Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The penthouse had never felt this empty before.

Not even when Damon lived there alone.

Because now

The silence had shape.

Memory.

Absence.

Luca was gone.

And somehow his presence still filled every corner of the room.

Damon stood motionless near the broken television screens long after the door closed behind him.

Rain still crashing outside.

Thunder shaking faintly through the glass.

Seraphine watched him carefully from across the room.

Not speaking.

Because there were no useful words for this kind of devastation.

The shattered screen on the floor reflected fragmented pieces of Damon’s expression.

Shock.

Grief.

Anger.

Love.

All fighting each other at once.

Finally, Damon spoke.

Quietly.

“…how long did you know?”

Seraphine stiffened immediately.

“I didn’t.”

Damon laughed once under his breath.

Not because it was funny.

Because everything hurt.

“But you suspected something.”

Silence.

That was answer enough.

Seraphine exhaled slowly.

“I knew Hale erased parts of Luca’s memory.”

A pause.

“But I didn’t know what he erased.”

Damon looked away.

Toward the rain-streaked windows.

“He remembered tonight.”

“Yeah.”

The word felt heavy.

Terrifying.

Because Luca hadn’t just remembered a mission.

He remembered becoming the thing he feared most.

A monster.

And Damon

Damon remembered the boy in the rain.

Young.

Empty-eyed.

Covered in blood.

Not evil.

Just broken long before anyone tried to save him.

That should have made this easier.

It didn’t.

Damon pressed trembling fingers against his mouth briefly.

Trying to steady himself.

His mother was dead.

Because of Hale.

Because of the system.

Because Luca pulled a trigger in a storm years ago.

Every truth existed at the same time.

And none of them cancelled the others.

Seraphine stepped closer carefully.

“He left because he thinks he destroys everything he touches.”

Damon’s throat tightened.

“He’s wrong.”

“Is he?”

The question slipped out before she could stop it.

And immediately

Regret flashed across her face.

But Damon just looked tired now.

Not angry.

“…don’t.”

Seraphine swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry.”

Damon turned away from her completely.

Because part of him

A terrible small part

Had asked himself the same question already.

If Luca never entered his life…

Would everything hurt less?

The thought made him physically sick.

Because even now

Even after tonight

The idea of losing Luca hurt more than the truth itself.

And that terrified him.

His phone vibrated suddenly against the kitchen counter.

Unknown number.

Seraphine immediately reached for her weapon.

Damon answered anyway.

Silence greeted him first.

Static underneath it.

Then

Hale’s voice.

“You let him leave.”

Damon’s entire body went cold.

“Where is he?”

A soft exhale on the other end.

Almost disappointed.

“Still choosing him first.”

Damon gripped the phone harder.

“If you touch him”

“You misunderstand me,” Hale interrupted calmly.

“I’m not the threat tonight.”

That stopped Damon instantly.

Rain hammered harder outside.

“What does that mean?”

Hale was silent for a moment.

Then:

“Luca was never the only operative I created.”

Seraphine’s expression changed immediately.

No.

No no no.

Damon’s pulse spiked violently.

“What did you do?”

Hale ignored the question.

“Trauma creates loyalty,” he said quietly.

“Fear creates obedience.”

A pause.

“But abandonment…”

The line crackled softly.

“…creates desperation.”

Damon realized it instantly.

Luca alone right now

Mentally shattered

Was vulnerable.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Psychologically.

Exactly how Hale liked his victims.

“Where is he?” Damon demanded again.

This time Hale answered.

“At the place where it started.”

The call disconnected.

Silence slammed into the room.

Damon looked at Seraphine immediately.

“The warehouse.”

Her face drained of color.

Because she knew which one.

The abandoned training facility where Hale built children into weapons.

Where Luca lost his childhood.

Where Damon’s nightmare truly began.

“He’ll go there alone,” Seraphine whispered.

Damon was already moving.

Grabbing his gun.

Keys.

Jacket.

Because despite everything

Despite the blood.

Despite the truth.

Despite the unbearable grief clawing through him

There was only one thing Damon knew for certain:

Luca believed he deserved to suffer alone.

And Damon refused to let him.

Miles away

Inside the abandoned training facility

Luca stood trembling in the dark.

Old memories bleeding into the present.

Then

A light turned on behind him.

And a familiar voice said softly:

“Welcome home, Luca.”