Chapter 247: Chapter 247
At that moment, Oliver’s words seemed to hang in the air like something thick and ugly. Robert just stared, his mind stumbling over the sheer nerve of this man seated in his office, talking about his sister like she was some kind of problem to be handled.
Then Robert’s fingers tightened around the edge of his desk. He could feel the heat climbing up his neck. This stranger thought he could walk in here and threaten Victoria? His Victoria? The same little sister who used to follow him around the backyard, stubborn even then, always insisting on keeping up.
He pushed back from his chair and stood up slowly, his voice dropping into something low and hard.
"I don’t know you," Robert said, each word coming out sharp and deliberate. "I don’t know what happened between you and Victoria. But you don’t walk into my office into my presence, and threaten my sister right in front of me."
Oliver didn’t flinch, but Robert saw the flicker in his eyes a quick, nervous shift.
"Listen to me," Robert said, leaning forward just enough to close the space between them without touching. "Don’t you ever try to act on whatever’s in your head. If anything happens to her a single scratch you won’t walk away from it. You understand me?"
The air in the office, once crisp and professional, suddenly felt heavy and tight. A slow, deliberate smile spread across Oliver’s face, but it didn’t reach his cold eyes. It was the kind of smile a predator gives right before it pounces.
He let out a soft, low chuckle that held no warmth. "I see," he said, his voice a smooth, dangerous murmur. "So the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The whole family really is cut from the same stubborn cloth, huh?"
He took a single, deliberate step forward, his polished shoe clicking on the hardwood floor. The casual, almost lazy movement was a stark contrast to the tension coiling in the room.
"You know," he continued, tilting his head as if studying a strange, foolish animal. "I came here. To your fancy office. I thought, maybe, just maybe, you’d be the reasonable one. The civilized brother. A man who could listen. A man who could talk some sense into his wild sister before things get... out of hand."
At that moment he paused, letting the silence stretch, his gaze locked on Robert’s. The friendly pretense was gone, completely stripped away.
"But look at you," Oliver whispered, the words sharp and icy. "Look what you’re doing. Instead of hearing me out, you’re puffing out your chest. You’re making threats. Empty, little threats."
He leaned forward slightly, his smile now completely gone, replaced by a flat, chilling seriousness. His voice dropped even further, barely above a whisper, but every syllable was clear and cutting.
"Do I look like a man who is scared of words? Do I look like someone who gets frightened by a big brother playing guard dog? You should look at me, Robert. Really look. You have no idea who you are dealing with. And I promise you this, I don’t make empty threats."
At that moment, Robert rose from his chair again with his whole body tense. His knuckles pressed white against the dark wood of his desk. He didn’t just stand he loomed, tall and rigid, like a thundercloud about to break. His eyes narrowed, dark and unblinking, as he thrust a stiff finger toward the door.
"Get out," he said, his voice low but sharp as broken glass. "I won’t tell you again."
But Oliver didn’t move. He just sat there, one leg crossed lazily over the other, a cold little smile playing on his lips. He looked relaxed, too relaxed, like a cat that had already decided how this would end. He let the silence stretch, let Robert’s anger hang in the air between them, thick and hot.
Then Oliver chuckled softly not a happy sound, but something colder. Deeper.
"I thought you were different," he said, shaking his head slowly as if disappointed. "I really did. Came all this way thinking maybe you’d be the reasonable one in that family of yours. But no." He leaned forward slightly, the smile still there but not touching his eyes. "You’re all the same, aren’t you? Rude. Arrogant. You don’t listen. You just... react."
He uncrossed his legs and slowly pushed himself up from the chair, not rushed, not nervous. Just deliberate. He kept his eyes locked on Robert the whole time.
"Fine," Oliver said, his tone dropping, losing all traces of humor. "I’ll leave. But mark my words." He took a slow step closer, and though he was equally as tall as Robert, something in his posture made him seem dangerous. "If your sister or you try to cross me after this, if you go near Cora again..." He paused, letting the threat hang like a blade between them. "It won’t be easy. I won’t go easy on any of you."
He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. Every word was clear, cold, and absolute.
"This is your only warning. Stay away from her. Hurt her again..." Oliver’s jaw tightened. "...and it’s over for all of you."
At that moment, the name hit Robert like a punch to the gut. All the bluster and anger that had been tightening his shoulders just... evaporated. His mouth, which had been ready to fire back another threat, snapped shut. The room got very quiet, the only sound the low hum of the city beyond the office windows.
His mind started racing, tripping over itself. Cora? What did this stranger this arrogant man sitting in his office like he owned the place have to do with Cora? His eyes narrowed, studying Oliver’s face, searching for some clue. Did she send him? Was this some kind of messed-up game? Why would her name even come out of his mouth?
He must have looked as confused as he felt, because a slow, knowing smirk spread across Oliver’s face. It wasn’t a friendly look. It was the look of a man who held a card nobody else knew was in the deck.
Before Robert could even form one of the dozen questions spinning in his head, Oliver cut the air with his hand. "You don’t get to ask me anything," he said, his voice dropping from a shout to something colder, more controlled. "I’ve laid it all out for you. My part is done. The next move... that’s on you. So do what you need to do. And stop talking."
The command in his voice was absolute. But instead of making Robert angrier, it made something click. Pieces of the crazy, threatening puzzle Oliver had brought into his office suddenly shifted and locked into place. The over-the-top protectiveness. The specific warning to keep away from her. The raw nerve he’d hit just by saying her name.