CHAPTER 50

Lucian’s POV

Aaron was already standing at the door before I finished speaking. “I’m coming with you.”

“No.” It was immediate. Flat. No space in it.

He turned. “What do you mean no?”

I looked at him properly. “You’re injured.”

“I can still fight.”

“I didn’t ask.”

Silence dropped for a second. Aaron stepped closer. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”

“Yes I do.”

His jaw tightened. “You think I’m weak?”

“No, you are not weak, but you are still not coming.”

I said it quietly.

“You can’t stop me.”

“You think so?”

He hated how easily I read him. Worse, he didn’t know I already knew why. He liked me. He just didn’t know I knew.

Silence again. He reached for his weapon. “I’m not taking orders from you like I’m—”

I grabbed his wrist mid-motion. Enough to stop him from talking.

His breath shifted slightly.

“You will listen once,” I said. “You don’t follow me. You don’t come near that place. If you step out that door behind me, I will bring you back myself and lock you in a room until this is over.”

His eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”

I leaned in slightly. “Try me.”

That stopped him. Not fear. Understanding.

I turned. “Stay.”

Behind me I heard movement again. I added without turning back, “If you follow me, Aaron, I won’t be gentle about bringing you back.”

This time, he didn’t move.

---

Kael’s POV

The building wasn’t structured anymore. It was collapsing into panic, but not ours. Theirs.

Vera moved like she already knew every corner before we reached it.

We turned a corner. Two guards. She didn’t hesitate. Neither did I. Down. Another corridor.

“They’re trying to lock down,” she said.

“They’re late.”

We reached the main core room. I stopped. Not because of guards, but because of the system. Centralized. One control point. Vera looked at it.

“Oh,” she said quietly.

I nodded. “End point.”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yes.”

First man turned. Vera hit him before sound came out. Second reached for alarm. I stopped him. Third tried to run. Door shut. No escape. We didn’t rush. We didn’t need to.

I reached the console. Vera behind me.

“You sure?” she asked.

“Yes.”

I pulled the override. Everything stopped. Screens died. Systems went dark. The organization didn’t fall loudly. It just ended.

Silence followed. Vera exhaled. “That’s it.”

“Yes.”

“You’re bleeding,” she said.

“I’ve had worse.”

“I know.”

We should’ve moved. We didn’t.

Her eyes stayed on mine. I didn’t look away.

“We’re not done,” she said softly.

“No,” I replied.

And neither of us moved first.

The door didn’t open slowly. It opened like they owned the place again.

Kael didn’t turn immediately. He already knew. Vera felt it too.

“Tell me that’s not who I think it is,” she said low.

Kael finally looked up. His expression shifted.

Not fear. Recognition.

“My uncle,” he said.

The air in the room dropped instantly.

Behind the man came others—older men in expensive suits, calm faces, the kind of calm that only comes from power that has never been questioned. High committee members. The system behind everything.

Vera straightened slightly. “That’s the whole brain,” she muttered.

“Yeah,” Kael replied. “And the disease.”

The uncle smiled when he saw them. Like this was a reunion, not a battlefield.

“So,” he said slowly, eyes moving between Kael and Vera, you guys really want to escape again.

Kael stepped forward once. Then stopped.

“You should’ve killed us when you had the chance,” Kael said.

The uncle gave a soft laugh. “I did try.”

Then footsteps came from behind.

More. Heavier. Controlled.

Vera turned first. Kael followed.

Lucian.

With their men.

Kael’s gaze locked on Lucian for a moment. Something silent passed between them.

Then Kael smirked faintly. “You’re late.”

Lucian didn’t smile. “I’m exactly on time.”

The uncle tilted his head. “Twins. Still together.”

Lucian’s voice was calm. “You talk too much for someone surrounded.”

“And you still think numbers matter?” the uncle replied.

Kael looked at him fully. “No. But time does.”

And then everything broke.

The first shot came from Vera.

One of the high table men dropped instantly. Clean. Between the eyes.

The room erupted.

Lucian’s men moved immediately, forming structure, cutting angles, controlling space.

Kael didn’t move at first. He was watching only one target.

The uncle.

Kael crossed the distance in seconds.

One strike to the jaw snapped the uncle’s head sideways. He staggered. Kael followed immediately—elbow into ribs, then a brutal throw into the metal table.

The impact echoed through the room.

Vera didn’t stop moving. She was already eliminating the remaining high table members. One shot. Two shots. No hesitation.

Lucian’s voice cut through the chaos. “Left side clear. Push forward.”

His men advanced as a unit. Clean, controlled.

The uncle pushed himself up slowly, blood at the corner of his mouth.

“You’re still just a boy trying to act like me,” he said.

Kael grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close.

His voice dropped. “You made me.”

Then he drove him down again. Harder.

This time, the uncle didn’t rise quickly.

Vera finished the last of the high table members. One by one. Clean execution.

Lucian’s men secured the room.

Silence settled.

Kael stood over his uncle.

Gun in hand.

The uncle coughed lightly. “You won’t end what I built.”

Kael didn’t blink. “I’m not ending it, I am destroying it.”

And he pulled the trigger.

Silence.

No movement after that.

It was finished.

Outside, the air felt different.

Like something had been removed from the world.

Lucian stood near the vehicles.

Vera walked out first, blood on her hands, expression unreadable. Kael followed.

Lucian looked at him. Kael met his gaze.

“It’s done,” Lucian said.

Kael nodded. “It’s done.”

They got into the cars.

The convoy moved.

Inside the car, silence sat heavy.

Vera leaned back slightly, eyes forward. Kael sat beside her. Lucian’s car led ahead.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Vera turned slightly toward Kael.

“You didn’t hesitate back there, that’s what scares people,” she said quietly.

Kael finally turned his head slightly toward her.

“And you?” he asked.

Vera held his gaze. “I don’t get scared easily.”

The car turned slightly, their shoulders shifting closer for a moment. Neither moved away.

Kael’s voice dropped lower. “We’re not done.”