Chapter 229 Let her go
Chapter 229 Let her go
♤Cain♤
“Go away. I’ve already been shot, Cain. You don’t need to take any bullet for me. I’ve been shot already.”
Her hands shove against my chest.
It doesn’t move me, not physically.
But her words—
They cut straight through me.
I stumble back anyway, more from the impact of her voice than her strength. My breath leaves my lungs in a slow, shaky exhale.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
None of this was.
She’s alive. I should be grateful for that. I am grateful. I thank God every second that she’s still breathing, that I didn’t lose her too.
But the baby…
The baby is gone, and that’s on me.
I close my eyes for a brief moment, guilt flooding my chest like poison.
I shouldn’t have been distracted. I shouldn’t have been stupid.
I shouldn’t have tried to drown my thoughts in José’s fiancée, in some useless, reckless attempt to forget everything for a few minutes.
And she saw it.
She saw everything.
Now she looks at me like I’m the one who killed her child.
Maybe I did.
No matter how I try to twist it, no matter how I try to justify it in my head, it always comes back to the same truth.
If I had been where I was supposed to be…
If I had been watching her… If I hadn’t let my guard down…
She wouldn’t have been alone. She wouldn’t have been pushed. She wouldn’t have fallen, and lost her baby.
She’s right.
It’s my fault.
If I could take her pain and carry it myself, I would.
If I could trade places with her, bleed for her, break for her, I would do it without hesitation.
But the only way I know how to deal with pain like this…
Is revenge.
Cold. Precise. Merciless.
I need the person who did this. I need their name.
Their face. Their last breath.
But everything Xavi and the boys have brought me so far is useless.
There is no witnesses or footprints or traces.
The CCTV cameras around that area were conveniently down. Disabled cleanly, and professionally.
This was planned.
Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.
Xavi searched the rooftop himself. Twice.
There was no one.
No sign of struggle or blood.
No evidence.
Nothing.
Which means only one person knows what really happened.
Leila.
She’s my only lead, but she won’t even look at me.
My jaw tightens as another wave of guilt crashes over me.
Tobias is dead. His killer is still walking free.
And now his child—
His child is gone too.
I failed him.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Some kind of bitter laugh almost escapes my throat.
What kind of man lets this happen?
What kind of leader? What kind of protector?
A disaster. That’s what I am. A walking, breathing failure.
I run a hand down my face, then step closer, lowering my voice.
“Leila… please.”
She doesn’t look at me.
“You have to say something,” I continue quietly. “Anything. Just… tell me something. Did you go to the rooftop? Did you see anyone? Did anyone talk to you? Touch you? Follow you?”
Nothing.
She finally lifts her eyes to me, slow and empty, like she’s already halfway gone.
“Go away,” she says flatly. “I don’t want to see you.”
Then she turns from me, and walks back to the bed, then curls into herself like she’s trying to disappear and starts sobbing quietly.
The sound screams helpless.
The kind of crying that feels worse than screaming.
My chest tightens painfully.
I stand there, useless, watching the woman I brought into my world for the sake of curiosity falls apart in front of me.
My gaze drifts to the floor, to the shattered plate and spilled food.
A perfect reflection of everything I’ve touched lately.
Ruined.
This is going to be hell, and I deserve every second of it.
I don’t say anything else, because there’s nothing left to say.
Staying in that room will only make things worse, so I turn and walk out.
The door clicks shut behind me.
Mia is standing by the hallway, hands folded in front of her, eyes filled with worry. She straightens when she sees me.
“Clean up the mess,” I say coldly. “Cook her another meal.”
She nods immediately. “Yes, sir.”
Outside, the night air hits my face, sharp and unforgiving. It doesn’t cool the fire burning inside me. If anything, it makes it worse.
I walk past the main compound, toward the far end of the building toward the place no one enters without my permission.
I reach the metal door hidden behind the garbage unit and press the small button beneath the lock.
Click.
A panel slides open.
Another door appears.
I punch in the code.
The steel door unlocks with a low hiss.
And I step inside. This was my world, my hell, my dungeon.
The light from outside is swallowed instantly by darkness.
The door shuts behind me.
The smell hits first.
Blood, sweat, fear, metal, and concrete.
I walk forward slowly, boots echoing against the floor.
As I pass the prison cells, men tied inside them lift their heads weakly. Some beg. Some whimper. Some don’t even have the strength to react anymore.
I ignore them.
They’re not why I’m here.
I roll up my sleeves, crack my knuckles, rotate my neck until it pops.
I need this.
I need something to bleed on.
I haven’t even had time to deal with Dimitri properly.
He was the main reason I went to that party.
The reason I put Leila in danger in the first place.
My men have been taking turns with him—breaking him down, tearing him apart, demanding answers.
And still, he keeps denying everything.
Saying he didn’t kill my brother.
Saying he doesn’t know anything.
I barely remember what Viktor told me earlier.
My mind has been too occupied on her.
On the way she looked at me like I was her enemy.
No woman in my life has ever destroyed me like this.
No one has ever gotten this deep under my skin or made me feel this helpless.
I did this to myself.
I know that.
But I’m done drowning in guilt.
I’m going to bury all of it…
In Dimitri.
“Boss.”
“Don.”
My men straighten immediately when they see me.
They bow.
I don’t acknowledge them.
My eyes are already locked on him.
He’s tied to a metal chair in the center of the room, head hanging, face swollen.
One of his eye nearly shut, and blood dried around his mouth.
Bruises everywhere.
He looks half-dead.
Good.
I walk toward him slowly, standing in front of him.
He doesn’t move.
“What has he said so far?” I ask quietly.
Xavi rushes forward. “He keeps saying he has nothing to do with your brother’s death, boss. He fainted a few minutes ago.”
I stare at Dimitri’s face. It's empty, weak, and pathetic.
“Wake him up,” I growl, voice void of emotions.
One of the boys grabs a bucket.
They pour water over his head.
Dimitri jerks violently, coughing, gasping for air.
His head snaps up.
“I—I’m telling you,” he pants. “I don’t know—”
I grab him by the throat.
My fingers dig into his skin hard.
His eyes widen.
His body trembles.
“Listen to me,” I say lowly. “You’re going to answer one question. And you’re going to answer it truthfully.”
He chokes.
“Nod if you understand.”
He nods frantically.
I lean closer.
“What were you doing with my brother that day?”
His breathing becomes erratic.
“I—I’ll talk,” he rasps. “I’ll talk—”
“Speak!”
“Tobias… Tobias was looking for his biological parents,” he blurts. “He was trying to find your real parents. He came to me and—”
“Boss!”
The door bursts open.
I snap my head up.
Rage explodes in my chest.
I turn sharply.
“What the fuck are you interrupting for?!” I roar.
The room goes silent.
Viktor stands frozen by the door, pale.
“I—I’m sorry, boss,” he stammers. “But this is urgent.”
My jaw clenches.
“Speak.”
“Uh… she left. She just left the building. She threatened to cut herself with broken glass if I didn’t let her go. I’m sorry.”
My breath leaves me slowly and heavy.
My head starts pounding instantly.
Tobias was searching for our parents. That was not what I was expecting.
And now—
Leila is out there, alone and vulnerable. Broken like the piece she might be holding.
Fuck.
I drag a hand down my face.
Everything is collapsing at once.
“Do we go after her?” Xavi asks, already giving silent orders to the boys.
I lift my hand.
“No.”
Everyone freezes.
“No?” Xavi repeats softly.
I stare at the floor for a moment.
Then I look up.
“Let her go.”