Chapter 156 Brother please
Third Person POV
The federal holding facility was underground.
Gavin walked through the corridors with Kane beside him. His limp was barely noticeable now. Three weeks of healing had done wonders.
But his face was stone. There was no expression there. It looked like it was carved from stone.
The smile that occasionally appeared around Melissa was completely gone.
The guard leading them stopped at a reinforced door. “He’s in here. You have twenty minutes.”
“Leave us,” Gavin said.
“Sir, protocol requires…”
“Leave. Us.” Gavin’s voice was quiet. Absolute.
The guard looked at Kane. Kane’s expression was equally cold.
“Twenty minutes,” the guard repeated. Then he walked away. His footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Kane opened the door.
The room beyond was small and bare. A single table bolted to the floor. A camera in the corner with red light blinking.
And in a wheelchair, wearing a pure white prison jumpsuit, sat Stephan.
He looked different.
Thinner. Paler. His face was gaunt. Dark circles were under his eyes that held too much pain. The wheelchair had medical equipment attached. IV bags. Monitors.
He was healing. Slowly. But he’d never be whole again.
Kane had made sure of that.
Stephan’s eyes lifted when Gavin walked in. For a moment, they just looked at each other.
Twin faces. Mirror reflections. One who’d escaped and one who’d stayed.
Then Stephan smiled.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave me here,” he said. His voice was rough and unused. “I knew you’d come. We’re brothers, after all. Blood…”
Gavin crossed the room in three strides.
His hand shot out. Grabbed Stephan by the throat. Lifted him partially out of the wheelchair.
The medical equipment beeped frantically. Alarms starting to sound.
“How dare you,” Gavin said. His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. “How dare you rape her.”
Stephan’s smile vanished. He clawed at Gavin’s hand with weak fingers.
“I…didn’t…” he gasped.
“Don’t lie to me.” Gavin’s grip tightened. “Kane told me everything.”
Stephan’s face was turning red. Then purple.
His other hand came up. He grabbed Stephan’s jaw forcing him to maintain eye contact with him.
“You violated her. Hurt her. Made her feel powerless.” Gavin’s eyes were burning now. “And for what? To prove something? To assert dominance? To show me you could?”
Stephan tried to speak, but he could not, he made choking sounds.
But Gavin's grip tightened further.
Stephan’s eyes were bulging now. His face had gone from purple to a darker shade. Almost black.
“I should kill you,” Gavin said. “Right here. I so want to snap your neck and walk away. Kane already took your manhood. I should take your life.”
Stephan’s struggles were getting weaker.
“But that would be mercy,” Gavin continued. “And you don’t deserve mercy.”
He held Stephan there. Right at the edge. Right where consciousness met death.
Then he let go.
Stephan collapsed back into the wheelchair. Gasping. Coughing. Sucking in desperate breaths.
Gavin stepped back. His hands were shaking slightly. With rage. With the effort of restraint.
“You’re going to live,” he said. His voice was still quiet. Still deadly. “You’re going to live a long, miserable life. In prison. Without parole. Without the possibility of escape.”
He crouched down. Got eye level with Stephan.
“Every day, you’re going to wake up and remember what Kane took from you. What I took from you. What Melissa took from you when she fought back and survived.”
Stephan was still coughing. Still trying to breathe properly.
“You’re going to remember that you were raised to be a king. Groomed to lead empires. Given everything.” Gavin’s smile was terrible. Cold. “And you threw it all away to hurt a woman who never did anything to you except exist.”
He stood. Looked down at his twin.
“Zeus wanted me to be like you. He wanted me to stay. To embrace the darkness. To become a monster.” Gavin’s voice was soft now. Almost sad. “But I chose differently. And that choice…that single choice to leave…has made all the difference.”
He turned to go.
“Wait,” Stephan rasped. His hand reached out. Shaking. “Please. Brother. I’m sorry. I’m…”
Gavin stopped. But he didn’t turn around.
“You’re not my brother,” he said. “My brother is dead.”
He walked toward the door. Kane fell into step beside him.
“Gavin!” Stephan’s voice was desperate now. “Please! Don’t leave me here! I can’t…I won’t survive…”
“You will,” Gavin said without looking back. “Because death would be too kind.”
“Please brother Please. I’ll apologize. I'll do anything you want.
Please don’t leave me here brother please.”
Gavin finally turned. One last look at the man who shared his face but nothing else. “Good bye , Stephan. ”
“You can’t…”
Gavin stepped through the door. Kane followed.
They walked down the corridor in silence.
Behind them, Stephan’s screams echoed. “Gavinnnn… pleaseeee, brotherrrr.”
The sound of a man who’d finally realized he’d lost everything.
They reached the exit. Stepped out into daylight.
Kane looked at Gavin. “You okay?”
Gavin was quiet for a long moment. Just stood there, eyes closed, face tilted toward the sun.
“No,” he said finally. “But I will be.”
They walked to the car and got in. And then they drove away from the facility.