CHAPTER 80

CHAPTER 80


Archer

I stayed glued to where I was standing, looking at him with so many thoughts going through my head. Ric, my right-hand man, was the only person I trusted throughout these years.

The only man who would go through hell just to be by my side, only to be standing by my greatest nemesis, Pius. None of these made sense to me, but I had to suck it in.

“Ric?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Savien was beyond shocked, but there was another emotion, anger.

“What the hell is this?” he barked, stepping forward before I put an arm across his chest. I needed answers more than I needed revenge.

Ric stood on his grounds, his eyes glued to me, his body stiff. He wasn't smiling, he looked stoic, he stared at me like he had been waiting his whole life for this.

“You finally look like a human, Archer,” he said. “Shocked. Hurt. Vulnerable. It suits you.”

“What are you doing?” My mouth was dry. “How could you do this? After being together all these years, this is how you repay me?” My voice cracked.

Savien was fuming. “So youre the fucking reason Elena was taken! All this time we were searching, breaking heads, risking everything…and you were feeding this bastard information? You're probably the only person who knew that there was a tracker in her bracelet, and you're definitely the one who allowed them inside the hospital to take her away.”

Ric’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “I was,” he said plainly. With absolutely no regret. He was proud. He had no guilt. He looked very proud. “Every move you made. Every call. Every gut instinct. I countered it.”

I stepped forward slowly. “Why?”

He let out a scoff. “You really don’t get it, do you? After all these years, you still think you’re the victim in all this. The misunderstood, brooding hero. My parents were killed, so i turned into a killing machine to calm myself, just complete bullshit.”

“I trusted you!” I snapped. “You were family to me.”

“That’s exactly the problem.” He clenched his jaw. “You see, Archer, you’ve always had family. A name. A legacy. Power. Everything was handed to you by your father. Everything was taken from mine.”

I frowned. “What do you mean? Your father was—”

“Murdered!” Ric exploded. Veins were visible on his forehead. “By your father. You really don’t know, do you? Of course, you don’t. Why would you bother with the dirty little details of the men your precious old man destroyed?” My brows furrowed as I stared at him with a puzzled expression.

Savien muttered a curse under his breath. “This is twisted. He saved you. From a child trafficking ring, you could've died. He did you a favour, you fucking…”

“He didn’t save me,” Ric cut me off, his voice laced with anger. “He wiped out my entire bloodline and didn’t realise a child had been left alive. I witnessed everything. He wanted something, but my parents didn't oblige, so he killed them to have it.

When someone found me and told him who I was, he took me in, not out of guilt, not out of compassion, but out of convenience. Raised me like a damn pet. Trained me to protect his golden boy. You. Isn't that a sweet story?

Come on, you really expected your father to tell you that he was an evil bastard who used to kill people for fun? He deserved what happened to him earlier. Your father is the reason why the Russians hate Italians because he started eliminating them.

That is why they fucking killed him. You and your sister shouldve died with him bit your mother was too weak to do that, that was a big fucking mistake she did, for saving your asses.”

I blinked, trying to reconcile the man before me with the boy I grew up with. “What? What bullshit are you saying? My father never did that, he considered you as his son. You were my brother.”

“No,” Ric said, his voice cold. “I was your bodyguard. Your tool. The one who stood in the shadow while you made the decisions. While everyone praised you. While you became boss and I... stayed your second.”

“This whole time...” I whispered.

Ric nodded. “Every compliment you ever gave me felt like pity. Every order you barked was a reminder that no matter how hard I worked, I’d never be your equal. You never even saw me.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “I always trusted you.”

“You trusted me to follow, not to lead. You never asked what I wanted. You never noticed the resentment building every damn year.”

Savien stepped forward, fire in his eyes. “So you sold out Elena and a baby to prove a point?”

“I lost the only thing that mattered to me, my parents. So I just wanted to let you know the feeling Archer. How How sucks to be helpless, to be stuck at a place you know you'll never get out of.

To be in constant pain. Your father is a murderer and so are you.”
“Bullshit,” I growled. “Stop spewing all this nonsense about my father.” I raised my index finger and pointed it at him.

“You know nothing about him. he was a respectable man, and he never harmed innocent people. Its either you got all this wrong or you're just a fucking liar.”

Pius chuckled in the background. “You know, I never knew you were this stupid until today, Archer. Why do you think the Russians only attack your family and not the other guys in the brotherhood?

You've been a target for years. Thats because your father was a fucking psychopath who would ho on a killing spree because he had a bad day.

That is why he got what he deserved.”
“You son of a…” I lunged, but Savien held me back.

“You wanted to take me down?” I barked. “You wanted to make me feel like nothing? Congratulations. You succeeded. I lost everything. But I won't let you hurt Elena. It's my child.”
Ric’s jaw tightened.

“You’re standing on a grave,” I said. “And it's yours.”

Savien drew his weapon. “We’re not leaving without them.”

Pius raised an eyebrow. “You really think you’re walking out of here?”

“We came to talk,” I said, taking a step back, mind spinning. “But I’m done talking.”

Savien nodded. “Same.”

Pius smirked. “You think this ends with words? Archer, my brother, you’re still too sentimental. You guys die here.”

He stepped forward. “Now Archer, you already know what I'm holding in my hand.” he stretched his hand towards Ric, and he handed him a rifle.

“Immediately, I press this button, the room Elena is being kept in will go into flames. And with this gun, I'll launch just six bullets at you, then I'll let you go. So choose your choice, my brother.

Your life, or your little girlfriend's life.”

“Let Elena go,” I said without even hesitating.

“Boss,” Savien said with a shocked expression. “If the only thing I have to do for her is to die to save her life, then I don't care, I'll do it because I love her.”

Pius chuckled and shook his head. “Wow, she did a really good job by fucking you up. I'll definitely reward her.” he snirked widely.

“Oh, didn't I tell you? Your little girlfriend has also been working for me all this time. You being all this miserable over here, was all my idea. You didn't have a weakness, so I created one. How lovely is that?” He let out a bitter laugh.

I just stared at him lifelessly, like I didn't know that. Of course, I knew, I realised that she was working with him when I saw them in the rain that time. But I didn't want to lose her so I became a fool. I did become like my father even after years of training.

Like father, like son indeed.

I guess she really became my weakness. I smiled and glanced back at him. “Okay,” I said plainly. He pointed his gun at me and I looked back at Savien, who wore a worried look.

“Take care of them for me.”

“Archer!” I heard her scream and turned to where her voice came from. She was standing there with her child, her face pale and her eyes red, probably from crying. There was another emotion on her face. Fear. Before I could do anything, gunfire burst through the stale air.