CHAPTER 158
Ramos had been sitting in his parked car for almost an hour, the engine off, the windows cracked just enough to let in the late-afternoon breeze. The city outside moved at its usual rhythm - cars weaving through traffic, shop doors opening and closing, the muted buzz of people rushing somewhere. He barely noticed any of it. His eyes stayed glued to the camera in his hands, reviewing the photos he had taken earlier through the long lens. He zoomed in, checked clarity, checked angles, checked faces. His expression didn’t change, but a faint gleam of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. The shots were good. Sharp. Clean. And more importantly, secret.
He set the camera carefully on the passenger seat, then reached for his coat and slipped it on. He checked his reflection in the rear-view mirror - shades on, collar up, expression unreadable - before picking his camera again and stepping out of the car. His movements were unhurried, steady, the steps of a man who had walked through dangerous shadows many times and learned to treat them like old friends.
The cafe across the street was quiet, tucked between a bookstore and a tailor shop. Ramos pushed the door open, entered the warm room, and surveyed the space briefly. It was all familiar: the low hum of conversation, cups clinking, the aroma of roasted beans. He walked to a small table near the window, placed his camera on it beside a steaming cup of coffee he had ordered earlier, and pretended to read the newspaper as though he had been there all afternoon. He assumed the posture of invisibility - shoulders relaxed, presence muted, attention on the printed words even though he wasn't absorbing a single sentence.
It didn’t take long before he felt someone approaching.
The footsteps were quiet but purposeful. He didn’t look up. Not even when the chair across from him slid back and someone sat down uninvited.
“That seat is taken,” Ramos said calmly, still not lifting his eyes from the paper.
“By who?” a man asked, his tone level, almost bored.
“By nobody,” Ramos replied, flipping a page. “But I don’t want company.”
“Good thing I'm not company. I came to see you.”
Ramos stopped turning the page. He lowered the newspaper just enough to see the man sitting across from him.
Felix Hernandez.
He knew that face instantly. He had seen it through a camera lens more than once while tailing the vice president of Star Holdings. Felix always moved like someone who had been trained long before he was hired - a man who measured every step, who could predict a threat seconds before it appeared. Ramos had expected that eventually someone from Matteo’s side would track him down. He just didn’t expect it to be this soon.
Ramos folded the newspaper slowly and placed it beside the coffee cup. His voice remained flat. “You found me faster than I thought.”
Felix leaned back in his chair, arms resting loosely on the table. “I could say the same about you. Following my boss so closely without being noticed… not many can manage that.”
Ramos gave a slight shrug. “It’s my job.”
“And I’m here about your job,” Felix said.
Ramos lifted an eyebrow beneath his sunglasses. “I’m guessing this is about that Harper kid.”
Felix didn’t blink. “Not only her.”
Ramos tapped a finger on the table. “Then go ahead. You tracked me down. You clearly have something to say.”
Felix watched him for a moment before speaking. “You followed my boss. Do you know who he is?”
“I must admit, he pulled one over me for a while. I didn’t know who he was at the beginning,” Ramos replied. “But eventually, I did my homework and found out he is the Vice President and heir to Star Holdings. A man who likes to walk around in hoodies and pretend he’s invisible.” There was no insult in his tone, just an observation. “Your boss hides well. Too well. Makes people like me curious.”
Felix didn't take the bait. “Curiosity isn’t why I’m here.”
He slid something across the table.
Two photographs.
One of Amelia exiting Matteo’s old, battered car.
The other of her stepping out of a sleek sports car.
Ramos didn’t even need to lean forward. He recognized his own work instantly.
Felix watched him carefully. “You took these.”
“Obviously,” Ramos replied. “You knew that before you sat down. What about them?”
“Did you know they were used to defame her?”
Ramos tapped the edge of the coffee cup. “I was paid to take photos. Whatever my clients decide to do with them isn’t my business.”
Felix’s eyes hardened slightly, though his voice remained calm. “It becomes your business when those photos are taken illegally without the subject’s consent and used to publicly damage someone’s career. Star Holdings can bury you in lawsuits. Our legal team…”
Ramos held up a hand, unimpressed. “Save the threats. I’ve worked this job longer than you’ve been wearing that suit. Legal scare tactics, corporate intimidation, those don’t work on me. If you want something, say it. Stop circling around it.”
Felix smiled, his posture loosened, as if acknowledging Ramos’s boldness. “Fine. Tell me everything Adrian and Viviana hired you to do.”
Ramos leaned back, crossing his arms. “It wasn’t complicated. They wanted me to follow Amelia Harper, her movements, her contacts, and report everything to them. I followed the guy she was always around too - the one you work for. That’s how I figured out he wasn’t who he pretended to be.”
Felix nodded, unsurprised.
“They asked for a private DNA test,” Ramos continued. “The girl – Viviana - provided samples. I delivered them. The results said Amelia was Vincent Cole’s biological daughter. So if you’re wondering if she’s clean - she is. Cleaner than most people I’ve investigated.”
“And Matteo what did you report to them about him?” Felix asked.
“Didn’t find anything on him either. Other than the fact that he likes to play poor kid sometime.” Ramos pushed the coffee cup away. “So yes. Your girl is clean. Your boy is clean. That’s the whole story.”
Felix seemed relieved, though he didn't show it openly. “Good. That’s what I expected.”
Ramos fixed him with a cool stare. “Is that all?”
Felix folded his hands and leaned in, his eyes sharp and unreadable. “No. not at all. I haven’t even stated what brought me here yet.”
“I had the feeling there was more. You wouldn’t bring up the lawyers just for that info.” Ramos leaned closer towards Felix, “What do you want from me Hernandez?”
“I want you to keep doing your job. But now, you do it for me. You’ll be investigating Adrian and Viviana. Everything they do. Everyone they contact. Every secret meeting, every suspicious move. And when they ask you to do something, anything, you report it to me first.” Felix said, his expression calm.
Ramos considered him, his face offering nothing but mild curiosity. “So you want me to spy on the people who originally hired me. You know that crosses the line of professional loyalty.”
Felix nodded. “It does.”
Ramos took a slow sip of his coffee, as if tasting the request along with the brew. “And you’re blackmailing me into it using empty legal threats.”
Felix didn’t deny it. “Call them whatever you want. But you know one thing - Adrian’s side is about to fall apart. Your safest job is the one on the winning team.”
Ramos exhaled through his nose, amused. “You’re confident.”
“I’m realistic,” Felix replied. “Adrian and Viviana are desperate. Desperate people are messy. My boss isn’t messy. So pick the side that pays clean and survives longer.”
Ramos tapped his finger on the table again, then gave a slow nod. “Fine. I’ll play your game. I’ll watch them. I’ll report to you first. But let’s get one thing straight, I’m not scared of you. I’m not loyal to you. I’m just choosing the side with fewer headaches.”
Felix stood up smoothly. “That’s all I care about.”
Ramos watched him walk out of the café before lifting his camera again. His reflection stared back at him in the dark lens - steady, calculating, already moving to his next assignment.
He smiled to himself.
The game had changed.