Chapter 394

“Well? Are you going to start or are you going to keep hesitating?” Joseph taunted, crossing his arms.

Time seemed to slow down. Stella held her breath as Nathan slowly raised the gun. Every millimeter of movement was torture. He pressed the cold barrel against his own temple. A sharp click echoed in the silence. Nothing. The chamber was empty. With an icy stare at Joseph, Nathan threw the gun on the floor.

“The game gets more interesting with each round, don't you think?” Joseph said. “Your turn, Marlon.”

Marlon spun the bottle, the glass hissing against the cement. The neck stopped, pointing at himself. With his jaw clenched, he picked up the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Another harmless click. The tension in the room was palpable, thick as smoke.

The third round pointed to Nathan again. The click echoed, louder this time. On the fourth, the bottle chose Joseph. The click sounded almost like a mockery. The fifth round returned to Nathan. When he raised the gun, all eyes were fixed on him. He looked at Stella, at Liam, and pulled the trigger. The sound, though empty, was so abrupt that Stella's legs gave way. She almost collapsed, relieved to see Nathan drop the gun. By a hair's breadth.

It was the last round. Joseph's turn. His eyes scanned the circle before spinning the bottle. The world seemed to spin with it, until it stopped, the neck pointing directly at him.

“Your turn. The last one,” said Marlon, pushing the gun toward him.

Joseph backed away, a glint of panic in his eyes.

“What's the matter?” Nathan smiled, a humorless smile. “Does the host not want to play anymore? Afraid of losing his own game?”

“If you bet, you have to accept defeat, Joseph,” added Marlon.

Even one of Joseph's henchmen intervened.

“Mr. Malares, the rules are clear.”

Joseph glared at the man. “The rules are mine! The game ends when I say it ends!” He snatched the gun from Nathan's hand and pointed it at him. “And it ends now!”

Stella screamed, but all that was heard was another click. Empty. Confused, Joseph opened the cylinder. There was no bullet. There never had been.

“Looking for this?” Nathan opened his other hand, revealing the single bullet.

“How...?” Joseph's face contorted into a mask of rage.

“You're predictable, Joseph. A coward who fears his own luck,” Nathan said, standing up.

Joseph kicked the bottle, which shattered against the wall.

“You know me so well, don't you?”

“It doesn't take much to understand a man like you.”

“Then let's move on to the second game!”

This time, Joseph dragged Stella over to Liam. The boy, finally free of his gag, ran into his mother's arms.

“Mommy...” His voice came out hoarse.

“Shh, my love, it's okay.” Stella hugged him tightly. “Everything will be okay.”

Joseph pointed the gun at them both.

“Same game, but now with different targets. Your wife or your son, Nathan. You choose. I want to see in your eyes the agony of living with the choice, knowing that one of them died because of you. Spin the bottle. Now! Or I'll kill them both!”

Nathan's world was reduced to that circle of terror. His hands trembled as he touched the new bottle. He spun it. The glass stopped, pointing at Liam. Joseph's laughter was a profane sound as he pressed the barrel against the boy's head.

“Go on,” Joseph ordered.

Nathan lowered his head, exchanging a quick, imperceptible glance with Marlon. He spun the bottle again, this time slowly, deliberately. As all eyes were fixed on the hypnotic movement, Nathan burst into action. He threw the bottle at Joseph's face, causing him to stagger and drop the gun. Simultaneously, Marlon delivered a series of precise blows to the henchman behind him.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Nathan kicked the gun away from Joseph and engaged in a physical struggle with the second man. Only one henchman remained armed.

“Freeze!” he shouted, pointing at Nathan.

Nathan stared at him, breathing heavily.

“What does Joseph pay you? I'll double it. Think about it. He's a man without his word, without honor. He betrayed his own game. Are you going to trust your life to a loser?”

The man's hesitation was visible. Seeing his authority crumble, Joseph rushed to grab Liam, to use him as a shield. But Stella, anticipating the move, protected her son with her own body.

In the next instant, the henchman's loyalty evaporated. The barrel of his gun slowly turned until it was pointed directly at Joseph's head.

The betrayal sealed Joseph's fate. With the henchman's gun pointed at his face, he backed away, his eyes wide with rage and disbelief. At that moment, Marlon neutralized the other man with the brutality born of desperation, a brick crushing his resistance and knocking him unconscious. Power had changed hands. Joseph was cornered.

“You dare betray me!” he growled at the man who now dictated the rules.

The man laughed, a sound devoid of loyalty. “After your show, Joseph, it became clear that your word is worthless. You would kill us without a second thought. I'd rather secure my future than wait for your knife in my back.” He turned to Nathan. “Take your family. And don't forget my double payment.”

“Done,” Nathan nodded, his only goal being the safety of Stella and Liam.

But the moment he took a step toward them, a shot rang out, deafening in the confined space. The traitor collapsed, a red stain spreading across his chest, his eyes fixed on Joseph in a final moment of shock. He was dead.

From the shadows, Joseph emerged with another gun in his hand. He kicked the body of the man who had dared to challenge him. “Traitors get what they deserve.” He then pointed the gun at the group. “Run. Why aren't you running? The door is right there.”

He pressed the cold barrel against Stella's back, using her as a shield. “You think I wouldn't shoot your wife, Nathan?!”

“This is the end for you, Joseph. The police are on their way. You're alone,” said Nathan, trying to remain calm.

Joseph laughed, a sound bordering on insanity. "If I go down, I'll take you all with me! You, your wife, your son... and Marlon too. What wonderful company for my trip to hell. I'm satisfied with that.“ His eyes glowed with a feverish light. ”Let's continue our game, Nathan. But with a new rule. A choice. Your wife or your son? I'll give you thirty seconds. If you can't choose, I'll choose for you."

The time began to tick away, each second a grain of sand in a macabre hourglass.

One... two... three...

Nathan's gaze jumped from Stella to Liam, an abyss opening in his chest. Stella stared back at him, her eyes steady, and with an almost imperceptible movement of her head, she indicated Liam.

The message was clear, silent, and devastating: Save our son.

On one side, the woman who was his world, his safe haven. On the other, his son, his blood, the future he had sworn to protect. How could he choose between two halves of his own soul? He wanted them both. He needed them both. But Joseph's clock was ticking. And hell awaited his decision.