The marble floors echoed with your footsteps as you stormed down the hall, the hem of your silk robe dragging slightly in your haste. Heeseung followed close behind, voice sharp, yet controlled.

“You went behind my back again, didn’t you?” you hissed, spinning around near the grand staircase. “I told you I didn’t want Jaehoon anywhere near your business—”

“He was never in danger!” Heeseung snapped, his usual calm unraveling as he ran a hand through his hair. “It was a secured location, and he was only there for ten minutes—”

“You lied to me,” you cut in, eyes burning. “Ten minutes is all it takes for him to get caught in a crossfire.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Tension crackled between you both, a war between love and fear waging in the space of a few feet.

Then a small voice broke it.

“Mommy?” You turned quickly. At the top of the stairs stood Jaehoon, rubbing his eyes with his little fists. He clutched a stuffed fox under one arm, looking smaller than usual.

You immediately softened, stepping toward him. “Hey, sweetheart. You okay?”

He nodded slowly, but his eyes drifted to Heeseung. For a moment, he just stared at his father. No smile. No run-up hug. Just a hollow look—one that pierced right through Heeseung’s chest.

“Come here, baby,” you whispered, opening your arms.

Jaehoon trotted down the steps and wrapped himself around your waist. As you picked him up, he turned his face into your neck, refusing to even glance at his father.

“Jaehoon,” Heeseung said quietly, voice almost breaking, “Don’t ignore me, bud…”

But Jaehoon stayed silent. His small hand reached to clutch your necklace—a sign he was scared.

You held your son tightly and met Heeseung’s eyes over his head. “He’s not just angry. He’s hurt. He saw everything.”

Heeseung’s shoulders slumped. For the first time, the powerful mafia kingpin looked... defeated. His gaze dropped to the floor. “I never meant for him to see us like that.”

You turned, carrying Jaehoon away down the corridor without another word. The only sound left behind was Heeseung’s shallow breathing in the stillness of the hallway—his empire intact, but his family fractured.