" The Boss .. " - A Shark Tale Story ( Mr Sykes x Don Lino )

Luca's Secret

Another week had passed, and Don Lino was still in the grip of grief, but his demeanor had shifted into something colder, more ruthless. He fortified the reef with extra defenses, knowing that Frankie's death could only be the beginning of a larger scheme. His suspicions lingered, though he tried to bury them under layers of denial. The ocean was dangerous, and betrayal was a knife always waiting to be drawn.

But Sykes... Sykes had changed, and Don Lino could no longer ignore it.

Sykes had become distant, cold, and unnervingly ruthless. He no longer tiptoed around the Don's temper, no longer cared to sugarcoat his words. His once gentle nature had hardened, and the caring pufferfish who had been by Lino's side for so long was replaced by someone colder, detached. And it scared Don Lino.

At first, he told himself it was grief. That Sykes was mourning Frankie in his own way. But the deeper Don Lino looked, the more unsettling the changes became. It was like looking at a stranger, someone manipulated, twisted into a version of himself that Lino barely recognized.

What Don Lino didn't know, though, was that Elena had her claws sunk deep into Sykes. Her manipulation was warping him from the inside out, and Sykes was drowning in guilt, fear, and anger. He hated the hold she had over him, but at the same time, he couldn't escape it.

Luca, on the other hand, had kept his mouth shut about what he knew. Sykes had blackmailed him, threatened to reveal a secret Luca had been harboring for years—the fact that Luca had been madly in love with Don Lino ever since he could remember. It was a secret Luca had buried deep, something he thought no one knew about. But Sykes had found out, and now he held that over Luca like a knife.

Luca hated the person Sykes had become, and more than that, he was terrified of him. The Sykes he once knew was gone, replaced by someone vicious, manipulative, and dangerous. He could see the shift, how Sykes seemed to revel in the power he held over him. But Luca couldn't say anything—not without risking his own secret getting out.

Now, Don Lino sat in his office, staring at the door, knowing he had to confront Sykes. He had to know what was going on. He couldn't let this go any longer.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Lino called, his voice low and tense.

Sykes entered, his demeanor cool and indifferent, as if nothing in the world could touch him. He was wearing a dark suit, his expression unreadable.

"You wanted to see me?" Sykes asked, his tone casual, almost bored.

Lino's jaw tightened. He had been trying to ignore the shift in Sykes, but now, face to face, he could feel the growing distance between them.

"Yeah, I did," Lino said, leaning forward on his desk. "We need to talk, Sykes. About you."

Sykes raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming with a hint of mockery. "Me? What about me?"

"You've changed," Lino said, his voice a mix of frustration and concern. "You're not the same. I don't know what's going on, but I've noticed. You're distant, cold. Ruthless even."