<h4>Chapter 196: You Fool</h4>


    "No!" Ben’s voice cracked as it rose in disbelief. "I gave you everything you asked for—every detail, every whisper, every damn thing! But now you want this? You expect me to be part of a murder n?" He shook his head violently, backing away as if distance could separate him from the weight of Spencer’s demand. "I won’t do that. I can’t. No. In fact you want me to be the killer! I cannot do that, please."


    Spencer Collins sat calmly on the worn leather couch in Ben’s modest living room, his expression unreadable, his presence suffocating. He had justid it out inly—Ben was to go to Maniwa, track down Adam, eliminate him, and then turn witness against Mnie. As if it were that simple.


    Ben’s chest heaved with shallow breaths. He stared at Spencer, his voice barely above a whisper now, raw and trembling. "You told me you needed a spy. That was it. You said if I fed you information, you’d pay for my mother’s medicine. That was the deal. And I did it. I listened. I watched. I betrayed Mnie who trusted me. I, even went ahead and did the search on herptop that would implicate her! I am going to go and be a witness against her as well! But I will not be a murderer!"


    Ben fell down to his knees and said slowly," Don’t ask me to kill someone... Please, I’m not a killer. I was never supposed to be a killer."


    Spencer leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his calm exterior slowly giving way to something darker. "You’re already in this, Ben," his voice like ice. "You think you can draw a line now? After everything you’ve done? After what you know? The first thing I will do is make sure the police know you are an essory to the murder. You understand?"


    Ben looked up, still kneeling, and shook his head in terror.


    Spencer stood and loomed over him,"If you had any sense, you’d pray the man I already sent finishes the job. Because if he doesn’t, it’ll fall on you. That’s not a request." His tone dropped into something deadly. "It’s your turn in the game now. And I don’t care if you cry, beg, or piss yourself—you’ll go to Maniwa, find Adam, and clean up the mess. You understand? Whether you stand before the Maniwa police as a witness or an aplice is upto you."


    Spencer didn’t wait for an answer. He turned away sharply, his hand already reaching for the phone buzzing in his coat pocket.


    The screen lit up with a name that made his jaw clench. He rolled his eyes and hit ’decline.’ The phone went dark—only to buzz again almost immediately.


    Spencer stared at it for a long beat, nostrils ring. The name glowed again.


    Finally, with a frustrated growl, he answered. "Yes, Grandfather?" His voice was clipped, almost bordering on hostility, something he had never done before. He gave a growl as the old man ordered him toe to him but he nodded and went.


    ***


    The moment Spencer stepped into his grandfather’s study, he was struck across the face with a resounding smack that echoed through the room.


    "Grandfather!" he gasped, reeling from both the sting and the shock.


    "Do you even still consider me your grandfather? Your family?" the old man roared, his eyes zing with fury. "First, you showed tant disrespect to your father—even after I made it <i>very</i> clear that you would treat him with civility! And now—now I find out that <i>you</i> were the one who interfered with my n. That it was <i>you</i> who dared to try and kill Adam?"


    Spencer clenched his jaw, the sting on his cheek barely registering now. "So what if I did?" he snapped, voice low but simmering with defiance. "You want me to wait until <i>you</i> decide it’s time? Crawl at your pace so I can still be fighting our enemies when I’m <i>your</i> age?"


    His grandfather’s eyes narrowed. "Watch your tone."


    "No," Spencer shot back, taking a step forward. "You trained me to lead. To think. To act. And when I do exactly that, you act like I betrayed you. I didn’t betray anyone—I just refused to drag this on for another decade."


    "You refused to follow orders," the old man growled. "There is a difference."


    Spencer scoffed. "You’re still ying chess while the rest of us are in a war zone. I made a call-Adam was supposed to die. That was the only move that made sense. And I don’t regret it!"


    "You don’t regret it?" The old man’s hand twitched, as though tempted to strike him again. "Do you even understand the consequences of what you’ve done? What happens if Adam does not die? Or if Mnie is able to find a way to move out of it?"


    Spencer’s lips curled into a grim smile. "He will die. The n is airtight. My person has everything that implicates Mnie-emails, nted files, the ess logs. Mnie won’t have anything left to bargain with. The trial will bury her. I’ve tied every loose end."


    Sir Robert stared at him, stunned by the cold precision in his grandson’s voice. Slowly, as if his body suddenly felt the weight of decades, he lowered himself into the leather chair behind the massive oak desk.


    Feeling old now, he quietly asked," And Patrick?" he asked, eyes searching Spencer’s face for something-passion, hesitation, anything. "Can you at least see your father?"


    "No." The answer was sharp, immediate, final.


    Sir Robert flinched slightly. "Spencer..."


    "He made his choices," Spencer said tly. "He chose others over me. He made his bed. He doesn’t get to cry foul now that it’s burning."


    "Patrick has suffered too," Sir Robert said trying to defend his son.


    "Don’t make him a victim. He has been living off nicely for thest few years, hasn’t he? Even if there were problems between him and mother, he could have done things to keep in touch with me? Also, let me warn you, grandfather. The Patrick you are so worried about has always had a soft spot for Adam."