Page 8 of Witch's Promise

"Don't you dare start with that guilt trip, Sean," Katelyn cut him off, her blue eyes flashing. "I made my own choices. I knew the risks when I agreed to help you. And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat."

Sean felt a lump form in his throat. He didn't deserve a friend like Katelyn. Didn't deserve her loyalty, her fierce protection. Not after everything he'd done.

"Besides," Katelyn continued, her tone softening. "You're not alone in this anymore, Sean. You've got me, you've got Ricci. And have you thought about reaching out to Gabe? He could help, with his abilities-"

"No," Sean cut her off, more harshly than he intended. His hand moved unconsciously to the pendant around his neck. "I can't drag him into this."

Katelyn's expression was a mix of sympathy and frustration. "Sean, it's been years. Don't you think it's time to forgive yourself? To at least try to make things right?"

Sean shook his head, the familiar wave of shame and regret washing over him. "Some things can't be made right, Kate. What I said to him, the way I reacted, I don't deserve his forgiveness. And he sure as hell doesn't deserve to be pulled back into my fucked-up world."

Katelyn sighed. “Alright. But someday, Sean, you're going to have to stop punishing yourself. You can't change the past, but you can choose what you do moving forward."

Sean nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He knew Katelyn was right, on some level. But the guilt, the shame of his past actions it was like a weight around his neck, dragging him down into the depths of his own self-loathing.

He caught Katelyn watching him with a furrowed brow. There was something in her eyes, a concern that went beyond her usual worry for his self-destructive tendencies.

“I know there’s something else bothering you. And don't try to bullshit me. I know that look." Sean teased his friend.

Her fingers were drumming an anxious rhythm on the sticky pub table. "It's your father," she said finally, her voice low. "He's been acting weird lately. Before I left for my time off, I noticed some things that didn't add up."

Sean felt his body tense, old instincts kicking in. His father, Viktor Drake, wasn't the kind of man who did anything without purpose. If he was acting out of character, it meant trouble. Big trouble.

"Weird how?" Sean pressed, leaning forward. "And don't spare me the details, Kate. I need to know everything."

Katelyn glanced around the pub, as if checking for eavesdroppers. It was a habit Sean recognized all too well. In their line of work – former work, in his case – paranoia was just good sense.

"It's hard to explain," Katelyn said, frustration evident in her voice. "It's more of a feeling, you know? He's been distracted, secretive. More than usual, I mean. And there've been meetings, late at night, with people I don't recognize."

Sean felt a chill run down his spine.

"But that's not all," Katelyn continued, reaching into her leather jacket. She pulled out a manila envelope, sliding it across the table to Sean. "I think you need to see this."

Sean stared at the envelope, his heart pounding. Part of him wanted to shove it away, to tell Katelyn he was done with all this cloak-and-dagger bullshit. He'd walked away from the family business for a reason, after all.

But the larger part of him, the part that could never quite silence the voice of duty and responsibility that had been drilled into him since childhood, reached out and took the envelope.

"What am I looking at here, Kate?" he asked, his voice rougher than he'd intended.

"Open it," Katelyn urged, her blue eyes intense. "You need to see for yourself."

Sean opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of papers. His eyes widened as he realized what he was looking at: bank statements. Not just any bank statements, but those belonging to his father and the organization.

Sean breathed, his eyes scanning the numbers. "Kate, how the fuck did you get these?"

Katelyn shrugged, a hint of pride in her smirk. "Being your father's secretary has its perks. He may be a paranoid bastard, but even he can't keep track of everything."

Sean barely heard her, too focused on the figures in front of him. The more he read, the more his stomach churned. These numbers, they didn't make sense. Not for an organization as well-established and, well, ruthless as his father's.

"They're in debt," Sean muttered, disbelief coloring his voice. "Serious debt. How is that even possible? The old man always had a dozen contingency plans for his contingency plans."

Katelyn nodded grimly. "That's what I thought. It doesn't add up, Sean. Your father's always been careful, always had backup plans. For him to let things get this bad..."

"There's got to be more to it," Sean said, his mind racing. He flipped through the pages, searching for something, anything that might explain what the hell was going on.

And then he saw it. A deposit, buried in the midst of a sea of withdrawals and payments. A cool million dollars, transferred from an account he didn't recognize.

"What do you know about this? This company here, making the deposit?" Sean asked slowly, tapping the entry.

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