Chapter 65 Chapter 65

Chapter 65 Chapter 65
DOMINIC'S POV

The penthouse was silent.

Too silent. I had been pacing for hours. The sun had set. The city lights were blinking outside the windows. My phone was in my hand. I had called Cassian seventeen times. He had not answered. I had texted him. No response. I had sent someone to his apartment. He was not there.

Something was wrong.

I felt it in my bones. The same feeling I had felt seven years ago, when I woke up and he was gone. The same feeling I had felt when I stood on that balcony and watched him walk away. The same feeling I had felt every single day since.

He was gone.

Someone had taken him.

I was about to call my men when my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number. I opened it. My blood ran cold.

A photo. Cassian. Tied to a chair. His wrists were bound. His ankles were bound. His head was bowed. His face was pale. His eyes were closed.

He looked broken. He looked defeated. He looked like someone who had given up.

I stared at the photo. My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. My vision was red.

The text below the photo read: Release Marcus. Or he dies.

I threw my phone across the room. It hit the wall. Shattered. I did not care.

"Fuck," I screamed. "Fuck!"

I punched the wall. My knuckles split open. I did not care. I punched it again. And again. And again. Until my hands were bloody and the wall was cracked.

I was going to kill them. I was going to kill everyone who had touched him. I was going to burn their world to the ground.

My phone was broken. I grabbed the landline. Called my men.

"I need everyone. Now. Find out where he is. I do not care how. I do not care what it costs. Find him."

\---

Two hours later, I had an address.

An abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Owned by a shell company. One of Cassian's father's shell companies. Of course. It was always him. It had always been him.

I did not wait for backup. I did not wait for anything. I grabbed my keys. My gun. My coat. I drove like a man possessed. The streets blurred past me. Red lights meant nothing. Speed limits meant nothing. Nothing mattered except him.

The warehouse was dark. Abandoned. The windows were broken. The walls were crumbling. The door was rusted. I kicked it open. It slammed against the wall. The sound echoed through the empty space.

"Cassian," I yelled. "Cassian!"

No answer.

I ran through the building. Room after room. Empty. Dusty. Silent.

Then I heard voices. Muffled. Coming from somewhere below. I found the stairs. Ran down them. Two flights. Three. The voices were louder now. I could hear them clearly.

"Your adopted son is a liability," a voice said. A familiar voice. Cassian's father.

"He is not a liability. He is a weapon."

"He is a liability. You should have killed him years ago. Like I told you."

I burst through the door.

The room was small. Concrete walls. A single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Cassian was tied to a chair in the center of the room. His wrists were bound. His ankles were bound. His head was bowed. His face was pale. He was motionless.

He did not look up.

Cassian's father was standing next to him. A gun in his hand. His cold eyes on me. His cold smile on his face.

"Dominic Costello," he said. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Let him go," I said. My voice was low. Dangerous.

"No."

"I said let him go."

"I said no."

I stepped forward. He raised the gun. Pointed it at Cassian's head.

"Do not take another step," he said.

I stopped. My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. My vision was red.

"Marcus," I said. "You want Marcus. I have him. I will release him. Just let Cassian go."

"Too late for that."

"What?"

"Too late. Marcus is no longer useful. You took him. You hid him. You made me look weak. You made me look like a fool. I will not forgive that."

"So you are going to kill him? Your own son?"

"He is not my son." He laughed. The sound was cold. Hollow. "He is not my son. He never was. His mother had an affair. I found out when he was born. I have been using him ever since."

I stared at him. My mind was racing. Nothing made sense.

"Using him?"

"Using him. To destroy you. To destroy your father. To destroy everything you love."

"Why?"

"Because your father destroyed everything I loved. He tried to rape Marcus's mother. He drove her to take her own life. He ruined my family. And now I will ruin his."

"You are insane."

"I am a survivor."

I stepped forward again. He raised the gun higher. His finger was on the trigger.

"Do not test me, boy."

"I am not testing you. I am going to kill you."

"I would like to see you try."

We stood there. Staring at each other. The tension was thick enough to cut.

Then the door burst open. My men flooded the room. His men flooded the room. Guns raised. Fingers on triggers. The room was chaos. Shouting. Cursing. Threats.

But I could not focus on any of it. My eyes were on Cassian. He still had not looked up. He was still motionless. He was still broken.

I had to get to him.

I moved. Fast. I dodged a punch from one of his men. I blocked a kick from another. I grabbed a gun from a third. I shot. He fell. I shot again. Another fell.

His father was shouting. His voice was loud. Desperate.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The fight was brutal. Bloody. Bodies were falling. The concrete floor was slick with blood. I did not care. I just kept moving. Kept fighting. Kept getting closer to him.

Finally, I reached Cassian. I dropped to my knees in front of him. My hands were shaking as I cut the ropes binding his wrists. His ankles. He did not move. He did not look at me.

"Cassian," I said. My voice was desperate. "Cassian. Look at me."

He did not look at me.

"Cassian. Please."

He looked up. His eyes were empty. Hollow. There was no fire in them. No anger. No hate. Just nothing.

"What did he do to you?" I asked.

He did not answer.

"Cassian. Talk to me."

He opened his mouth. No sound came out. His eyes were wet. He was crying. Silent tears. They rolled down his cheeks and fell onto his chest.

"I am sorry," he whispered. His voice was broken. "I am so sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"It was my fault. All of it. Your mother. Everything."

"What are you talking about?"

"I kissed you. I ran away. I made you want me. I made you obsessed with me. It was my fault. Everything was my fault."

I stared at him. My heart was pounding. My mind was racing.

"Cassian. No. That is not true."

"It is true. Your father killed your mother because of me. Because of what I did. Because of what I started."

"Cassian..."

"I destroyed your life. I destroyed everything. I am sorry. I am so sorry."

I grabbed his face. Forced him to look at me.

"Look at me," I said. "Look at me, Cassian."

He looked at me. His eyes were wet. Broken. Empty.

"It was not your fault," I said. "None of it. It was never your fault. Do you understand me? It was never your fault."

"You are lying."

"I am not lying. I have lied to you before. I have lied to you a lot. But I am not lying about this. It was never your fault."

He stared at me. His lips were trembling. His hands were shaking.

"I love you," I said. "I have always loved you. I will always love you. And none of this was your fault. Do you understand me?"

He did not answer. He just stared at me. His tears were still falling. His hands were still shaking.

But he was looking at me. He was seeing me. He was here. That was enough.

I pulled him into my arms. Held him tight.

"I am going to get you out of here," I said. "I am going to get you out of here and I am going to take you home. And I am never going to let anything happen to you again."

He did not say anything. He just held me back. His arms were weak. His body was shaking. But he was holding me. He was holding me.

I was about to stand up when I heard the click.

I turned.

Cassian's father was on the ground. He was half injured. His face was bloody. His arm was twisted at a wrong angle. But he was still holding the gun. His finger was on the trigger. The barrel was pointing at Cassian.

"No," I said.

He smiled. A bloody smile. His teeth were red.

"You did not win," he said. "I did."

"Put the gun down."

"No."

"Cassian. Run."

Cassian was frozen. His eyes were fixed on the gun. His face was pale.

"Run!" I screamed.

He did not move.

Cassian's father pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed through the room. Loud. Final.

The world stopped.

I watched Cassian fall. His body crumpled to the ground. His eyes were open. His face was pale. His chest was still.

"Cassian," I screamed. "Cassian!"

I fell to my knees beside him. My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. My vision was red.

"Cassian. Wake up. Wake up, Cassian. Please."

He did not move.

"Please," I said. "Please. I cannot lose you. I cannot lose you again. Please."

He did not move.

I heard footsteps. Voices. Hands pulling at me. I did not care. I just held him. Held him and prayed.

"Please," I whispered. "Please. I love you. Please do not leave me."

He did not move.

The world went dark.