As I walked through the main entrance of the skyscraper, the time was 19:43. There was still a crowd downstairs, although it was quiet compared to the lunchtime rush. Without wasting any time, I walked straight to the lift and pressed the button for the 40th floor. As the lift rose, I grabbed the cylindrical rail in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection. It had been a tiring but entertaining day.

"I wonder who today's mission will be?"

I found myself smiling. No matter how much I complained to myself about how exhausting these missions were, in a way I enjoyed them.

With a "Ding," the lift opened. I got out and went straight to the toilets on this floor. I washed my hands and face, feeling a bit refreshed. I heard voices from the dining room. I slowly opened the door and entered. My family had already eaten without me and the servants were clearing away the plates. My sister was the only person left at the table, and she was finishing her meal.

"Well, well, eating without me, huh? That's rude. Everyone's already left it seems. What's going on?"

My sister seemed distant, nothing like her usual cheerful self.

"Father didn't join us for dinner. He's in her room and said he had work to do. And he asked you to see him when you arrive."

Hmm, I bet he's going to give me instructions for the mission. Reading the detailed file would be enough, but my father liked to go through a general overview before I left. A strange habit of his.

"Is that the only reason for your long face? Just because father didn't come to dinner?"

My sister was very attached to our father, but her mood wouldn't have fallen so low over something as trivial as a missed meal. Something else must have happened.

"Can I trust you?"

'What? What kind of question was that?'

"Of course, you can trust me. Why don't we talk after I visit Father?" I replied.

"Alright."

Her voice sounded on the verge of tears. Damn, what could have happened? Whatever it is, I'll find out and take care of it.

After my sister left, I walked out of the dining room and quickly made my way to my father's office. I could hear my dad and Uncle Damon talking behind the door. I was about to burst in, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to listen.

"Damon, this is the last time I'm repeating myself. I'm not happy with the way things are going. Not one bit. Either you get your act together or you'll face the consequences."

"Look, brother. I'm not one of those workers you can order around. Got it? I'm your older brother. So act accordingly."

The words made the veins in Logan's neck tighten and his forehead twitch. He rose abruptly from his chair. Despite the six-year age difference, the only thing his older brother had over him was his age.

"Know your place, failure. Do you really think you're on my level? The only thing you have going for you is that you are my brother and carry the Stark name. Otherwise, you're nothing but a worthless worm. This is your last warning. I don't want to see another mistake."

Damn, things were getting heated in there. I could feel my father's anger seeping out of the room even from where I stood. Men like that are the ones you should fear.

"Get out of my sight."

With that he dismissed him. The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching the door grew louder. I quickly positioned myself near the door, clasping my hands together. The door swung open and Uncle Damon stormed out, his face reddened and his fists clenched. His gaze landed on me. He was about ten centimeters shorter than me, with black hair thinning at the top, a little overweight, and brown eyes. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath, and a black tie to complete the look. He loosened the tie, muttering to himself as he walked past.

"Tch. To hell with a brother like that. And his damned son too."

I almost felt sorry for him. He was a bastard nobody liked, except his wife.

I suppressed my laughter, composed myself, and calmly walked inside. My father was leaning back in his chair, loosening his tie, just like my uncle had.

"You called for me, Dad."

"Yeah, yeah. Sit down," he gestured to the chair in front of him.

I took a seat where he pointed.

"How much did you hear?"

There was no need to lie.

"Only the end. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?"

"No. It’s none of your business. This is something between us adults. You have more important matters to focus on."

So, you're brushing it off, huh? Fine, have it your way, Dad.

He pulled out a file from his drawer and placed it in front of me.

"Your targets are Maria Nord and Donald Nord. Both of them are skill users. Maria has the power to produce potions, and Donald can generate some sort of shield."

"Hmm."

When I first opened the file, I didn’t quite understand why we were targeting a married couple. But now, seeing their abilities, it made sense.

"The detailed file is in your room. Go through it, and then take No. 6 and No. 9 with you."

"What? No, of course not. You know I prefer working alone."

"Do as I say."

"I'm not going to. You know this mission is a piece of cake for me, but you want to give me two deadweights. I’ll handle this in my own way, as I always do."

.....

Damian sprang to his feet in a huff and stormed out of the room without saying a word or waiting for an answer. Logan let out a deep sigh.

"Pffff. What am I supposed to do with you? Sometimes you're just like an impossible storm to deal with."

He grabbed the file and tossed it in the bin. The room, which had been thick with tension, seemed to settle as he reined in his aura, restoring order. He turned towards the window, the sky, taking in the view from the top of the towering skyscraper.

"I am sorry, little one. But from now on there will be no rest for you. You're going to work until the day you die."

.....

"Stupid father"

Does he think I'm weak? Or worse, that I'm incompetent? Is that why he's sending me with two useless burdens? Fine, Father. Think I'm as weak as you want. But you’ll see. You’ll see exactly what I’m capable of.

Grinding his teeth and muttering under his breath, Damian rushed upstairs and into his room. His sister, noticing his mood, asked with a weary expression, "Why are you so angry?"

"Father's an idiot, a complete fool, and an imbecile," he replied, his face dark and brooding.

Both their faces reflected the tension. Shelia, her eyes filled with tears, just stared at her brother. Damian slapped his cheeks with both hands, trying to snap himself out of it, and walked over to sit beside his sister, who was perched on the bed.

"My problem doesn't matter right now, just a little frustration. What about you? Why are you like this? What happened?"

Shelia pulled a file from under her pillow and handed it to him. His heart raced for a moment.

'Please don't let it be the detailed file, please don't let it be the detailed file' he thought to himself.

His prayers were answered - it was a completely different file. He was relieved. After all, it couldn't be about him, otherwise, why would she want to talk to him?

He let out a deep inner sigh of relief and began to leaf through the file she had handed him. But as he read, he realized that the situation was much worse than he had imagined.

My father had a strange habit. Even though we lived in an era when information could easily be stored digitally - and we had our system - he still insisted on writing down important things on paper and filing them away. I never imagined that this strange quirk would be his undoing.

Inside the file were records of some murders my father ordered others to do. I had gone through the whole file, just a few sheets of paper, and something caught my attention. All of these targets were scum who tried to interfere with our business or stood in our way.

It wasn't that I was shocked by these things. I had become used to this life because I was part of it. Fortunately, none of my actions were listed in this file. Still, I couldn't help but wonder about those innocent targets. Turning back to my sister, I saw a tear rolling down her cheek. She was hearing about this for the first time - it must have been devastating for her.

"D-Damian... Is our father a bad person?"

Despite her intelligence and usually cheerful nature, she was emotional. And for someone so attached to her father, seeing something like this must have been beyond my comprehension. The best I could do was try to comfort her. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"No, of course not. Father isn't a bad man. I'm sure he did all this to protect us. As always, he's just looking out for us and trying to protect what we have."

"B-but this... this isn't right!" Her voice trembled with sorrow and anger.

"We all do the wrong thing sometimes for the right reasons. Don't you remember how I beat up that classmate just because he tried to talk to you? Or how did you threaten that girl who was harassing me? It wasn't like you, but you did it, didn't you? We did it. Dad does the same thing. His methods are a bit harsher, that's all."

I did my best to sound convincing. I just hoped that she would believe me.

“If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is. I don’t understand what goes on in Dad’s head or how the company works. But if he’s doing this to protect us, um... I will ask him to do it a little less.”

Her brain must’ve shut down from the shock.

“Have you ever thought about what his reaction will be when he finds out you’re asking him that?”

“Oh... you’re right. What are we going to do then?” She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She recovered faster than I expected.

“You can leave this to me. I’ll take care of it.” The girl who was crying moments ago now smiling. She lunged at me and hugged me tightly.

“Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

Ah, siblings. What a nice thing. I hugged her with one arm and began patting her head with the other. I’m sorry, sis, but the things you want aren’t going to happen anytime soon. If I’m getting assigned two missions a week, it means Dad has something big on his mind. But I won’t let it affect us.

"No matter what happens, I’ll protect you."

It was getting late, and I had a mission waiting for me.

“Alright, crybaby. That’s enough. If you stay here any longer, I might just eat you out of hunger.”

She had almost completely calmed down now. “Okay, okay. I’m going.” She went down the stairs and headed for the door.

“Thanks,” she said with a flushed face. Then, she disappeared.

Now then, I’ve got a serious problem on my hands. Where’s my food? My stomach’s growling like crazy.