SHADOWS OF DECEIT

Chapter 33

The weight of the revelation hung heavy in the air, the only sounds in the room the faint hum of the monitors and Woozi's shallow, controlled breathing. His sharp eyes remained glued to the screen, the damning evidence staring back at him in unrelenting clarity. 

Samuel. 

That little shit had been playing a game far deadlier than Woozi had anticipated.

The sun outside crept higher into the sky, casting pale streaks of light through the blinds, but the warmth of dawn did nothing to dispel the cold realization that settled in the pit of Woozi's stomach. 

His lips curled into a humorless smirk, his fingers drumming against the edge of his desk as a bitter laugh escaped him.

"That little shit is wishing death on himself," Woozi muttered, his tone laced with a venom that even Wonwoo hadn't heard before. He leaned back in his chair, his head tilting up as he stared at the ceiling, his mind already racing with calculations.

"You think he doesn't know?" Wonwoo said, his voice steady but dark. He adjusted his glasses again, the light reflecting off the lenses obscuring his eyes for a brief moment. "He's not stupid, Jihoon. If anything, he's too fucking smart for his own good. He knows exactly what he's doing."

"And that's what pisses me off the most," Woozi snapped, sitting forward again, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair. "He knows what this means. He knows what this could mean if Seungcheol finds out. And yet, here we are."

Wonwoo sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he regarded the younger man with a mixture of understanding and unease. "You're right. If this gets to Seungcheol—" He shook his head, his lips pressing into a thin line. 

"Hell would rain down on that kid. And not just from Seungcheol. You know how tight this operation is. If anyone thinks Samuel's a liability—"

"They won't think," Woozi interrupted, his voice cutting like a blade. "They'll act. And it won't be clean."

The weight of the conversation settled between them, the reality of Samuel's precarious position becoming clearer with every word. Woozi's eyes flicked back to the screen, the endless stream of data almost mocking him with its completeness. 

It wasn't just that Samuel had betrayed them—or at least, seemed to—it was the methodical precision with which he'd done it. This wasn't carelessness. This was deliberate.

"You think he's working alone?" Wonwoo asked, his voice quieter now, as if the thought itself needed to be handled delicately.

Woozi shook his head, his expression hardening. "If he is, then he's got a death wish. But if he's not..." He trailed off, his jaw clenching. "If he's got someone backing him, we need to figure out who the fuck it is—and fast."

The room fell into a heavy silence, the rising sun outside throwing light into the day, clearing the haze of the night's darkness. But inside, the monitors cast their own kind of illumination, bathing the two men in a cold, artificial glow.

The evidence stared back at them, unyielding in its clarity, and the only thing Woozi and Wonwoo could do was stare right back, their minds already working through the maze of possibilities.

Samuel had crossed a line—a line that couldn't be uncrossed. And if Seungcheol found out, there would be no mercy.

"No mercy," Woozi murmured to himself, his voice barely audible but chilling nonetheless.

The faint rustle of Wonwoo's movements brought him back, the older man straightening as he adjusted his glasses once more. "We should get ahead of this," Wonwoo said, his tone leaving no room for argument.