Chapter 182 New responsibility
Chapter 182 New responsibility
Draven POV
When I entered my uncle’s office, he was sitting behind his enormous desk, his expression unreadable.
Sergei was already there, sitting casually on the couch as if he had been waiting for me. He had apparently arrived before me, which didn't surprise me.
Sergei had a way of appearing exactly where he needed to be, usually before anyone else knew there was a reason to be there.
My uncle didn't waste time with greetings. “I want you to take over the club since Nico is dead.”
It wasn't a request or even a discussion. It was an order.
I stood there, staring at him, while the words settled heavily in my mind. Nico was dead and now his club was mine.
At least, that was what my uncle had decided.
The problem was that I already had enough on my shoulders without taking on another piece of his empire.
I had my own business to run, and then there was my family business. Since my brother and father were dead, most of that responsibility had fallen onto me whether I wanted it or not.
There was no one else to carry it and my mother knew nothing about the business, then the last thing she wanted was for my younger brother, who was still in high school, to be dragged into it and that meant I had no choice but to keep everything running myself.
My uncle didn't care about any of that, he never did because to him, people were pieces on a board.
If something needed to be moved, he moved it. If someone became a problem, he removed them.
He had already proved that when he had his own son killed.
If he could do that, what made me think I was any different simply because I was his nephew?
Nothing, absolutely nothing. So I didn't waste time arguing. “I’ll swing by the club to see the manager.”
My voice remained calm, even though my mind was already calculating everything this new responsibility could mean.
I turned toward the door but I had barely taken a step when his voice stopped me. “Draven.”
I froze.
Slowly, I looked over my shoulder and my uncle was still sitting behind his desk, watching me with a look I couldn't read. “You're like a son to me.”
The words should have sounded affectionate but they didn't. “I wouldn't want to kill you because you betrayed me.”
For a moment, the room felt smaller and his words weren't a warning disguised as affection, they were a reminder.
A reminder that whatever bond existed between us had limits, and betrayal was one of them.
I forced myself to keep my expression neutral. “I wouldn't dare.”
His eyes stayed on me for another second before I finally turned and walked out.
I didn't breathe properly until the door closed behind me. I made it only a short distance down the corridor before I heard footsteps behind me and Sergei appeared.
It took him only a couple of minutes to catch up and I glanced at him as he fell into step beside me.
That old man never ceased to amaze me, he could sit comfortably in a room where a man had just been threatened with death and walk out as though nothing unusual had happened but maybe that was the point.
People like us learned early not to react to things that would terrify ordinary men. I looked ahead, my uncle's words still echoing in my head.
"You're like a son to me."
I almost laughed at the irony. If being like a son meant being one wrong move away from a grave, then I wasn't sure I wanted to know what he considered family.
I had seen what happened would have happened to Nico, his own father wanted killed him.
That single fact was enough to make one thing painfully clear, nobody was safe around my uncle and as I walked away from that office with Sergei beside me, I couldn't shake the feeling that taking over Nico's club wasn't simply another responsibility being handed to me.
It was a test and with my uncle, failing a test usually meant dying.
When I finally got back from work, the last thing I wanted was food.
I was drained and my mind still crowded with everything that had happened at my uncle's office.
His words had followed me all the way home, especially the reminder that even being family didn't make me safe around him. I had spent the entire day dealing with business and problems that seemed to multiply the moment I solved one of them.
I didn't have the energy for anything else. I went straight to my room, took a long, hot bath and let the heat wash over me until some of the tension finally left my body.
I didn't even bother thinking about dinner. My appetite was gone, and sleep seemed far more appealing.
Once I got into bed, I closed my eyes and hoped my mind would finally quiet down because I needed the rest.
Unfortunately, it seemed a peaceful night was the one thing I wasn't going to get because I had barely settled beneath the covers when my bedroom door suddenly burst open.
I jolted awake and immediately turned toward the doorway. “Draven!”
Lila stood there, looking completely unapologetic about barging into my room.
I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out whether I was still dreaming. My body felt heavy with exhaustion, and I could barely keep my eyes open..“What is it?”
She walked farther into the room, already looking frustrated. “I want to go out.”
I blinked at her and she quickly explained that she had wanted to go out, but the housekeeper wouldn't allow her to leave.
I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to wake myself up enough to understand what was happening. The housekeeper had refused her and she had decided that waking me up was the next logical step.
I let out a slow breath and looked at her.
I was tired. Lila could be stubborn, and she clearly wasn't happy about being told no, but I knew the housekeeper hadn't refused her without a reason.
Still, seeing her standing there in the middle of the night with that determined expression made it difficult to be angry with her.
I pushed myself slightly higher against the pillows and looked at her again.n“So you came to wake me up because he said no?”
Lila didn't even look guilty. She simply stood there, waiting for me to deal with the problem.
I couldn't help sighing and my peaceful night was officially over.