"I don't know what you're talking about," Irene stammered, her voice barely a whisper. She was visibly shaking, her small frame tensed as if ready to bolt. Fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead despite the cool, sterile air of the room.
Zeke noted the reaction instantly. He took a slow, deliberate step closer, his presence seeming to fill the space around her. "You seem like you know exactly what I'm talking about, Miss Sawyer," he said, his voice low and penetrating. His hawk-eyed gaze fixed on her, peering past her fragile attempt at defiance.
Jenny couldn't take it anymore. Weak but with a sudden, fierce strength in her voice, she cut in. "Mister Black, that's enough. She's still a young girl." She turned to her sister, her tone shifting to one of urgent protection. "Irene, leave. Go. Now."
She didn't wait for Zeke's affirmation. The moment the words left Jenny's mouth, Irene moved. She fled from the room in a frantic, uncoordinated haste, the door swinging shut behind her with a soft, echoing thud.
Silence descended, heavy and charged. Zeke slowly turned his gaze from the closed door back to Jenny. Her chest was rising and falling with shallow, pained breaths, but her eyes blazed with a protective fire.
"A sister," Zeke repeated, the word now loaded with new meaning. "That complicates things, Jenny. For you, for her, and for whoever is hunting you." He moved to the foot of her bed, his expression unreadable. "You're not just a dancer with a debt. You're a shield. And shields have a way of getting shattered."
"Do they know that you have a sister?" Zeke continued to inquire, his voice low as he dragged a chair closer to her bedside and sat down, his posture deceptively relaxed.
"Mr. Black, I don't think my family is any of your business," Jenny deflected, her voice strained.
"Is that so?" Zeke said, not breaking eye contact. "I'm more interested in knowing about the Men in Black's business. Tell me everything you know, Jenny. Do not leave a single word out." He leaned forward slightly, the air between them growing thin. "If this was just about a debt, why chase you? Why not seize your sister, your belongings, something tangible? No. They weren't just collecting. They were silencing."
He paused, watching her face carefully, his mind connecting the dots in real time. "It must be that you found something. Something you shouldn't have seen or heard. A secret. And that," he concluded, his voice dropping to a near whisper, "is the secret I'm here for."
He was quietly shocked as her eyes widened slightly, the color draining from her face. It was a small reaction, but it was all the confirmation he needed. The truth wasn't just about money—it was buried deeper, and he intended to find it.
Jenny let out a slow breath, a mix of exhaustion and reluctant admiration in her eyes. Impressive. Of course, he would have found out sooner.
"Mr. Black," she began, her voice steadier now, as if the act of finally telling the truth was a relief. "I know you think I've dug up some grand secret, and you are right, but it's not the end but only the surface ."
She shifted slightly, wincing at the pain in her side before continuing. "It was a stormy night. I was cleaning one of their hideouts—a small, locked office they thought was empty. I was just there to drop off supplies and tidy up. The door to the inner room was slightly ajar."
Her gaze grew distant, recalling the memory. "I heard a low, whispered conversation. They were speaking in Hebrew—a code, I think. I was about to leave when I heard it clearly: a list of names. Not just any names. People within the Black Company. Members of your own board."
She looked directly at him, her expression grim. "They were naming board members who secretly fund and support the Men in Black. It's not just an outside takeover, Mr. Black. It's a coup from within. They have detailed plans to overthrow the Black family from the inside."
The steady beep of the heart monitor seemed to grow louder in the silence that followed. Zeke's face had gone perfectly still, but his eyes were like chips of ice, burning with a cold, terrifying fury. The pieces snapped into place—the unexplained votes, the strange resistance to his projects, the leaks.
Jenny hadn't just stumbled upon a secret. She had found the root of the rot infecting his entire empire. And now, she had handed it to him.
But could he really trust her words a layer of doubt clouded him, although the board were full of hungry old men ready to overthrow him, they were carefully selected by his grandfather who is known for no mistakes .