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Caius was as meticulous as he was dangerous. Even Dante would be aware if someone had access to this kind of information on his side, so he wasn't fooled.

Jayden's smirk didn't falter, but his posture stiffened slightly. "Am I?"

Dante stood and stepped around the table so that he was now on the same side as him. "You expect me to believe that you walked out with classified financial records, and Caius has no fucking clue?"

Jayden met his stare. "I didn't just walk out of Caius's place without a plan in mind. I knew what I was doing, and I know how to cover my tracks. Someone else took the fall."

Dante's lips twitched. The bastard was smart. He liked that. But in this game that they were playing, smartness was not enough.

"Alright, Jayden." Dante gestured toward his men. "Let's see what you're made of."

Dante's men helped Jayden up, and he followed without hesitation, wondering where they were taking him now. To his surprise, Dante followed at the rear.

He was led to another section of the warehouse, and the door was opened.

He blinked in surprise when he saw the single man who was inside. The man knelt on the floor, bound, bloodied, and gagged. Jayden glanced back at Dante in surprise.

Dante looked in disgust at one of the prisoners they had taken from the last attack. He was one of Petrova's lower-ranked men, and when his men had brought him in, they'd hoped that he would have information to give, but unfortunately, he did not.

There was no use keeping him, so he might as well get rid of him now. Dante pulled a 9mm from his holster and held it out to Jayden.

"You want to prove your loyalty?" His voice was dangerously soft. "Then kill him."

Jayden looked at the gun first, then at the man. This was definitely not what he'd bargained for.

The captive's eyes were wild with fear, his muffled screams barely audible against the gag. Jayden wanted to refuse, but suddenly he got the image of himself in that same position if he was unable to prove his loyalty.

That was enough motivation to do what was needed. He had started this journey, so he couldn't back down now.

Jayden's fingers closed around the gun, his grip steady as he lifted it.

Dante crossed his arms, watching the scene play out.

The look in the captive's eyes grew more frantic as Jayden's finger closed over the trigger. If he were not gagged, he would be screaming at the top of his lungs by now.

BANG.

The shot ripped through the silence. The man slumped forward, dead before he hit the ground. Jayden had hit him right in the forehead.

Jayden lowered the gun smoothly, keeping his expression neutral. Dante watched him for a long moment, then smirked.

"Not bad."

Jayden met his gaze. "Like I said," he murmured, "Petrova's empire is crumbling. I'm just choosing the winning side."

Dante's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Let's hope you chose wisely."

He turned to Marcel. "Keep an eye on him and exempt him from the other recruit tests. I have a few things I would like him to do for me."

\---

For the past two days, Kaela had given Dante the benefit of doubt, but tonight, as she lay awake and heard the sound of the front door opening and shutting, she knew that Dante was actually avoiding her.

He was never present at breakfast, and immediately after her own meal, she would be ushered into her room by a stoic man. It was never the same person.

She wondered where Marcel had gone; perhaps he had gotten into trouble for helping her in whatever little way he could, and now Dante had replaced him.

She couldn't care less about not getting Dante's attention—at least now she didn't need to learn dance moves that disgusted the life out of her, and she didn't have to present herself for his pleasure.

Life was better now, right? Wrong. The boredom was killing her. She'd counted all the tiles in her room; they were a hundred in number. She'd played dress-up alone and done makeup only to clean it up. Suffice to say, there was nothing for her to do.

She sat up at the sound of footsteps outside her door. Was Dante approaching? Although she had no idea what he would be coming to do, at least something would happen. However, hope was lost when she heard another set of footsteps retreating.

It was just her guard taking shift. She sighed, lifting her gaze to the security camera that had been installed yesterday. If this was Dante's idea of punishment, it was a very cruel one.