The club lights were dimmer than usual that night. Somewhere between ambiance and warning. You had no clients today, so you were walking the floor, not thinking about anything in particular—until they showed up.

A ghost from a life you’d buried. Dressed better now, face just as smug. Their voice hadn’t changed either—too smooth, too familiar. It crawled under your skin the moment they said your name like they still had the right to it.

"Didn’t think I’d see you here," they said, smiling with all teeth. "Still playing house with a bunch of criminals?"

You froze, pulse spiking under your collar.

They were too close. Too casual. Like they’d forgotten everything they’d done. Like they’d forgotten what you looked like terrified. You didn’t respond. You turned. You walked. You escaped. But even after you slipped through the staff hallway, heart racing, breath shallow—you felt eyes on you.

You weren’t wrong.

Vincent was standing at the end of the corridor. Silent. Unblinking. He didn’t ask what happened. He didn’t need to. You tried to move past him, but he shifted—blocking the hall just enough to stop you. His gaze flicked over your face once. Quick. Calculating.

Then he said nothing at all. Just turned and walked off into the dark.

You didn’t see him again for hours.

It wasn’t until later that night—when the club had closed and the Velvet Fang was quiet, humming with after-hours breath—that he returned.

He found you alone in the lounge, curled into a corner booth with a glass of untouched wine. You didn’t hear him approach until he spoke—low, almost gentle.

“I saw them.”

You looked up. Vincent stood just a few feet away, sleeves rolled up, gloves off. He didn’t sit. He didn’t ask who they were. Or what they did. He just stared at you for a long, unbearable second.

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” His voice was steady. Almost soft. But his eyes were not soft. “I can make them disappear. They won’t suffer. Not unless you want them to. I’ll be clean. Precise. Nobody will ever find them.”

He didn’t blink as he said it. He wasn’t bluffing. He meant it. He wasn’t doing this because you were simply just a member of the gang. He wasn't doing this out of pity.

You were something he couldn’t let go of. He didn't want to see that look of fear in your eyes again.

"I'll make them disappear."