Chapter 5: A Message From The Dead.
Julian was standing in the Truth Room with Caesar towering by his side. Terrified by Luca's condition. He knew how ruthless Caesar is and he meant ever would that came out of his sharp jaws. Caesar made him sit at the other side of the one way glass. Luca was already connected to a lie detector. “He lies, that over there sends jolt through his body. Trust me buddy, it's terrible.”. He points to a machine. “Julian, sweetheart. Start your interrogation”. He grabbed him by his shoulder. “Did you know my brother was going to be killed?”, he asked the first question, every word came out trembling. “No, I swear. I'm telling the truth.”, he says, shaking his head, crying. Lucas lied. Screams as the chair sends jolts through his body. “Make it stop. I don't want to do this anymore. Please”, he stands up suddenly. His hands on his ears. Caesar pushed him down forcefully. Make him sit in the chair back. “This is how you get the truth. Julian” “You lie again, I'm taking your fingers off” “I would tell you what I know. Patrick was being blackmailed, someone had an explicit pic of him with an older man” “ Patrick was scared, he said it leaked Caesar would kill him” “I wouldn't have. I begged Patrick to tell me what was wrong. When the light in his eyes died, I begged him to let me help him. Probably would still have been alive today. I would make everyone and anyone pay for what they did to him”, Caesar said. For once, Julian saw Caesar vulnerable. “It was all my fault, I set him up to be taken advantage of. The client was going to pay so much. I never meant what I did to him,forgive Julian. I swear, I'm sorry. I haven't learnt my mistake “ “How could you have done that to him?. We were together and you were doing such behind my back to my brother”Julian breaks down sobbing. “We got what we wanted. What do I do to him, do we make him live?” “I don't know. I just want to get away from here..” Caesar smirked. “I'll decide that” “Finish all, get the trash away from here” He signaled his men. The curtains dropped, as Julian left the underground all he could hear behind him was screams till it stopped. He rushed to his room, to the bathroom. Throws up in the sink. He returned to the bedroom. He finds his phone which has been taken away from him in his pillow. One message….. Unknown number. He opened it. A broken voice so familiar: “Julian…don't trust him. He knows what he did. I didn't kill myself. They made me fake it. I'm so sorry” It's Patrick's voice. The phone dropped from his trembling hands. Another message popped up. “RUN.” He was shaken, paranoid, breathing hard. He immediately stomped out of his room and went to Caesar's study. Finds him there, a smoke in between his fingers… Caesar is calm like he was expecting him. “What are you hiding from me?. Did you kill my brother??” “How can I trust you,when you are always mysterious and shady” “I didn't and never. I'm protecting you and one day you'd know that” “But …”, Caesar cornered him against the wall. Breath against his neck. This sends tangling feelings to Julian's groin. Terrified, thrilled but also furious. Caesar knew the obsession was mutual even if Julian wouldn't admit it “Come with me.”. He pulled Julian down to a room behind a secret door. Not for torture, but actually elegant, light lit low, soft music, restraint that doesn't look like they were made for pain or torture. “The last time I was here was with your brother. I only brought him here” “This room is for control. Not punishing, Julian. Tonight, you learn obedience. So you better be a good boy” “I'll give you the truth, but you earn that with every moan”, he smirked. . Julian knew he wanted him. The same way he wanted the truth. He wanted Caesar's body against his. “But you stop, when I want you to” “I take my pet words seriously. You need a safe word. Say it when you want me to stop”, Caesar tilted his head waiting for a response. “Red”, Julian replied. “Alright pet.” Caesar tied his hands with a silk rope. Blindfolded, a sign he trusted him. Caesar guides him with his voice, gloved hands and ice. He used a riding crop on the inner thigh, not enough to hurt but could break down composure. He puts ice into his mouth and gently places it on Julian's delicate frame across his back. . Julian shivered, not from the ice only but also the sexual attention his body was aching from. *Relax, pet. You seem tense. You have to trust and submit to me” Caesar teased him. Touching him, and gently wiping him with a leash. “If you want me, you just have to say it”. “Please, touch me. Caesar”, he said quietly. “I can't hear you, speak up”, “Please, touch me. I'm begging you”, he said louder this time. Caesar works his lubed finger into him. Every movement made him shiver, moan, and quiver. This was bliss. Nothing had ever made him feel better than this. Julian was blindfolded throughout with trust leading instead. “I'm getting closer, Caesar. I can feel it”, he whispered. “You have to beg for that, you know. Where are your manners?” “Please, I can't hold it anymore. Let me come, Caesar” When he did, Caesar whispered in his ear something crucial. “Your brother didn't die because of me….he died because he chose someone else over me” “You have to choose me if you want to live, Julian”Chapter Sixty Six: The Serpent Kiss Peter pushed the door open slowly, the soft creak slicing through the heavy silence of the office. Ryan stood by the windows, his broad back turned to Peter, rigid like a statue carved from anger. “Close the door, Peter.” Ryan’s voice was low, quiet…but every syllable carried a weight of command that brooked no argument. Peter obeyed, the click of the door closing sounding unnervingly loud. “You saw the news, I assume? The laughing stock of the city. My task force… humiliated by novelty fish,” Ryan said, voice tight, clipped. Peter kept his tone even, careful to stay neutral. “It was a strategic blow, sir. But we’ll recover. We’ll find whoever did this.” Ryan spun around like a coiled serpent, slamming his hand down on the desk with a thunderous crack. Peter flinched, caught off guard by the raw fury blazing in Ryan’s eyes. “Recover?!” Ryan’s roar shattered the room, his face twisted with something savage, feral. “They didn’t just stea
Chapter Sixty Five: Meeting With The FoesThe air in the VIP room was thick with the smell of old money and new lies. Peter felt his uniform tighten around his throat like a noose. Every step behind Ryan Graves felt like walking the plank.Arthur Bryan sat enthroned in a leather armchair, a glass of brandy in hand. His smile was a polished weapon. "Peter Davis," he said, the name rolling off his tongue like a verdict. He stood, his grip crushing Peter's hand. "I knew your father. A man of… inflexible principles." His eyes, cold and assessing, scanned Peter's face. "It's a relief to see his son understands how the real world operates."Peter’s stomach churned. He could feel the ghost of his father in the room, a silent, disapproving presence. I’m sorry, Dad. He forced a smile that felt like a crack in his soul. "I believe in getting things done, Senator. My father admired efficiency. I suppose I do, too." The lie tasted like bile.Ryan clapped a heavy hand on Peter’s shoulder, a p
Chapter Sixty Four: The Devil’s Bargain The lounge was too quiet, the kind of silence that felt expensive and dangerous. Peter’s skin prickled under his uniform. It felt like a costume here, a pathetic disguise. “There you are. I was beginning to think you got cold feet.” Ryan Graves didn’t smile. His eyes did all the talking, scanning Peter like he was a piece of evidence. “Sit.” Peter sat, the leather chair groaning under him. He felt like a kid in the principal’s office, if the principal was a shark in a tailored suit. “You look tense. Drink.” It wasn’t a suggestion. Ryan pushed a glass of amber liquid across the polished wood. “It’s good to have ambition, kid. Serve me well, and you’ll rise fast. Faster than you can imagine.” Peter’s fingers curled around the cool glass. He forced a smile, but it felt brittle on his face. “It’s not about the position for me, sir. It’s about serving the country. Upholding the law.” The words tasted like ash in his mouth. Just like Dad. Ry
Chapter Sixty Three: Blood and Thrones“Are you really afraid a major strike could hit us, Father?” Caesar’s voice was calm but sharp, like a blade slicing through the tense silence.Julian, Peter, and Enzo sat close by, the weight of Don Alessandro’s presence hanging heavy after Ryan’s press conference. The room was thick with unspoken threats.“Oh, son,” Don Alessandro sighed, voice low but laced with something like tiredness. “You know me. Fear is a stranger to me.”“But the police crackdown,” Caesar pressed, “it’s not just smoke. It’s a real threat…one that hits the family where it hurts the most.”Don Alessandro’s eyes narrowed, dark and unreadable. “If you want to be part of this fight, you step back.”“No more using Julian like a pawn, no more half-trusts. I lead. You don’t interfere. Otherwise, walk away and let us rot.”Caesar cut him off, ice in his glare. “Don’t push me, Father. My life isn’t the Mafia’s. You’re the one who stands to lose everything if this empire crashes
Chapter Sixty-Two: Rings of Fire“You think that bastard just offered to mentor you because he likes your face?” Enzo’s voice cracked like a whip, sharp with fury. “He’s already sizing you up.”Peter stood still, arms folded, jaw clenched. Enzo wasn’t wrong. But he wasn’t exactly right either.“His walking in on you at the recruitment office wasn’t some random coincidence,” Enzo continued, pacing now, like a storm building. “You’re walking into a den of wolves. They’ll eat you alive.”“I’ll make them think I’m a sheep,” Peter said, calm and cold. “Let them circle. I want justice for my father. And this is the closest I’ve ever been.”“Peter, in as much as this is a good idea,” Julian cut in, his eyes soft but voice strained, “this is dangerous.”“Peter is the best shot we’ve got to plant someone near Ryan,” Caesar added, arms folded. He sounded more like a strategist than a friend. “He just has to make Ryan believe he’s on his side…make him think he’s taken the bait. Meanwhile, we g
Chapter Sixty-One: The Villain in Uniform“I don’t think you should stay at the hospital anymore. We don’t know who’s going to walk through that door next…someone who won’t hesitate to silence you for good.”“You worry too much about me, Doc,” Sebastian chuckled, trying to lighten the tension.“I’m serious.” Aiden’s voice was firm as he adjusted his glasses. “You don’t have anyone to take care of you if I send you home. You should stay at my apartment.”Sebastian sighed, heavy with reluctance. “I don’t want to be a burden or put you in danger. You’d understand if I refused.”“I’m a doctor, Sebastian. My job is to keep you alive. And right now, the hospital isn’t safe for you.”“At least in my apartment, I can watch over you every second.”Aiden’s calm and unwavering tone did what it always did…he convinced Sebastian.*****Snap! Snap!Hundreds of camera flashes exploded in the hall.A neatly dressed, well-decorated officer climbed the stage to speak.“No one is above the law. Not the