Hidden Secrets

Chapter 104

Seiya stared intently at the barely diminishing pile of paperwork that dominated his desk. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed like the work kept piling up rather than decreasing. Once again, he wondered how his brother could get through these heaps so effortlessly and still have time for other things. After all, he even had Haruka to help him, and yet, the two of them together were nowhere near as efficient as Taiki.

He lifted his coffee cup to his lips and then took the next stack to work on. He would have loved to spend more time with Usagi after all that had happened, but given the prevailing circumstances, it was simply impossible. Although Amy had managed to stabilize Kakashi's condition, he remained unconscious, and as for the search for Taiki, they were still in the dark. It was all up to him now to save the family empire, and the weight of this responsibility bore heavily on his shoulders.

The click of the door lock made him look up from the contracts, and he was relieved to see that it was only his younger brother who had let himself in. "You look like hell, if I may say so," greeted the silver-haired brother.

Seiya responded with a tired smile, also noticing the pronounced dark circles under Yaten's eyes. "Thanks, I could say the same about you." With a smooth motion, he closed the folder and leaned back in his office chair. "What can I do for you?"

Yaten settled himself on the couch between some piles of paper. "Mina gave me an idea earlier, and I wanted to run it by you. It might be a bit risky, especially if it backfires, but we might finally have a chance to get to Tai," Yaten said, sounding surprisingly calm.

Seiya's expression turned serious in an instant, and he fixed his gaze on the silver-haired brother. "What does this plan involve?" he asked skeptically.

Yaten, meanwhile, pulled out his pack of cigarettes and retrieved the ashtray from its grave among the documents. "Well, we set a trap for the old man and see what happens. Send a statement to the press announcing that we're on a good lead regarding Taiki, or maybe even that we've found him and that he'll be returning to Tokyo soon... Kenji will definitely react to that and move him elsewhere... I'll try to plant an informant in the villa beforehand so we can get information from there, and besides, Kenji and Rubeus are already under strict surveillance whenever they leave the villa. So, if one of them leaves Tokyo or, in the best-case scenario, goes to see Taiki in Tokyo, we've got him."

The elder brother still seemed unconvinced by Yaten's plan. He stood up and walked over to the large window, gazing out at the constant hustle of his employees. "If Tai really were in Tokyo, you would have found him by now, or are your skills slipping? I'm not so sure this plan will work. Kenji isn't stupid, and after the last encounter, he'll probably be even more cautious... and how can we be sure that your new informant, the one you plan to plant, will get the information we need?" he expressed his concerns.

"Seiya, I actually think this could be a good move. Precisely because he's so paranoid and overcautious right now... he doesn't want to lose his last triumph, and that's when people tend to make mistakes... and besides, we also have a secret weapon," Yaten explained calmly, exhaling a smoke ring.

Skeptical, Seiya turned to his brother, raising an eyebrow. "And what secret weapon are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, Mina and Serena. I'm sure with a well-placed little provocation here or a sharp comment there, the old man will see red. I'm quite confident we can use his short fuse to our advantage – of course, only with increased security measures for everyone involved."

"Yaten, you can't be serious. Usagi needs rest; she's been through more than enough in the past few months. It's almost a miracle she didn't lose the babies with all this stress. I'm certainly not going to put her back in her insane father's sights... and isn't Mina busy with Kaya anyway, or am I mistaken? Could you forgive yourself if something happened to her?" Seiya asked sharply.