The Billionaire's leash: Kneel for me, Prince Chapter 54: Rocco’s heir

The Grand Regency Hotel’s marble lobby descended into chaos the mont Silas Vane stord through the revolving doors.

Ten heavily ard n in black tactical gear flanked him, their presence sucking the air out of the luxurious space. Guests around were scared and froze in fear, a woman dropped her shopping bags in horror.

"Mr. Vane, please!" The hotel manager, a middle-aged man in a crisp suit, rushed forward with two attendants trailing desperately behind him. "This is highly irregular! We cannot allow ard n into our guest rooms. Please, sir, calm down! We can discuss whatever issue you have in the private lounge—"

Silas didn’t even slow down. His face was carved from ice and fury. "Room 2804."

"Sir, please!" One attendant begged, stepping in front of him. "We have protocols! If you could just give us a mont to contact the guest—"

Silas’s lead bodyguard shoved the man aside without gentleness. The group moved like a black tide toward the private elevator.

The manager’s voice cracked as he ran after them. "Mr. Vane! This could destroy our reputation! We beg you — there must be another way!"

The elevator doors closed on their desperate pleas.

On the 28th floor, the corridor was silent until it wasn’t.

Silas’s n kicked the door of Room 2804 open with brutal force. The wooden door splintered and the lock shattered.

Santiago sat calmly in the center of the luxurious suite, wearing nothing but a white silk bathing robe. A glass of red wine swirled lazily in his hand. He looked up as if he had been expecting them, a faint, almost amused smile on his lips.

The ard n poured in, weapons raised, forming a periter around the room.

Tension crackled in the air like electricity.

Silas stepped inside last, his presence alone making the large suite feel suffocating. He walked straight to the opposite armchair and sat down without invitation, eyes locked on Santiago like a predator.

"Everyone out," Silas ordered his n. "Wait in the hallway."

The n filed out, leaving the two alone.

For a long mont, neither spoke. The silence was thick enough to choke on.

Silas leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Where is Leon?"

Santiago took a slow sip of wine, completely unfazed. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Vane. Leon? The boy from the restaurant? Why would I know where he is?"

Silas’s voice dropped dangerously low. "Don’t play gas with . He was taken from the safe house today. An exceptional professional team extracted him easily and that needed an outsider’s help. You expect to believe that has nothing to do with you?"

Santiago set his glass down and crossed his legs. "I’m flattered you think I have that kind of power. But I’m just a businessman passing through. I enjoyed talking to the boy about books. Nothing more. Why would I kidnap him?"

Silas’s eyes burned with cold rage. "Because you’ve been circling him for weeks. Because you offered him money. Because you suddenly appeared in my life at the exact sa ti soone started moving against . I don’t believe in coincidences."

Santiago smiled faintly. "Paranoia doesn’t suit a man of your stature. I have no reason to take the boy. None at all. Perhaps you should look closer to ho. Enemies in your own circle, maybe?"

Silas leaned forward, voice like velvet over a blade. "If I find out you’re involved — even breathing the sa air as the people who took him — I will burn everything you own. I will make you watch while I tear your life apart piece by piece."

Santiago t his gaze steadily. "Threats? From the great Silas Vane? I expected better. I truly don’t know where Leon is. If I did, I would tell you. The boy was kind to . I liked him for that."

The silence stretched as if they both controlled their anger. Silas stared at him for a long, suffocating mont.

Then he stood up abruptly. "This isn’t over."

He turned toward the door, his n already falling in behind him as he stepped into the hallway. But at the threshold, he paused and looked back over his shoulder.

"Oh, and Rocco heir..." Silas said calmly, as if comnting on the weather. "Next ti you want to play in my city, choose a better mask."

The door clicked shut behind him and his ard entourage.

Santiago remained seated, wine glass still in hand. But the calm expression on his face had shattered completely.

His fingers tightened around the glass until it cracked. Red wine spilled over his robe like blood.

"Rocco heir..."

The words echoed in the silent room, his breathing beca shallow. For the first ti in years, real panic flashed across Santiago’s face. He whispered to the empty suite, voice barely audible. "How... how the hell does he know?"

"Rocco heir..." Silas’s parting words echoed in his skull like a gunshot.

He slamd the cracked glass onto the table, red wine spilling across the polished wood like fresh blood. His chest heaved as he grabbed his phone with shaking fingers and dialed a number he rarely used.

The line rang three tis before a calm, professional male voice answered. "Young Master Santiago. Is everything alright? You never call this line unless—"

"Is my identity exposed?" Santiago cut in sharply, voice low but urgent. "Tell right now. Has anyone breached our family’s security? Has the Rocco na been linked to in any database, any report?"

The man on the other end paused, sounding slightly confused but confident. "No, Young Master. Nothing has been breached. Our firewalls are intact. The Rocco family protocols are still holding. No leaks reported from our end. Your alias remains clean. Why? Has sothing happened?"

Santiago stood up and began pacing the suite, one hand gripping his hair. "Silas Vane just barged in here with ten ard n. He looked dead in the eyes and called ’Rocco heir’ before walking out. How the fuck does he know? If our security is clean, how did he find out?"

The man on the phone sounded genuinely surprised. "That’s... impossible. We’ve had no alerts. No unusual access attempts. Our people in the underworld have heard nothing about any investigation linking you to the Rocco lineage. Perhaps he was bluffing? Trying to rattle you?"

"Bluffing?" Santiago laughed bitterly, voice rising. "Silas Vane doesn’t bluff. He doesn’t waste words. If he said it, he knows sothing. I need you to double-check everything. Every server, every contact, every person who has ever handled my files. Do it now."

"Understood, Young Master. I’ll run a full diagnostic imdiately. But I assure you — nothing has been breached on our side. You should be safe."

Santiago cut the call without another word. He threw the phone onto the couch and resud pacing, muttering to himself.

"How? How the hell did he find out? I’ve been extrely careful. The Rocco family connections were supposed to be buried deep. No one outside the inner circle should know. Did Viktor sell out? Is the Emperor playing a longer ga? Or has Silas been digging into since the very first eting?"

He stopped near the window, staring out at the glittering city lights. His reflection looked pale and haunted.

"I ca here to gather information. Not to be exposed like this. If Silas knows I’m connected to the Rocco family... then he knows I’m not just so mysterious businessman. He’ll dig deeper. He’ll connect to everything."

Santiago’s hands clenched into fists. "Leon... the kidnapping... if Silas links to that too, I’m finished. My father will drag back ho in chains. Everything I’ve built here will collapse."

He was still muttering when his phone rang again. The sa number.

Santiago snatched it up and answered imdiately. "What? Did you find sothing already?"

The man’s voice was no longer calm. It was urgent, almost panicked. "Young Master... I’m sorry. The data was breached yesterday. A sophisticated backdoor attack slipped through our secondary servers. Your identity — the Rocco lineage connection was accessed. It’s been exposed. We only just detected it now."

Santiago froze. The glass of wine he had just picked up slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.

"WHAT?!" he roared, voice exploding with fury. "Yesterday?! You’re telling my identity has been known since yesterday and you didn’t think to inform imdiately?!"

The man stamred on the other end. "We didn’t detect the breach until minutes ago, Young Master. The attack was extrely well-hidden. It looks professional — possibly governnt level or high-tier underworld. I was about to call you when—"

"Shut up!" Santiago shouted, kicking the broken glass across the room. "You had one job! One fucking job — keep my identity protected! And now Silas Vane is walking around, knowing my identity is a much bigger risk! Do you understand what this ans? He knows! He knows who I really am!"

"Young Master, please calm down. We’re already working on damage control. We can—"

"Damage control?" Santiago laughed angrily, pacing faster. "My cover is blown! The one advantage I had in this city is gone! Silas isn’t stupid. He’ll connect to the kidnapping. He’ll co back here with more than ten n next ti. And you — you sat on this information for nearly a full day!"

The man’s voice was trembling now. "I take full responsibility. We will find who breached us and eliminate them. But right now, you need to get out of that hotel. It’s no longer safe."

Santiago stopped pacing, breathing heavily. "Get out? And go where? Silas already knows where I am. He just proved that. Tell my father nothing about this yet. I need ti to fix this ss."

He ended the call abruptly and hurled the phone against the wall. It cracked on impact.

Santiago stood in the middle of the luxurious suite, surrounded by shattered glass and spilled wine, his silk robe stained red. He whispered through gritted teeth, voice filled with rage and fear. "Silas Vane... who the hell are you really?"