The next morning was surprisingly calm.
For once, nobody was rushing through the mansion.
No emergency meetings.
No urgent phone calls.
No deals.
At least not today.
Izana was working from home.
Which meant he was currently sitting in his office reviewing reports that had accumulated over the past week.
The large desk was covered in neatly organized paperwork.
Several folders sat stacked beside him.
A laptop rested open near his right hand.
Across from him, Dante was reviewing another set of documents.
The room was quiet.
Peaceful.
Productive.
For approximately seven minutes.
Then the office door opened.
Both men looked up.
Zarek stood in the doorway.
His lion plush was tucked under one arm.
His teddy bear was tucked under the other.
His hair was slightly messy from sleep.
He blinked at them.
Then smiled.
"Da-da."
Izana immediately put down the report he was reading.
"Hello."
Zarek walked inside.
His plushies bouncing slightly with every step.
Dante watched him approach.
"Good morning."
"Morning, Dan-tee."
Dante sighed.
After two years, Zarek still couldn't quite pronounce his name correctly.
Nobody had the heart to correct him anymore.
Zarek stopped beside Izana's chair.
Then held his arms up.
The universal toddler request.
Izana didn't even hesitate.
He simply lifted him onto his lap.
Zarek immediately got comfortable.
Lion plush.
Teddy bear.
Everything arranged perfectly.
Then his attention shifted toward the desk.
That was where the trouble started.
He pointed at the report Izana had been reading.
"What's that?"
"A report."
Zarek blinked.
"What's report?"
Izana glanced at the page.
"A document that tells me information."
"Oh."
Zarek nodded.
Satisfied.
For about three seconds.
Then—
"Why?"
Dante immediately lowered his document.
The interrogation had begun.
Izana looked completely unbothered.
"So I know what's happening."
"Oh."
Another pause.
Then Zarek pointed at a different page.
"What's that?"
"Numbers."
"Why?"
"They tell me information."
"Why?"
"So I can make decisions."
"Oh."
Dante silently counted to three.
Then four.
Then five.
Surely the questions would stop.
They did not.
"What that?"
"A contract."
"Why?"
"What that?"
"A report."
"Why?"
"What that?"
"A shipment list."
"Why?"
Dante slowly closed the folder in front of him.
"I think he's conducting an interrogation."
Izana continued reading.
"Clearly."
Zarek pointed at another document.
"What that?"
Dante immediately stood up.
"I'm getting coffee."
Nobody stopped him.
Ten minutes later, Dante returned.
Coffee in hand.
A slightly defeated expression on his face.
The questioning was still happening.
"Why?"
"Because that's where it was delivered."
"Oh."
A pause.
Then—
"Why?"
Dante sat down again.
"Remarkable."
Izana looked up briefly.
"What?"
"He's managed to ask the same question forty times."
"It isn't the same question."
"It absolutely is."
Zarek gasped.
"No."
Dante pointed at him.
"See? He's arguing now."
"Different."
Dante looked at Izana.
"He's arguing."
Izana almost smiled.
Almost.
Eventually, Zarek decided he wanted to help.
This turned out to be a terrible idea.
Because his version of helping involved reaching toward the paperwork.
Dante noticed immediately.
"No."
Too late.
Zarek had already grabbed a stack.
He carefully separated the papers into different piles.
Looking very pleased with himself.
Dante stared.
Horrified.
"...Those were sorted."
Zarek smiled proudly.
"Help."
"No."
"Help."
"No."
"Help."
Dante looked at Izana.
"Do something."
Izana glanced at the piles.
Then at Zarek.
"Thank you."
Dante looked betrayed.
"Thank you?"
Zarek beamed.
"Welcome."
Dante put his head in his hands.
Elsewhere in the mansion, Leah was enjoying a much quieter morning.
At least initially.
She was sitting comfortably in the living room with a cup of tea when she decided to call Clara.
A few moments later the video connected.
The screen filled with the familiar face of Clara Grimshaw.
"Hello."
Leah smiled.
"Hi."
Clara immediately narrowed her eyes.
"Why do you look like you're trying not to laugh?"
Leah laughed.
"Because I am."
"Oh no."
"Oh yes."
Clara sat forward.
"What happened?"
Leah didn't even know where to begin.
So she started with the office visit.
By the time she reached the part where Zarek had handed paperwork to mafia members, Clara was already laughing.
Then Leah described him sitting in Izana's chair.
Clara nearly dropped her phone.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Leah nodded.
"He sat behind the desk."
Clara laughed harder.
"Oh, this is incredible."
Leah wasn't finished.
"And then he told everyone to continue."
Clara froze.
For half a second.
Then completely lost it.
Her laughter echoed through the call.
Leah couldn't help laughing too.
"Oh my god."
"Exactly."
"He actually said continue?"
"He did."
"Like Izana?"
"Exactly like Izana."
Clara wiped tears from her eyes.
"I wish I had seen that."
"So do I."
Then Leah made the mistake of mentioning the movie.
Clara immediately became curious.
"The movie?"
Leah nodded.
"The one we watched yesterday."
"What about it?"
Leah already knew what was coming.
"He wants a baby sister."
Silence.
Then—
Clara nearly dropped her phone.
Again.
"He said WHAT?"
Leah burst out laughing.
"I told you."
"No."
"I did."
"No."
Leah nodded.
"He watched one movie about siblings and immediately decided he needs one."
Clara laughed so hard she had to put the phone down for a second.
"That's the most Zarek thing I've ever heard."
Leah shook her head.
"He was completely serious."
"I'm sure he was."
"And he thinks babies come from a store."
That somehow made Clara laugh even harder.
A little while later, small footsteps entered the living room.
Leah looked up.
Zarek had arrived.
His lion plush dragged behind him.
The moment he saw Clara on the screen his face brightened.
"Auntie Clara!"
Clara immediately smiled.
"Hello, Zarek."
Zarek climbed onto the sofa beside Leah.
"Hi."
"How are you?"
"Good."
Clara nodded.
"That's good."
Then she noticed something.
The proud expression.
The one Zarek got whenever he thought of something important.
And before Leah could stop him—
Zarek announced:
"Me Little Boss."
Leah immediately covered her face.
Clara burst out laughing.
Again.
"Oh really?"
Zarek nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes."
"You're the Little Boss?"
"Yes."
"A very important job?"
"Very important."
Clara nodded seriously.
"I can tell."
Leah groaned.
"Please don't encourage him."
"I'm not."
"You absolutely are."
Zarek looked delighted.
"Little Boss."
"Very impressive."
"Clara."
"Yes?"
"Me work."
Clara smiled.
"I'm sure you do."
"Very hard."
Leah buried her face in her hands.
Clara was laughing too hard to help.
That evening Leah eventually entered Izana's office.
She found exactly what she expected.
Izana sat behind his desk.
Zarek sat on his lap.
Dante sat across from them.
Looking exhausted.
Leah immediately smiled.
"How was your day?"
Before Izana could answer—
Dante spoke first.
"I lost an argument to a two-year-old."
Leah laughed.
"What was the argument about?"
"Everything."
Zarek pointed at himself.
"Little Boss."
Dante closed his eyes.
"There it is."
Leah laughed again.
Izana looked entirely unbothered.
Which somehow made it worse.
And as Dante watched the tiny self-proclaimed Little Boss sitting comfortably in the most feared man's lap—
he came to a realization.
The entire office had lost control.
The mansion had lost control.
Even Izana had lost control.
Because once Zarek decided something—
everyone else simply had to live with it.