Niklas continued without taking his eyes off the man in front of him. His voice was firm, insistent."As I asked you before…" he reiterated. "Who were you referring to when you said, 'I told you no one plays with me'?"
Von Hohenwald lifted his chin slightly. His expression remained calm, almost patient. He answered with a composure that felt deliberately provocative. "It could be anyone."
Niklas did not look away for a single second. "Is there anyone else involved as the ringleader of this human trafficking network?"
For the first time, Hohenwald held his gaze longer. His lips curved faintly. "I will not speak."
The lawyer glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Something in his expression changed. His posture stiffened, his face hardening before he intervened. "What is the purpose of these kinds of questions?" he asked, his voice controlled.
Hans replied without agitation. "They are questions directly related to the case."
The lawyer frowned. "And why would there be someone else involved?"
Niklas slowly turned his head toward him and gave a brief smile, heavy with intent. "What are you trying to hide, counselor?" he asked. "Based on what your client said in front of the cameras, it's obvious that someone else is involved. And not just anyone… someone important."
Nervousness crossed the lawyer's face for barely a second—just long enough for Niklas to notice. Still, the man quickly composed himself. "Another question," he said. "Why do you insist that my client wanted to be discovered?"
Niklas interlaced his fingers, closed his hands, and rested his chin on them, never taking his eyes off Hohenwald. "Mr. Von Hohenwald… do you remember the first time we met?"
Hohenwald leaned back slightly in his chair, crossing his legs with absolute calm. "Of course," he replied. "You were with a boy. We talked for a while."
"And do you remember what you told me during that conversation?" Niklas continued.
Hohenwald sighed—not out of nervousness, but from a clear lack of desire to keep talking. "Yes," he admitted. "We talked about missing persons… and other things."
Niklas nodded slowly.
"Do you know why I think you wanted everything to come to light?" he said. "First: who would search for a missing person and publish it across different networks when, in reality, he's the one behind human trafficking? Second: when we spoke, you told me that people of questionable background gathered at a specific bar. Who would send two detectives straight to the place where his own men meet?"
Hohenwald did not answer.
"Everything leads to the same point," Niklas continued. "You wanted your network to be discovered. Now the only thing left to know is why. And, based on what you said to the press… who else is involved."
The lawyer looked at him in disbelief at first… then with visible anger. "Very well," he said firmly. "I need some time alone with my client."
Niklas and Hans stood up at the same time. "That's fine," Niklas replied. "We'll leave you alone. We'll continue tomorrow."
Both men left the room without looking back. The door closed behind them.
Inside, Von Hohenwald remained seated, still wearing the same unsettling calm.
Outside, Niklas knew one thing for certain: the interrogation had only just begun… and whatever Hohenwald was hiding would make everything far more tense.
It was early the next morning.
Far from the detectives' station and the heavy atmosphere that lingered there, everything in Dominion's palace seemed to move with a deceptive calm.
Morning light filtered through the large windows of the main dining hall. Klein and Lars were having breakfast, seated across from one another. Between bites and trivial remarks, the conversation flowed lightly. A few brief laughs even escaped them—something unusual in that place.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Until the sound of footsteps descending the stairs caught Lars's attention.
He looked up.
It was Amelia.
She had been at the palace that morning, meeting with Sigmund in his office. Now she was wearing her coat, her bag hanging from her shoulder. Her expression made it clear she was about to leave.
Lars watched her in silence as she approached the dining hall.
"Guys," Amelia said with a light smile. "I'm heading home. I was only visiting for a short while."
Lars set his cutlery down on the plate. "I want to talk to you for a moment," he said, standing up.
Klein said nothing. He picked up the remote control and turned on the television, letting them go without asking questions.
Lars and Amelia walked together toward the palace exit. The cold morning air wrapped around them as soon as they stepped outside.
"What is it you want, Lars?" Amelia asked, glancing at him.
"I've been talking to Abraham's daughter during this time," he replied without hesitation.
Amelia stopped for a second and crossed her arms. "I know," she said. "She told me. I know your target is the Meyerns… but I hope you won't hurt her."
Lars shook his head. "Don't worry. She's my least concern," he replied. "All I care about is destroying the Meyerns' mafia. Nothing more."
Amelia studied him closely, as if weighing whether he was telling the truth.
They continued walking until they reached Amelia's car, parked in front of the palace. She opened the door, but before getting in, she turned back to him.
"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
"No," Lars replied. "Marcus and Viktor left last night. They told me I should stay in contact with you for the next job I have to do."
Amelia's expression changed. She smiled, surprised. "Oh… so it was you," she said. "My partner this time."
She nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon. Before that, I have something to take care of."
Amelia got into the car and closed the door. The engine hadn't started yet when she rolled the window back down.
"I need you to be ready," she added. "Sigmund told me what you did. And that he would speak to you."
Lars remained still.
Surprise crossed his face, though deep down he knew that moment would come sooner or later.
Sigmund always found out everything.
The engine started. Amelia placed her bag on the passenger seat and looked at Lars one last time through the lowered window.
"Very well, Lars," she said. "I'll talk to you… and I hope you're ready. Goodbye."
The vehicle began moving slowly. Lars raised his hand in a brief farewell gesture and watched as the car disappeared down the road that cut through the forest.
When it vanished from sight, he turned around and went back inside the palace.
He closed the door behind him. His intention was to return to the dining hall, but after taking only a few steps, something stopped him. He felt a presence.
He looked up.
On the second floor, leaning against the railing, stood Sigmund. He said nothing. He simply watched him closely, his expression unreadable. Then he raised one hand and made a simple gesture for him to come up.
Without adding a word, Sigmund turned around and walked toward his office.
Lars swallowed.
He climbed the stairs with measured steps. Each stair felt heavier than the last. When he reached the office door, he paused for a second. Took a deep breath—and went in.
Sigmund was seated behind his desk, back straight, hands resting on the wooden surface. At a certain distance in front of him stood a single chair.
"Take a seat," Sigmund said calmly.
Lars obeyed. He sat down and looked straight at him. Despite the tension inside him, his face remained relatively calm.
Sigmund did not waste time.
"I want you to be honest with me," he said. "What happened with Hohenwald?"
Lars didn't dodge the question. "I couldn't let that bastard remain free," he replied. "I gathered all the evidence I could… and sent the files to the police."
For a moment, Sigmund looked as though he was about to respond. He opened his mouth slightly, but before he could say anything, the office door opened.
The large man appeared in the doorway.
It was Rudolf.
"Good morning, Sigmund," he said. "I need to talk to you."
Sigmund turned his head slightly toward him. "I'm busy right now, Rudolf," he replied. "Can you wait a moment?"
Rudolf closed the door behind him… but didn't leave.
He stayed inside the office, standing near them.
"Very well," he said. "I'll wait here."
Lars understood that whatever conversation followed would no longer be just between him and Sigmund.
Sigmund didn't respond to Rudolf. His gaze returned to Lars.
"Lars," he finally said, "I won't reproach you for what you did. But I don't want this to happen again."
Lars blinked, surprised. For a moment, he had expected a harsher reprimand—perhaps a warning, or even punishment. Not this.
Sigmund continued, his voice firm but controlled. "Even so, you're right. Someone like Hohenwald shouldn't remain free."
Lars seized the moment. "This organization is supposed to do good," he said. "Why would it be wrong to turn someone like that over to the police?"
Before Sigmund could answer, a restrained laugh broke the silence.
It was Rudolf.
Both men looked at him. Rudolf raised his eyebrows, amused. "Sigmund," he said, "what exactly did you tell this kid? That we do good?"
Lars frowned and turned his head toward him."What do you mean?"
Rudolf stepped closer and placed a heavy hand on Lars's shoulder, almost condescendingly.
"Kid" he said, "all we care about is the money we make from the jobs we do. I don't know what kind of nonsense Sigmund told you."
Lars tensed beneath his hand. "Seck is the one who told me that," he replied. "And he also said the organization had become corrupted."
Rudolf slowly withdrew his hand and looked at him more closely. "Was Seck the one who sent you here?"
"No," Lars answered. "It was my own decision. Seck didn't even want me to take this path."
Sigmund remained behind his desk. He didn't move a single step; even so, his presence filled the office.
"While we do this for money," he said calmly, "we also seek to do good deeds. We've saved many people. And we've also discovered that many of those we work for are not clean."
Lars listened attentively, instinctively keeping his distance.
"Lars," Sigmund continued, "we don't turn criminals over ourselves for safety reasons. We run the risk of the organization being exposed if we do."
He paused briefly before going on.
"And what you said is also true. Some members became corrupted. They do whatever they want now, and I can't control all of them… or am I wrong, Rudolf?"
Rudolf, leaning against the wall, watched Sigmund for a few seconds before replying with a crooked grin.
"Well," he said, "there's a lot of money to be made."
Sigmund didn't react to the comment and continued speaking, his voice never rising.
"Kevin and Noah followed that path too. They take all kinds of jobs. Both of them have been missing for a long time."
Rudolf straightened immediately. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk about."
Before continuing, he looked at Lars and then at Sigmund. Nothing more needed to be said. Sigmund understood the gesture.
"Lars, you may leave. We're done here."
Lars didn't respond. He stood up slowly, opened the office door, and was about to close it when he heard Rudolf's voice behind him.
"You know… Noah contacted me. He said he started working for the Meyerns… indefinitely."
Lars froze for a second. Then he closed the door.