Chapter 166 The Fire We Started

Chapter 166 The Fire We Started

I stood at the edge of the abandoned shipping yard, wind slashing against my coat, the cold settling into my bones. The place was a tomb—corrugated metal sheds, broken windows, rusted cranes frozen mid-motion like dead giants. A perfect graveyard for the truth Lucien promised to show me.

He chose this location on purpose.

My past was buried here.

And tonight, he meant to dig it up.

My jaw clenched as I scanned the shadows. “Come out, Lucien.”

Silence stretched... then boots scraped against concrete.

Lucien emerged from behind a stack of decayed cargo crates, dressed in a charcoal suit that didn’t belong in a place like this. His smile, however, fit perfectly. Cold. Predatory. Eager.

“Alexander,” he said with false warmth. “I was afraid you wouldn’t show.”

“I’m here,” I replied. “Say what you came to say. Or die with it.”

He chuckled. “Always so dramatic. No wonder Isabella fell for you. Broken men are irresistible to soft hearts.”

Her name in his mouth twisted something sharp inside me.

“Where is she?” I growled.

Lucien raised a hand. “Patience. You’ll see her. But first…”

He tapped the side of a metal crate. A projector flickered on, illuminating the side of a rusted warehouse.

My chest tightened.

I knew that image.

Even from a distance.

The blackened skeleton of Building 14, smoke clouding the night sky. Flames devouring steel. Firefighters shouting. Sirens screaming. A scene carved into me like a scar I never let heal.

Not this.

Not here.

Lucien’s voice slithered into the silence. “Ring any bells?”

My throat worked, but no sound came.

“Years ago,” he continued, “this warehouse exploded. Faulty wiring, they called it. A terrible accident. The newspapers talked about faulty safety audits, missing reports, ignored warnings.”

I closed my eyes.

“I said stop.” My voice shook. That alone made Lucien smile wider.

“But what the public never knew,” he said, stepping closer, “was who signed off on the wiring replacement being delayed. Who authorized the company to store volatile chemicals here despite clear warnings.”

“Lucien—”

“You.”

The word landed like a punch.

“You signed it, Alexander,” he hissed. “Your signature. Your approval. Your decision. And because of that, the warehouse went up like a bomb.”

I swallowed down the burning in my chest.

“I was twenty-three,” I said, hating how small my voice sounded. “I didn’t know—”

“You didn’t care,” Lucien snapped. “Your father wanted to cut costs. You wanted to prove yourself. And because of that? Fourteen people died.”

A tremor raced up my spine.

“Stop,” I whispered.

But he wasn’t finished.

“You buried the reports. Your family paid the inspectors to stay quiet.” He tilted his head. “Tell me—do you remember their names? The people who burned alive because of your ambition?”

My hands curled into fists.
I remembered too well.

Every night.

“You think this makes you powerful?” I asked. “Dragging up the dead? Using tragedy as leverage?”

Lucien smirked. “No. What makes me powerful is what happens next.”

A soft cry echoed from the shadows.

My heart lurched.

“Isabella!”

I spun toward the sound—and my world stopped.

She stood a few yards away between two metal pillars, arms restrained by two of Lucien’s men. Her lip was split, her hair tangled, but her eyes—God, her eyes were wide with horror.

Not fear of Lucien.

Fear of me.

“Alexander…” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Is it true?”

I stepped toward her, but Lucien raised a hand.

One of his men shoved a gun against her ribs.

My blood turned to fire. “Touch her and I will end every single one of you.”

Lucien’s grin sharpened. “You’ll do nothing until I’m done.”

He turned his gaze back to Isabella.

“Your beloved Alexander is responsible for fourteen deaths,” he said casually. “Did he ever tell you that? Did he ever mention that the man you trust with your life once took lives with a signature?”

“Lucien, stop.” My voice cracked. “This isn’t her burden.”

“Is it true?” Isabella whispered again, stepping forward despite the gun at her side.

Her voice carried the weight of a thousand fractures.

I forced myself to meet her eyes.

“Yes,” I breathed. “But it isn’t what he’s making it sound like.”

Lucien barked a laugh. “Isn’t it? Then tell her, Alexander. Tell her how you ignored maintenance requests because you wanted to save money. Tell her how the chemical barrels were unstable and you insisted they stay.”

I shook my head, stepping closer. “Isabella, I was reckless. I was young. I wanted to prove myself to my father. I didn’t fully understand how dangerous the situation was—”

“But you signed it,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “You signed something that killed people.”

“I know.” The confession tore out of me. “And I’ve spent every day since trying to atone.”

Lucien clapped mockingly. “Beautiful. A heartfelt monologue from the tragic heir.”

My rage snapped like a rope. “You don’t get to use this against her,” I growled. “Or against me.”

“Oh, I already have,” Lucien said. “You see, Isabella was beginning to see you as a hero. A protector. A man worth loving.”

Her breath hitched.

Lucien leaned toward me, voice oily. “I wanted her to see the monster instead.”

I lunged.

Two of his men slammed into me from the side, pinning my arms. I fought harder, but blows rained into my ribs, my jaw, my stomach.

“Stop!” Isabella screamed, thrashing against her captors.

Lucien approached her slowly. Too slowly. Like a man savoring a moment he had rehearsed.

“Do you know the best part?” he whispered to her. “The explosion wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t just negligence. Alexander approved storing illegal chemical stock to impress his father. And it ignited.”

“No,” I rasped. “That’s a lie. I never approved illegal stock. I didn’t know—”

“But you signed it,” Lucien purred. “And that’s all she needs to know.”

Something in Isabella’s face shattered.

Something I didn’t know how to repair.

Lucien stepped back and motioned to his men. “Bring her here.”

They dragged her forward and threw her into the dirt in front of him. I roared her name, struggling to break free.

Lucien knelt beside her, gripping her chin. “You deserved a better man. Not one built on ashes.”

“Don’t touch her!” I bellowed.

He ignored me.

“Did you know,” he whispered to Isabella, “that some of the victims burned so badly they couldn’t be identified? Families never got closure. All because of him.”

“Lucien,” she sobbed, “please stop—”

“Oh, you want me to stop?” His smile turned cruel. “Then marry me instead.”

Everything froze.

Even the wind stopped moving.

“What?” Isabella choked out.

“You heard me,” Lucien said lightly. “Marry me, and I’ll spare his life. I’ll let him go. I’ll even destroy the documents that tie him to the explosion.”

Her breath trembled.

I felt all the blood drain from my body.

“You can’t,” I whispered. “Isabella—don’t listen to him.”

Lucien tilted her face toward me. “She has to, Alexander. Because if she doesn’t… I’ll ruin you. The world will know. And you’ll rot in prison.”

He smirked.

“Or better yet… I’ll kill you where you stand.”

My heart hammered painfully. “Isabella, look at me.”

She did.

Her eyes searched mine.

Broken. Confused. Terrified.

“Tell me the truth,” she whispered. “All of it.”

“I didn’t know the chemicals were illegal,” I said quickly. “I didn’t know they were unstable. I was stupid and ignorant and trying to prove something I shouldn’t have cared about. But I never meant to harm anyone. I live with the guilt every day. Every night. And meeting you was the first time I felt like maybe I could breathe again.”

Lucien laughed quietly. “What a speech.”

Isabella wiped her tears with trembling hands.

Then she stood.

Lucien blinked, surprised.

She lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on.

“You want me to choose?” she whispered. “You want me to pick who I destroy?”

Her voice dropped lower.

“You’ll get your answer.”

She turned to me.

My chest squeezed painfully. “Isabella…”

She opened her mouth…

A gunshot split the air.

For a heartbeat, the world stopped.

Smoke curled from the barrel of a gun in Lucien’s hand.

Isabella staggered backward.

My scream tore from the deepest part of me.

“ISABELLA!”

She collapsed onto the concrete.

Lucien smiled.

“That,” he said softly, “was your second explosion, Alexander.”

I ripped free of the guards with a feral roar, bones cracking, blood spilling, rage turning my vision red—

But Lucien was already gone.

His laughter echoed through the metal graveyard as I fell to my knees beside Isabella, blood pooling beneath her, her fingers weakly reaching for mine.

“Stay,” I begged, voice breaking. “Please, Isabella. Stay with me.”

Her lips parted.

“A-Alex…” she breathed faintly.

Then her eyes fluttered shut.

And everything inside me died.