Father, please

Standing from the floor, Rene swallowed back his fear and gazed over at the dead man on his couch before facing Logan, "Father, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

A look of fear settled in Logan's eyes, knowing that even though he was in charge of protecting, raising, and training Rene, this was the first time he had called him father while Rome was on the other side of the call.

"Your dad wants to speak with you," Logan said, withdrawing the phone and showing it to Rene.

But he refused to accept it, rage filling his eyes as he stared angrily at the device. Yet, Logan took steps towards him, grabbed his wrist, and put the phone in his hand, commanding, "Master Rome wants to speak with you."

Frowning, Rene took the phone and drew it to his ear,  hesitating only slightly before saying, "Yes?"

After some silent hesitation, the deep baritone voice of Rome spoke up. "Are you alright? Are you safe?"

"Yeh," Rene said, turning to look down at the dead man.

"Logan said they were after you. Why?"

"idk."

"Rene, can you give me full sentences?!!"

Silence fell between them for several minutes and then Rome's voice spoke again, softer this time. "Rene, I need you to be clear with me. What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Rene tried to collect his thoughts. "I was attacked, Dad. Some guy broke in and tried to stab me. Logan shot him before he could do anything."

"Did he say why he was after you?"

Eyeing Adina, Rene hesitated, the words sticking in his throat. "No."

Suddenly, Matthew walked into the living room, and then let out, "The one survivor just confessed that some random guy paid their gang to beat young master up because young master put his hands on him, and they were paid to damage him and leave him half dead."

Immediately, Logan scowled at Matthew, and whispered, "Master is on the line."

"Shit! You think he heard me?" Matthew exclaimed quietly.

"What Matthew just said, is it true?!" Rome's voice boomed in Rene's ear.

It grew cold with silence as he stood still, clutching the phone so tightly that he felt like it might break under the pressure. Finally, he found his voice, and said, "Yeah."

"Why? Why would you risk your life senselessly? I told you to walk away!" Rome growled harshly. "Your life is valuable-"

Drawing a harsh breath, Rene let it all out, "Life! Do I have a life, Rome? You teach me to fight, but urge me to allow myself to get bullied for my entire life! You put billions of dollars in my account, but forced me to live so poorly that people spat on me and looked down on me for it!! You have properties in my name, but force me to live in a rundown apartment! What the hell do you want from me, Rome?!!"

Everyone in the room gasped as they turned to gaze at him, and Rene glared over at them, breathing heavily, his hands trembling as he gripped the phone tightly.

The other side of the line remained quiet for a minute, but soon, Rome asked calmly, "Answer me this, truthfully... Did they attack you because they knew that you are my son?"

"I stopped being that a long time ago, so why would they? That guy was being arrogant towards me, so I punched him in the face. That's all there is to it." Rene lied without even thinking about it, knowing that if his father knew all this happened because of Layla, he didn't know what he was capable of doing to her.

There was a moment of quiet on the other end of the line before Rome spoke softly, his voice laced with emotion, "Alright... Logan is going to take you to the safehouse for now-"

"The safehouse!! I am not going back to that prison!!" Rene interrupted furiously.

"Rene…"

"No! No!! I will not go back to that life of being hidden away from the world, surrounded by your men with no outside contact! I suffered that being homeschooled all my school days. You promised Mom that you were going to let me in the real world for college. You swear it to us!"

Rome's voice echoed with frustration and a hint of desperation, as though clinging to the hope that his son would understand the gravity of his words. "And you promised me to keep your head down and stay out of trouble," 

Rene's eyes burned with anger and betrayal. His voice quivered, a mix of defiance and hurt. "I did for four good years. And just one mistake, you're going to lock me away?" He couldn't keep the bitterness from creeping into his tone, feeling the weight of his father's disappointment like a crushing burden.

His father's voice grew more forceful, but there was an underlying plea for understanding. "I am not arguing this with you, Rene!"

Rene's fists clenched at his sides, his frustration boiling over. "I'm not a kid anymore. I am twenty years old," he shouted, his voice cracking with the raw intensity of his emotions. The years of trying to prove himself, of yearning for his father's approval, now felt like they were unraveling in this heated exchange.

"Being a man doesn't stop me from being your father, Rene," Rome's voice cut through his raving, although there was a touch of sadness behind the words. "I'm proud of the man you've become, but right now, you must return to the safety of the mansion,"

The entire night, Rene had fought back tears, but the frustration he felt was overwhelming. Everything hurt, and he let it all in one roar of anger. All those years of holding everything inside, and then the stress came flooding in, taking hold of his mind. It was almost like he was being suffocated; a wave of pain crashed over his whole body as it felt as though he'd burst into flames. His throat tightened around nothingness, making it hard to breathe. He was losing control.

"Father, please. I am begging you... Please, Dad. Don't throw me back in there." Rene busted out as his chest shook violently. "Please."