Giovane and the others stood still, watching Vince's house burn.
They had carefully planned what they would do next.
Damn, he thought, frowning.
"What should we do now? This one's clever—they know exactly what they're doing," Alexander said, standing beside him.
Giovane turned his gaze away from the house, imagining grabbing Vince by the neck. But he knew Vince—he could almost read his mind.
"We stick to the plan," was all Giovane said.
His phone vibrated.
"Yes?" he answered sharply.
"Boss, we didn't find anything here," came the immediate report.
"Goddamn it! That brother of William?" Giovane muttered, irritation flaring at the series of blunders piling up.
Still, he smiled faintly. This was going to be a challenge.
"Return to the warehouse," he ordered suddenly, realizing the goods were still there.
"Why didn't you kill them?" Alexander asked.
Giovane exhaled and ignored the question. "How's the task I assigned you?"
Alexander lit a cigarette before answering. "Confirmed—Thalia Blanco is blood-related to Fernan Tejero and Vince Tejero. She's the third among the siblings. She has a brother and a sister, and their parents are Rizalyn Blanco and Jeffrey Tejero. Do you know them?"
Giovane glanced at him. How could he forget those names? When his mother died, those two veteran journalists had fought the case against his father—but it was halted for lack of evidence.
Until Chesca's mother, a Roman, stepped in to support them. She later died under suspicious circumstances—made to look like an accident—so her colleagues wouldn't suspect anything. Chesca's mother had possessed the crucial evidence… evidence that had never been found.
Alexander handed Giovane a photo. "Do you know their eldest?"
Giovane's eyes locked on the picture. A jolt of recognition ran through him—memories, even from his dreams, flashed. That piercing gaze, the one from when the man had shot him… it sent a shiver down his spine.
He shook his head. "No. Do you know him?"
"Not really, but he looks familiar. I just can't recall where we might have met," Alexander admitted, brow furrowed.
"What's his job?" Giovane asked.
"Oh, he's the family's breadwinner. Stopped studying after college."
"What else?"
Alexander sighed. "Your instincts are at it again—you want me to confirm this is related to dismantling the black market, right?"
Giovane narrowed his eyes. "He holds a respectable job. I don't see him as the type to get involved in anything dirty."
"It's odd. If he's clean, why is his sister mixed up in all this?" Giovane pressed.
"Well, Chesca is her friend. Thalia might just be helping her," Alexander reasoned.
Giovane paused in thought.
"Or maybe her cousins pushed her into it. Or perhaps the older brother is secretly involved—especially since two of her cousins are implicated." Alexander added.
"It's possible," Giovane muttered. "If I understood correctly, you said no one inside the organization is tied to the black market?"
"Watch that man—I'm sure he's the one helping Jake," Alexander replied.
"Alright. Got it."
"How are the two girls? Did Isabel's treatment of Chesca work?" Giovane asked.
"She warmed up to her quickly and didn't suspect anything. But Thalia? She's harder—woman's intuition, maybe," Alexander said.
"We need to get all three," Giovane decided, pulling out his phone. "With Mikaela and a Blanco sibling here, once we have them, we'll get the truth."
Alexander showed him CCTV footage of Mikaela sneaking into their mansion.
"Fortunately, we have the advantage, Giovane. Vince is practically in our hands. And if I'm right, Jake's your cousin. Charles too…" Alexander smirked. "Let's see if blood really is thicker than water."
Suddenly, Giovane's attention snapped to the warehouse feed—chaos.
"What happened?" He barked.
"Boss, some defected from the organization. They joined Vince."
Giovane didn't listen further. He strode inside the warehouse, finding corpses scattered across the floor. Clearly, a shootout had erupted earlier. The number of traitors was worse than he'd expected.
"Where are the other investors and my father's associates?" he demanded.
"They're safe, boss. We evacuated them when chaos broke out in your room."
Giovane exhaled in relief. His father would have been furious if they'd failed on that priority.
"And the goods?"
He checked each room personally. Some captives were still there—terrified but alive.
"The worst part is, they might use the evidence they found today," Alexander warned.
Giovane considered his options. He wouldn't trust this to his father's friends in the police—too much to clean up, too much risk of exposure.
"Alexander." Giovane's voice was low and deliberate.
He smirked. "We're going to take those three—especially Mikaela. Once they're in our hands…"
Alexander said nothing, scratching his head as he made a call.
I'll send them all to hell, Giovane thought, and burn every shred of evidence in this warehouse.