The Bleed

For three weeks, Mateo lived two lives.

The service elevator was the bridge. When he turned the key to the left, he went up to the golden Penthouse, to Universe B. When he turned it to the right, he descended back to the mailroom, to Universe A.

He couldn't stay in Universe B forever. He tried, once. After twenty-four hours, he began to fade—his skin turning translucent, his heartbeat erratic. The universe rejected a foreign body that lingered too long. He had to return to the cage to recharge.

But the "Bleed" began to happen.

It started with the posture. In Universe A, Mateo stopped hunching. When he pushed the mail cart through the corridors, he walked with the predatory grace of Don Mateo.

Then, the stutter vanished.

"Mail call," Mateo said, dropping a stack of files on the receptionist’s desk.

She looked up, startled. "Thanks, Mouse. You... you sound different."

"My name is Mateo," he said quietly. He didn't smile.

She blushed. "Right. Mateo."

The fear was receding. The memories of Universe B—the nights spent strategizing with Isabella, the way the Capos bowed to him, the feeling of absolute power—were rewriting his neural pathways. He knew he *could* be strong because he *was* strong, somewhere else.

But the physical transfer was the most terrifying part.

In Universe B, during a sparring match with an instructor, Mateo took a knife graze to the ribs. When he returned to Universe A that night, he woke up screaming. A fresh, bleeding line appeared on his side, soaking his threadbare sheets.

The mirror. What happened to one body happened to the other. They were quantum entangled.

And then came the knowledge.

In Universe B, Don Mateo was paranoid. He kept detailed ledgers of every betrayal. One night, while Isabella B slept, Mateo went through the private files in the Don's study.

He found a discrepancy in the accounts. Someone was skimming off the top. Not just skimming—building a war chest.

He traced the accounts. They led to a shell company. *Lupus Import/Export.*

Luca.

In Universe B, Luca was planning a coup.

Mateo sat in the leather chair, the ledger trembling in his hands. If Luca was a traitor in the golden world, where Mateo was strong and vigilant...

What was he doing in the grey world, where the Don was old and sick, and the only person watching the shadows was a Mouse?