“He’s gone.”The words fell from my lips before I even realized I had said them.I searched my eyes everywhere, desperate, scanning the broken house for any sign of Daryl. But the dilapidated home gave nothing back—only silence and decay.Shit.My chest tightened like a vice. Was I too late? Had I been so blind that I missed the signs? When Sebastian first told me he suspected Daryl wasn’t Damian’s kid, I should’ve acted. I should’ve gone looking, should’ve demanded answers before it all spiraled into blood.Now he was gone.“Madam Kierra…” Tobi’s small voice cracked, trembling as it echoed in the hollow room. His wide eyes were fixated on the dark streaks painting the floor. “…why is there… so much blood?”He froze. His body stiffened as if the stains themselves were chains pulling him back into the horror of his past—the hatch where he was locked away, starved, beaten, forgotten. His trauma painted itself raw in his eyes as his breathing grew shallow.I immediately pulled the boy in
“She’s onto us!”Selene Evergreen swiped all the objects in the table, crashing them all into the floor. Her hair was in tangles, as if she had just pulled the with her own hands from the stress. She paced around the room, her eyes bloodshot as she turned her head across the wall.“She’s going to ruin it all! You didn’t kill her!”“Perhaps you’re forgetting your place?” The Monsignor’s cold voice brought a shrill into the already frigid room. This polar hues pierce everyone’s who dared look at them. In an instant, the room became silent— but not Selene’s..“You promised you would take care of her!”“And you promised to kill her, yourself.” The Monsignor snapped back with a low tone, irritated. “Where had your promise gone?”Selene’s throat dried as she looked at him. His orders were authority— and she’d rather follow them than lose her life, herself.“I risked resources to have you escape prison. Now it your turn to fulfill your part of the deal.”“How can I hunt her when she’s on hid
After Mom had been transported to a different place—safer, hidden under a name I couldn’t even know for security—I sat across from Alessio, my hands clasped so tightly the veins stood out across my knuckles.The echo of sirens from earlier still rang in my ears, and flashes of Sebastian collapsing wouldn’t leave my mind. Even now, I could almost hear his ragged breathing, his eyes dimming as though he carried the weight of a thousand secrets.I shook my head, forcing myself back into the present. I couldn’t afford to collapse now.I told Alessio about every single thing that happened starting from the explosion in the police station.His brows furrowed as he listened, arms folded across his chest, lawyer’s brain working as if he were already cross-examining every word.“A maximum facility being bombed by a crime organization?” Alessio repeated, disbelief cutting through his sharp tone. He placed a hand on his chin, clearly unsettled. “This is the first time I’ve heard of it. Maybe in
We locked eyes for a full minute before I tore my hand away. My chest felt tight, breath caught between my ribs. Sebastian’s gaze clung to me, confusion etched into every hard line of his face.When the weight of the situation finally settled into his mind, his expression shifted—retreat, hesitation, a flicker of vulnerability that rarely ever escaped him.“W-What… happened?” His voice cracked low, unfamiliar, like the man in front of me wasn’t the untouchable figure he always tried to be.“You tell him.” My tone was sharper than I intended, but my body moved before thought—stepping back, planting myself behind Alexandrei’s broad frame. He blocked me with the kind of rigid stance that screamed law and iron.“You wouldn’t tell me what happened, right?”“No, I—” He tried to sit upright, but agony ripped through him. The wound screamed louder than his voice, forcing him back against the bed with a guttural groan. “Argh!”“You’re shot,” I reminded coldly, arms folding. “I operated without
I treated Sebastian like I did before. Operating on the spot in my mother’s condominium, I had Alexandrei guard the perimeter around us. We were too vulnerable.Very vulnerable.My mother did not agree with me saving Sebastian.Even I was too conflicted to help. I didn’t know if being selfless now was going to fare anything later.I palmed my face as I leaned against the bed with an exhausted sigh.“You aren’t even healed yourself,” my mom sermoned at me and then looked at Sebastian with bitter eyes. And yet you’re treating him.”I couldn’t reply.To choose between family and the man I love.“Love truly makes us stupid, doesn’t it?”My mother frowned as she looked at me. When she saw the tears finally escaping my eyelids, she quickly pulled me into a hug. “Oh my dear…”A whole day passed and Sebastian has not woken up yet. I, myself did not feel my best as my injuries continued to sour. But I couldn’t leave Sebastian be.“Kierra…” Alexandrei walked towards me and placed a hand on my
I didn’t let him explain. The moment he hesitated to deny was all it took for me to realize that we was one of the culprits that caused this much hurt to my family.I didn’t understand at first.Was none of those real?Our first meeting.The time when I rescued him from death when he was shot?The moment we shook our hands thinking we’ve made ourselves a new friend?Was none of it real?“Did you plan this?!” I pointed at him. “Did you get close to me because of this?”“Kierra… I didn’t—““Then what is all this?”I showed him a picture of him and my father.“You are this man, am I not correct?”He didn’t speak, but merely pursed his lips.“You don’t want to say anything? You’d rather keep the truth from me? A person you love?”Sebastian’s eyes softened into regret. I could see them begging. Begging for me to stop and thinking things could go back to normal. “Answer me!” I shouted, trying to instill my impatient into his brain.“Kierra… I…”He was about to open his mouth and walk towa