Bought by My stepbrother, the don

Chapter 121: Depths of hell

Adam

"You’re pushing her too far. Sending flowers to her dying mother?" Zaren snapped from the other side of the room.

He sat sprawled across the couch, staring at me with obvious disapproval while I turned and gave him a cold look in return.

"There’s no rule against giving flowers to an acquaintance," I pointed out calmly.

"It’s skirting the rules once the civilian becomes involved in the investigation we’re conducting," he replied immediately.

All I could do was resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Instead, my attention returned to my phone as I slowly typed out another message to Vanessa. One final bait. One final hook I hoped would drag her back long enough for me to show her what I had found.

Maybe then she would finally understand how deep this whole thing truly went.

"Moreover, we don’t actually need her anymore," Zaren continued while shrugging off his black jacket. "We’re steadily gaining traction."

He leaned back further into the couch, spreading his legs comfortably.

Zaren looked different from me in almost every way.

His hair was naturally dirty blond, though he’d dyed it darker to avoid drawing attention to himself. Not that it mattered much considering the thick beard covering half his face already did most of the work for him. He was taller than me too, broader through the shoulders and noticeably more muscular.

Everything about him looked rougher.

Harder.

Even the way he carried himself screamed intimidation.

Still, he was my brother.

"Gotti is practically finished," Zaren said. "He has no choice except hiding now because the moment he steps outside, we’ll arrest him."

I let out a slow sigh, unable to deny the satisfaction curling through me.

I had played a major role in cornering Gotti this far.

"Yeah," Zaren continued, "but the crimes you’re hanging on him weren’t committed directly by him. Even if he goes to court, he’ll probably get a lighter sentence."

That made me smile faintly.

For someone with a personality rough enough to constantly clash with coworkers, Zaren was surprisingly straight-laced when it came to the law.

"It’s simple," I replied casually. "We just plant the evidence on him once we catch him."

I met his gaze directly, daring him to argue.

We had spent years trying to bring people like Gotti down, but men like him were careful. Smart. They rarely dirtied their own hands personally.

Still, the atrocities tied to him were enough to get him executed three times over.

"It’s against the law," Zaren warned sharply. "You could get—"

"Yes," I interrupted immediately. "And I’m willing to take that risk."

My tone hardened instantly.

"What I’m not willing to do is let them get away with killing Simon."

The room fell quiet after that.

I turned toward the monitoring screens lining part of the wall. The audio feeds had already gone dead, meaning someone had swept through Nico’s office and discovered the hidden listening device.

Annoying.

But not unexpected.

Zaren remained seated while I glanced toward the kitchen instead.

The fact that he was temporarily living with me also meant the amount of food I needed to buy had doubled.

"We could eat out," I offered casually. "I know a good place—" freeweɓnovel.cøm

"What about the Lowell family?" Zaren interrupted suddenly.

His expression had grown serious again.

"Shouldn’t we be wary of them? They seem determined to bail Nico and Carmen out regarding the hospital killings, even though we both know they didn’t do it."

I leaned back slightly against the counter.

"Yes," I admitted. "But if we can connect enough suspicion to them and drag them into a trial, that alone helps us. It buys time."

I smirked faintly.

"Time to dig up more dirt on them and weaken them enough for another shark to take a bite."

Zaren frowned.

"Yes, but it won’t stick," he replied. "Whoever set that hospital incident up was using it as a distraction. The target was Gotti. Then once he disappeared, they shifted directions."

I already knew that.

Still, hearing it aloud only reinforced how messy the situation had become.

My stomach growled loudly enough to interrupt my thoughts.

I grimaced.

"Are you just going to sit on my couch and starve?" I asked dryly. "Because I’m pretty sure there’s nothing edible left in that fridge."

That finally earned a tired reaction from him.

Sliding a hand through his hair—a habit he repeated so often it would probably leave him bald someday—he pushed himself to his feet.

"I’m serious, Adam," he said again.

His concerned expression softened some of the roughness in his face.

"I’m just asking you to be more careful. That’s all."

I stayed silent while he continued.

"If the rumors about the government discovering Mivite are true, then this entire pond is about to get far messier than before."

"Yes, big brother," I replied sarcastically.

I grinned while stepping closer and tapping his shoulder repeatedly.

Sometimes I genuinely wondered how he became such a worrier.

I understood his concern.

I did.

But as long as we stayed beneath the radar, I saw no reason to panic yet. This investigation wasn’t even officially sanctioned. It was still technically a side project while we continued handling our normal duties.

All we truly knew was this:

Simon had been investigating something for Castilo.

Then someone had mailed us his head in a box.

The memory still made something cold settle inside my chest.

I intended to destroy every single person involved if it was the last thing I ever did.

Honestly, I was fully prepared to drag everyone involved straight into hell with me if necessary.

Everyone except Zaren.

He deserved to live through this.

"We’re taking my car, obviously," I announced cheerfully as we headed for the door.

Zaren followed behind me while I locked up the apartment.

Outside, the sky had already darkened considerably. The streets felt quieter than usual, though I paid little attention to it.

Zaren headed toward the parked car while I pressed the key fob, the vehicle beeping softly as it unlocked.

"Steak," I sighed happily while sliding into the driver’s seat. "I’m in the mood for meat."

That finally made Zaren chuckle.

He shook his head while fastening his seatbelt.

"We both know what you actually need is ass," he shot back instantly. "You’re already enough of an asshole."

I laughed despite myself as I started the engine.

For a brief moment, things almost felt normal again.