Bought by My stepbrother, the don

Chapter 130: High Ranking

Carmen

It was a shock to find out that Nico was affiliated to a cartel since it was much different from working with them.

Still, I knew I should have expected it. He wasn’t thirty yet and had somehow overthrown the previous leader of the West by himself. Of course he had help. Serious help.

Refusing to let the pounding of my heart show as I walked beside Nico right down the stairs, I could already see the men waiting.

They looked nothing like gangsters at first sight.

They all wore immaculate suits that would have had doors opening for them at any company they decided to walk into. But while the suits covered most of their tattoos, for others it didn’t.

Moreover, there was a nasty glint in their eyes. Something almost cruel whenever I felt their gazes land on me. Like they saw me, but not entirely as a human being.

It was the way a bear would look at its prey. Not as something alive with a conscious mind of its own, but simply as meat.

"Nico!" one of them said as they all immediately got to their feet.

I felt slightly relieved watching all of them bow their heads slightly in deference to him. It meant that his position in the cartel wasn’t weak enough for whatever they came to tell us to be bad news.

"Hassa," Nico responded with a slight tilt of his head as he continued walking toward them, moving toward the couch directly opposite where they had been sitting with the glass ornamental table between us.

I kept quiet and simply followed Nico, moving to sit down the moment he did while ignoring some of the looks I got which could easily be interpreted as glares.

Watching them only sit after Nico had done so made it clear just how much emphasis cartels placed on hierarchy.

Settling properly into the couch, I made sure to sit beside Nico but not too close.

"Carmen Castillo. My condolences about your father."

The man called Hassa spoke directly to me, his eyes gentle as I smiled politely even though I couldn’t ignore the scratchy feeling in my chest warning me to stay the fuck away from him.

He looked older than Nico and his face was largely unremarkable. A few small scars here and there but nothing excessive. His demeanor made him seem kind and amicable.

Which probably would have been believable if he hadn’t been sent to Nico’s house representing a cartel. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Thank you," I instantly responded before shifting my gaze toward Nico, indirectly telling them to focus on why they came.

I myself was merely a guest in his house and I was only sitting through the meeting.

Ignoring the glares I could still feel on my face from the other five men sitting around Hassa silently without speaking.

"It’s nice to see you, Hassa. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Nico finally spoke.

His tone was soft, but even I could tell he was mightily displeased.

Beyond that, it was painfully obvious that he and Hassa didn’t get along in the slightest way possible.

Yet Hassa continued wearing the same soft smile he had from the moment I first saw him.

"Yes. I apologize for the sudden visit. This was a discussion that needed to happen face to face," he said.

I could tell he was slightly pleased even as Nico’s mood seemed to take a downward turn.

"...It would be better if we talked in your study. The matter is quite sensitive," he continued, his gaze shifting slightly toward where Martin stood behind us and then briefly toward me.

My breathing remained calm, fully willing to get up and leave the moment Nico asked me to.

Though I fully intended to grill him the second they left and I had his full attention.

"They can both stay. I trust them," Nico said in a tone that might as well have been an order.

"Go ahead. Tell me what you had to say that couldn’t be sent in a message."

He didn’t bother hiding his displeasure in the slightest as he fixed his gaze on them.

Especially Hassa, who somehow continued to smile through it all.

It was almost disconcerting.

"In summary..." Hassa began before gesturing toward the man seated beside him.

The man instantly handed him a couple of folders which Hassa placed on the table before gently pushing them closer toward Nico.

"Our leader has shown an interest in your main company. Something that would benefit our cartel, which you are a high-ranking member of," he began.

And immediately, I knew that whatever else he was going to say was something Nico wasn’t going to like.

Not even slightly.

"...Especially with the miviye found, the amount of money we could earn together is enormous," Hassa continued calmly.

"We will provide support in all areas including monetary support. But in exchange, we would like a thirty percent share in your mother company."

My eyes widened in shock.

Thirty percent?

I was even more stunned to see that Nico didn’t even move a muscle, still leaning against the side of the couch exactly the same way he had been before.

"The details are in the folder," Hassa continued. "The leader also asked me to make it clear that you’re the third highest-ranking person in the cartel. This would also indirectly benefit you."

While he continued speaking, I balled my hands into fists beneath my lap, doing my best not to show just how shocked and clueless I truly was.

The room fell silent afterward.

Heavy.

Tense.

Even the men sitting around Hassa seemed more alert now, their attention completely fixed on Nico as they waited for his response.

But Nico still hadn’t touched the folder.

His expression remained calm. Too calm.

The kind of calm that felt dangerous.

I glanced briefly toward Martin, noticing the way he stood quietly behind us without speaking, his expression unreadable as always.

Then my gaze shifted back toward Nico.

He finally reached forward slowly, picking up the folder Hassa had pushed toward him before opening it casually.

The movement was unhurried.

Controlled.

Like none of this bothered him in the slightest.

But somehow, that only made the tension in the room worse.

His eyes moved across the pages silently while Hassa continued sitting there with that same soft smile on his face.

The others remained equally silent.

And somehow, despite sitting right beside him, even I had no idea what Nico was thinking.