Chapter 146 Vengeance
Third Person POV - Kane
Kane walked slowly down the corridor toward the medical wing.
His footsteps echoed against the marble ground he didn’t even need to rush. .
He had time. Behind him, the compound was chaos. Guards were fighting each other. The Five Families turning on one another. Zeus was dead. The empire was crumbling.
But here, in this quiet hallway, there was only one thing that mattered. Blood and justice
He rounded the corner.
Stephan was there. Leaning against the wall. With blood on his face from where Ethan had broken his nose. His suit was torn. His hair disheveled. He was standing looking outside as if he didn’t want to bother running anymore.
Like he’d known Kane would come.
Their eyes met.
“Come to finish your master’s work?” Stephan asked. His voice was mocking. “How loyal. Like a good dog.”
Kane stopped ten feet away. His face was expressionless.
“Gavin might have forgiven you,” he said quietly. “He might have let you live because you’re his brother. His blood.”
He reached into his jacket. Pulled out a small pocket knife. The blade was only three inches long. But it was sharp, very very sharp.
“But one thing I hate most in this world,” Kane continued, his voice dropping lower, becoming something cold and terrible, “are rapists.”
He started walking forward slowly.
“You will die here, Stephan.”
Stephan pushed off the wall. Raised his fists. “You think you can take me? I was trained by Zeus himself. I’ve killed men twice your size.”
“Then kill me.”
Kane kept advancing. Stephan threw the first punch; it was fast and deadly.
It should have connected with Kane’s jaw. Instead, Stephan’s fist moved through empty air. He was way too slow.
Kane sidestepped easily. Like Stephan was moving through water.
Stephan stumbled, he caught himself and tried again with another punch but it was much weaker this time.
Kane blocked it with minimal effort.
Stephan’s eyes widened. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking.
“What…” He swayed slightly. “What’s wrong with me?”
Kane smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant expression.
“You’re feeling weak. Dizzy. Like your body won’t respond the way it should.”
“What did you do?” Stephan’s voice was rising. Panic creeping in. “What the fuck did you do?”
“Gas,” Kane said simply. “Slow acting gas, I released it throughout this estate some hours ago, it seems like it’s already kicking in.”
He held up his other hand and showed Stephan a small canister that had been clipped to his belt for emergency.
“It takes time to fully affect the nervous system.” Kane’s smile widened. “It makes you really weak and uncoordinated. Unable to fight properly.”
Stephan lunged at him. Trying to tackle Kane to the ground.
Kane stepped aside and let him fall past.
Stephan hit the floor hard. Tried to push himself up. His arms gave out.
“Smart bastard,” he gasped.
“I learned from the best.” Kane crouched down beside him. “Gavin taught me to always have an advantage. To never fight fair when the stakes are this high.”
He grabbed Stephan by the hair and yanked his head back forcing him to look up.
“You raped her,” Kane said. His voice was completely flat. And emotionless. Which somehow made it more terrifying. “You broke her arm. You terrorized her. You touched what wasn’t yours.”
“She’s nothing…”
Kane’s fist crashed into Stephan’s face. The knife still in his other hand.
Blood sprayed.
Stephan’s head snapped back and would have hit the floor if Kane wasn’t still gripping his hair.
“She’s everything,” Kane corrected. “To Gavin. To me. To everyone who actually gives a damn about people instead of power.”
He hit him again. Broke his nose for the second time that night.
Stephan tried to fight back, he tried to grab Kane’s arm but his hands were too weak.
The gas had done its work perfectly, thankfully he and his men where prepared for it so it won’t affect them as much.
Kane stood and dragged Stephan up with him and slammed him against the wall.
“You know what happens to rapists in prison?” Kane asked calmly. “They get killed. Or worse. They get passed around. Used. Violated the way they violated others.”
Stephan’s eyes were wide with fear now. All his arrogance gone.
“But even that is mercy for a Snake like you ,” Kane continued.
He leaned in closer. His voice dropping to a whisper.
“So I’m going to give you something worse than prison. Worse than death.”
The knife came up. Blade glinting in the fluorescent lights.
“No,” Stephan gasped. “No, wait…”
“You used this part of your body to hurt her.” Kane’s free hand grabbed Stephan’s belt. “So you lose it.”
Understanding dawned on Stephan’s face. Horror replacing the fear.
“NO! You can’t…you fucking can’t…”
“I can.” Kane’s voice was ice. “And I will.”
He yanked Stephan’s pants down.
Stephan tried to struggle. But his weakened body couldn’t generate enough force. Kane’s hand was steady.
“This is for Melissa,” he said quietly. “For every second you made her suffer. Every moment of fear you caused her. Every violation.”
“PLEASE!” Stephan was screaming now. “Please don’t…I’ll do anything! I’ll leave! I’ll disappear! I’ll…”
“Too late.”
The knife moved.
Stephan’s scream was inhuman. High-pitched and agonized.
It echoed through the wing. Through the corridors. A sound of pure torture.
When he was done, he stepped back.
Stephan collapsed. Curled into a ball on the floor. Blood pooling beneath him. His screams had turned to whimpers. To broken sobs.
Kane looked down at him dispassionately.
“You’ll live,” he said.
He crouched down one more time. Made sure Stephan could hear him through the pain.
“But you’ll never hurt another woman again. Never use your body as a weapon. Never violate someone weaker than you.”
He stood. Wiped the knife clean on Stephan’s discarded jacket. Pocketed it.
“This is better than death,” Kane said. “Because you have to live with it. Every day. For the rest of your life. You have to remember what you lost. What you destroyed. What you became.” He raised his smashing all of Stephen's joints.
Stephan’s loud cries were the only response.
Kane turned to leave.
“Kane,” Stephan gasped. “Please… kill me. Just kill me.”
Kane paused. Looked back over his shoulder.
“No,” he said simply. “Death would be mercy. And you don’t deserve mercy.”
He walked away.
Down the corridor. Away from Stephan’s broken, bleeding body. Away from the man who would never be whole again.
Behind him, Stephan’s cries echoed.Kane didn’t look back.