in hand, discussing shipment logistics in a voice that carried calm authority. Across the estate, Kellan had been preparing for days maps, schedules, routes, security adjustments. Something bigger was coming.
"Neo," Lucas said suddenly.
Neo blinked, pulling himself back from his thoughts.
"Are you listening to me at all?"
"Yes, sir-I… I am," Neo answered quickly, straightening in his seat.
Lucas studied him for a moment before continuing.
"Good. Then let me repeat myself. You and Aiden will be checking the docks today. Final survey of the environment before the shipment drops."
Neo's brows lifted slightly. "Us? Are you sure about that, sir?"
"Yes," Lucas replied without hesitation. "It's high time you both started doing real field work instead of hiding behind paperwork. Don't you think?"
Neo swallowed. The weight of it settled in his chest. This wasn't just an errand. This was trust.
"I do, sir. Is it… today?"
Lucas leaned back into the couch in the center of the resting area of his office, eyes steady. "Today. In the next thirty minutes. Go get Aiden. A car will take you both to the docks."
Neo stood immediately. "Yes, sir. Right on it."
As he turned to leave, Lucas added quietly
"And Neo." He paused.
"Stay alert. The docks are never just docks."
Something in Lucas's tone made the air shift.
Neo nodded once. "Yes, sir."
Neo stepped out of the elevator, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves as he scanned the hallway.
He didn't expect to find Aiden pressed against the glass wall near the exit, half-hidden behind a pillar, peeking outside like a criminal avoiding arrest.
Neo slowed down.
Confused.Curious.
He walked over quietly and poked Aiden in the side. "What exactly are you doing?"
Aiden jumped slightly before shooting him an annoyed look. "Don't make that face."
Neo's brows lifted. "What face?"
"That 'you've definitely done something stupid' face."
Neo folded his arms. "Because you definitely look like you've done something stupid."
Aiden groaned dramatically, running both hands through his hair and gripping it at the back of his head. "I'm just… trying to make sure Kellan isn't around."
Neo blinked. "Why?"
Aiden leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Because I want to go somewhere far away from him."
Neo's confusion deepened. "Why? Did you mess up again?"
"No!" Aiden snapped quickly. Then his voice dropped. "No, not like that. I… we…" He swallowed. "We kissed that night."
Neo froze.
Aiden stared at him. "And now it's weird."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Neo turned around abruptly, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly very interested in the floor tiles.
That caught Aiden immediately.
"Ohhhh," Aiden dragged out slowly. "Something happened."
"Nothing happened," Neo replied too quickly.
Aiden's eyes widened. "You're lying."
"Lucas asked us to go to the docks," Neo cut in, already walking toward the underground garage. "Final survey before the shipment drops. We're late."
"Don't you dare change the topic!" Aiden called, jogging after him. "I am talking to you! What happened? Tell me!"
His voice echoed down the hallway, earning a few curious stares from passing staff.
Neo didn't even look back. "Lower your voice."
"I will not lower my voice!" Aiden shot back. "You reacted like someone who definitely did something."
Neo finally stopped near the garage entrance and turned around sharply. "Can you focus? We're about to do our first real field assignment."
Aiden crossed his arms. "Exactly. Which means if something happened with Lucas, I need to know if you're going to be distracted."
Neo stared at him.
Then muttered, "You kissed Kellan."
"And you did what?" Aiden shot back instantly.
Neo hesitated just a second too long.
Aiden gasped. "You kissed him too."
Neo looked away.
Aiden's jaw dropped. "Oh my God."
"It wasn't planned," Neo said quickly, defensive. "And it's not relevant."
"It is absolutely relevant!" Aiden whispered-yelled. "We're literally working under them."
Neo started walking again. "We'll deal with it later."
"Later?" Aiden scoffed, catching up. "When? After shipments? After gunfire? After emotional collapse?"
Neo pushed open the door leading to the underground garage. "After we survive the docks."
That shut Aiden up.
Because even joking aside they both knew.
The docks weren't just a location.
They were risk.
And for the first time, they weren't being shielded.
They were being sent in.
"So… was it soft?"
Aiden had been asking the same question for the past ten minutes.
The car rolled smoothly through the city toward the docks, tinted windows hiding their animated expressions from the outside world.
"Leave me alone," Neo muttered for what felt like the hundredth time, staring straight ahead.
"Neo Xavier Demi Uther," Aiden said dramatically, sitting up straighter, "if you continue behaving like this, I will have no choice but to stop sharing my side of the story."
That got Neo's attention instantly.
He turned slowly. "You wouldn't dare."
Aiden smirked. "Try me."
Neo hesitated, jaw tightening. Then he let out a long breath, rubbing his face.
"Fine. It was… emotional."
Aiden leaned closer immediately.
"Emotional how?"
Neo groaned. "Like full breakdown emotional. I said things. Things I definitely would not have said if I was sober."
Aiden's eyes widened. "Oh no. What did you say?"
Neo covered his mouth with his hand like he could physically shove the memory back inside. "I told him he leaves me on edge… in my head, in my heart…"
He paused.
Aiden's grin grew.
"…and in between my thighs."
There was half a second of silence.
Then Aiden exploded.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" he burst out, laughing so hard he nearly bent forward in his seat. "You went full dramatic confession mode!"
Neo groaned, sliding lower in his seat. "I know. I know. The moment I woke up the next morning, I wanted to evaporate."
"And then you kissed?"
"Not exactly," Neo said, trying and failing to hide a small smile. "He said he'd 'take responsibility.'"
Aiden blinked. "Oh?"
Neo glanced toward the driver, then back at Aiden. Lowered his voice.
"He… made sure I wouldn't forget."
Aiden's eyes lit up like fireworks. "What does that mean?"
Neo hesitated, then slowly unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt.
Aiden leaned in.
There, just above his collarbone, dark marks bloomed against his skin unmistakable.
Aiden's mouth dropped open.
"Lucas is insane," he whispered, half impressed, half scandalized. "That's not subtle at all."
"Exactly," Neo muttered, quickly fixing his shirt. "And I had to wear high collars all morning."
Aiden fell back into his seat, still laughing. "You two are unreal."
"Oh please," Neo shot back. "You're acting like you and Kellan didn't start something."
Aiden flushed. "That's not the point."
"It is the point."
They kept going like that teasing, deflecting, confessing pieces of the night between jokes their laughter filling the car, almost loud enough to make them forget where they were headed.
Almost.
Because as the vehicle slowed and the docks came into view steel cranes looming, cargo containers stacked like silent giants, the air heavy with salt and machinery
The laughter faded.
The car stopped.
The driver turned slightly. "We're here."
And just like that, the mood shifted.
Fun over.
Work begins.
The docks were quieter than Neo expected.
Not silent never silent but controlled. Functional.
Massive cargo cranes loomed overhead like mechanical giants, containers stacked in organized rows, the smell of saltwater mixing with diesel and rust. Workers moved with purpose. Security rotated in steady patterns.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Neo and Aiden stepped out of the car, both instinctively adjusting their posture. No more joking. No more teasing. Just focus.
A tall man in a black tactical jacket approached them immediately.
"Mr. Neo. Mr. Aiden." He nodded respectfully. "We've been expecting you."
Neo returned the nod. "Give us a rundown."
The head of dock security gestured toward the loading zone. "Shipment arrives at 2300 hours tonight. We've cleared berth three. Surveillance has been upgraded temporarily. Cameras cover all blind spots or at least what used to be blind spots."
Aiden glanced up at the camera placements, mentally mapping the angles. "Access points?"
"Two main gates. One water exit. Patrol every fifteen minutes."
Neo walked toward the designated container area. "And internal handling?"
"Transfer team is pre-selected and vetted. Only eight people will physically move the shipment."
Aiden crouched briefly near the ground, scanning for irregularities loose gravel, signs of tampering, anything off. Nothing.
They moved through the docks methodically.
They checked the route the shipment would travel from ship to storage.
They inspected the temporary holding warehouse steel doors, reinforced locks, climate control stable.
They reviewed camera feeds in the small control room.
Everything was in order.
Calm. Professional.
Exactly how it should be.
After nearly an hour, the tension eased slightly.
"Looks clean," Aiden muttered.
Neo nodded. "Yeah."
They informed the security lead they'd do one final walk-through near the fuel tanks at the far end of the dock standard procedure before leaving.
The area was more isolated.
Large cylindrical tanks towered above them, humming faintly. The air smelled stronger here oil and metal.
They walked side by side.
"You think Lucas will finally stop calling us paperwork interns after this?" Aiden asked lightly.
Neo huffed. "If we survive it, maybe."
They rounded the back of the last tank.
And that's when it happened.
Not loud.Not dramatic.Just… precise.
A faint hiss behind them.
Neo barely had time to turn before a cloth pressed firmly over his mouth and nose. Aiden reacted instantly, elbowing backward, catching someone in the ribs but another figure stepped in seamlessly.
No shouting, No gunshots.
Just controlled force.
Neo tried to inhale to shout, but the scent hit him first sharp, chemical, dizzying.
His vision blurred at the edges.
Aiden struggled harder for a few seconds, managing to twist partially free, but a firm grip locked around his arms. The cloth sealed over his face.
"Mmph—"
The sound died quickly.
Neo reached for him instinctively, fingers brushing Aiden's sleeve.
Their eyes met.
Confusion.
Anger.
Then the world tilted.
Their bodies weakened faster than they expected. Legs giving out. Strength draining like someone flipped a switch.
Within minutes, both went limp.
The masked men didn't rush.
They lowered them carefully behind the tank's blind spot perfectly positioned between two camera angles that had a four-second delay rotation.
One of them tapped a device clipped to his wrist.
"Package secured."
A dark van rolled up along the maintenance lane no markings, identical to three other service vehicles that had passed through earlier that day.
The men lifted Neo and Aiden like unconscious workers who'd overexerted themselves. Calm. Casual.
One even laughed lightly as a dock worker passed nearby.
"Long shift," he called out.
The worker barely glanced over.
The van doors shut softly.
It pulled away at a steady pace not too fast, not too slow.
By the time the security patrol looped back around fifteen minutes later, the tanks stood exactly as before.
Silent.
Unbothered.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Consciousness returned slowly.
Not violently. Not painfully.
Soft.
Neo's lashes fluttered first. His head felt heavy, but not splitting. His body sluggish, but unharmed.
He shifted slightly.
Soft leather beneath his palms.
Cool air brushing against his skin.
No ropes.
No restraints.
He forced his eyes open.
The ceiling above him was high impossibly high detailed with delicate crown molding and a chandelier that looked like it belonged in a royal estate rather than a criminal hideout.
His breathing steadied.
This wasn't a warehouse.
It wasn't a basement.
It wasn't even remotely dirty.
It was… immaculate.
"W–where…" His voice came out hoarse. "…mmhmm…"
Beside him, Aiden stirred, groaning softly as he pushed himself upright. "Neo…?"
They were seated on an expensive ivory couch in what looked like the center of a massive living room. Marble floors. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Curtains drawn back to reveal manicured gardens outside.
Security stood at a distance not close enough to threaten, but close enough to remind.
Neo's heart didn't race.It calculated.
This wasn't chaotic, It was intentional.
The air felt… controlled.
Then..
A voice echoed through the open space.
Deep.Measured.
Familiar in a way Neo's body recognized before his mind did.
"Welcome home." Both boys froze.
The sound didn't come from speakers.
It came from above.
At the top of a grand staircase, a figure stood.
Tall. Impeccably dressed. Not flashy refined.
Authority didn't radiate from him.
It settled around him.
Neo's stomach dropped.
Not fear.Recognition.
The man descended slowly, one step at a time, hands loosely clasped behind his back.
His expression wasn't cruel. It wasn't warm either.
It was… assessing.
Aiden glanced at Neo. "You know him."
It wasn't a question.
Neo didn't answer.
The man stopped a few feet away from them.
Up close, the resemblance was undeniable.
The same sharp jawline.
The same eyes.
Only colder. Older.
Experienced.
"Neo Xavier Demi Uther," the man said evenly. "You've grown."
The name landed heavy.
Aiden's eyes widened.
Neo stood slowly from the couch, every muscle tense but controlled. "D'uther."
His father smiled faintly.
Not soft.Not proud.Just aware.
"I prefer father," he replied calmly.
The silence that followed wasn't empty.
It was loaded.
Aiden stood as well, instinctively half-stepping closer to Neo.
D'uther noticed.
His gaze shifted to Aiden briefly. Calculating.
"You brought a friend," he said.
"We didn't come willingly," Aiden said before Neo could speak.
D'uther hummed lightly. "No. But you were never in danger."
Neo's jaw tightened. "You drugged us."
"Sedated," D'uther corrected smoothly. "There's a difference."
"For what?" Neo snapped. "A family reunion?"
A flicker of something passed through D'uther's eyes.
"Something like that."
He turned and walked toward the center of the room, expecting them to follow.
After a second's hesitation, they did.
"You've been busy," D'uther continued. "Docks. Shipments. Aligning yourself with Lucas."
The way he said Lucas's name made it clear.
He knew everything.
Neo's chest tightened. "You had us taken just to spy on me?"
D'uther stopped walking.
"No," he said quietly.
He turned back to face him.
"I had you brought here because you are stepping into a world you don't fully understand."
Neo almost laughed. "That's ironic."
Aiden stayed silent now. Watching. Listening.
D'uther's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Lucas is not your world," he said. "He is borrowing you."
Neo's voice dropped. "You don't get to talk about my world. You left."
The temperature in the room shifted.
Guards subtly straightened.
D'uther didn't raise his voice.
"I stepped away so you wouldn't be forced into this life."
"And now you kidnap me into it?" Neo shot back.
D'uther studied him for a long moment.
Then said the one thing Neo wasn't prepared for.
"You were never out of it."
Silence fell like a blade.
Aiden felt it too.
This wasn't about docks.
This wasn't about shipments.
This was inheritance.
D'uther's tone softened just slightly.
"You think Lucas is powerful?" he asked. "You think Kellan is untouchable?"
Neo didn't respond.
"You are my son," D'uther continued. "And that makes you something far more dangerous than either of them realizes."
A beat.
"You were taken today to remind you who you are."
Neo's hands curled into fists.
"And what exactly am I?"
D'uther stepped closer.
Close enough that their similarities became impossible to ignore.
"You," he said quietly, "are not a subordinate."
The chandelier above them glinted.
The mansion stood silent.
D'uther didn't look surprised by Neo's defiance.
If anything, he looked… entertained.
"You think this is about ownership?" he asked calmly.
Neo held his ground. "Isn't it?"
Before D'uther could answer, Aiden stepped forward fully now no longer half-hidden behind Neo.
"You trained us," Aiden said evenly. "Both of us. You don't get to pretend this is some random reunion."
D'uther's gaze shifted to him.
Ah.
There it was.
Recognition. Approval.
"Yes," D'uther replied. "I did."
And as he said it... Movement stirred around the room.
Neo noticed it first. Then Aiden.
Figures emerging from different corners of the mansion like shadows stepping into light.
One leaned lazily against a marble pillar, arms crossed, dark hair falling over sharp eyes that watched with quiet amusement.
Another sat casually on the armrest of a distant chair, one leg crossed over the other, spinning a ring around his finger like he had nowhere else to be.
A third stood near the staircase railing, posture straight, silent and calculating.
And the fourth....
A girl.
She leaned against the wall, one boot propped behind her, expression unreadable but confident. Observing. Measuring.
Four.
Three boys. One girl.
All around their age.All relaxed.
Too relaxed.
"They were there the whole time," Aiden murmured under his breath.
"Yes," D'uther confirmed. "They were."
Neo's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"
D'uther clasped his hands behind his back again, turning slightly so the chandelier light caught his features.
"Opportunity," he said.
He gestured subtly toward the four.
"My children."
Aiden stiffened. "We're not your children."
D'uther smiled faintly. "Not by blood. But by skill."
The boy leaning on the pillar pushed off and walked forward slowly, stopping beside D'uther. His expression was sharp, confident.
"We've heard about you two," he said casually. "The dock inspection was clean. Efficient."
Neo's jaw tightened. "You were watching."
"Of course we were," the girl near the wall added smoothly. "That was the test."
Aiden glanced around, piecing it together.
"You trained them too," he realized.
D'uther nodded once.
"I was given the privilege," he said evenly, "of shaping something greater than what this city has seen in decades."
He stepped closer to Neo and Aiden.
"I trained six of you."
The words landed heavy.
"You two," he continued, gesturing lightly. "And four more."
The boy seated on the armrest smirked. "Correction. Four currently present."
Neo's eyes sharpened. "Six?"
D'uther's tone deepened.
"When united, you are not just soldiers."
He looked at Neo directly.
"You are a unit."
Then to Aiden. "A weapon."
Then to the four behind him. "A storm."
The air in the mansion shifted again charged, but controlled.
"Lucas," D'uther continued calmly, "builds power through structure. Through loyalty. Through his familia."
The word rolled off his tongue almost mockingly.
"I build through precision."
Neo's voice cut through the room. "I think you're forgetting something."
D'uther's brow lifted slightly.
"We're no longer yours."
Aiden stepped beside Neo fully.
"We're familia."
For a second
Silence.
Then...D'uther laughed.
Not loudly.But deeply.
And the four around him laughed too.
Not mockingly.But knowingly.
"You don't know the familia," D'uther said quietly.
The girl tilted her head slightly. "Not the real one."
The boy near the staircase added, "You think you chose it?"
D'uther's gaze returned to Neo.
"I'll let you have your fun," he said smoothly. "Grow attached. Build loyalty."
His expression hardened just slightly.
"But listen carefully and hold onto my words."
He stepped close enough that Neo could feel the weight of his presence.
"When I want my weapons… I will come get them."
A pause.
"Either the easy way."
His eyes flicked to Aiden. "Or the hard way."
Neo's fists tightened. "You don't scare me."
D'uther didn't flinch. "I'm not trying to."
Then....
He snapped his fingers.
Sharp. Precise.
Neo barely had time to process the faint prick at his neck.
Aiden's eyes widened.
Their knees weakened instantly.
"What—"
The room tilted. The sedative had been timed.
Calculated.
Already in their systems from earlier triggered dosage.
Neo tried to step forward but his body betrayed him.
Aiden reached for him
Both collapsed almost simultaneously.
The four didn't react with panic.
They moved like they'd rehearsed it.
D'uther looked down at them calmly.
"Finish it up," he instructed.
The same group that had transported them earlier stepped forward.
Efficient.
Silent.
They carried Neo and Aiden out of the mansion.
Placed them back into the unmarked vehicle.
Drove them through controlled routes.
Back to the docks.
Exactly where they had been taken.
Behind the fuel tanks.
They positioned them sitting upright against the metal structure as if they had simply sat down to rest.
The van doors shut softly. The vehicle disappeared.
And within minutes.....
Neo's fingers twitched. Aiden inhaled sharply.
Both of them stirred.
Neo blinked, vision refocusing on rusted metal and open sky.
Aiden rubbed his temples. "Did we—"
Neo's breathing steadied.
They were back.
Same spot.Same docks.No alarms.No chaos.
No one noticed.
It had been surgical. A calculated message.
Not an attack.A reminder.
And somewhere far away, In a spotless mansion
D'uther stood by a window overlooking his gardens.
Watching.Waiting.