Chapter 67 Blood and bones
Gavin’s POV
I sat in the darkness of my room, eyes closed, trying to keep calm.
I expected Jason’s stunt at the gala. Zeus’s message was delivered loud and clear for everyone to see. I always suspected my son was still in contact with my father. But seeing him so captivated by the life I tried so hard to come out from fills my heart with sadness.
I didn’t know how to explain to him my father wasn’t who he thought he was. Zeus didn’t have a soul. And he tried to train me without one. But I fought for mine.
I felt someone enter the room. Quiet footsteps on the carpet.
I opened my eyes.
Diana stood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light. She wore pajamas…soft cotton, nothing like the elegant gown from last night. She looked cute and a little more well rested.
She jumped slightly when she saw I was awake. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were asleep.”
“I’m not.” I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “How was work?”
“It was okay.” She moved further into the room but kept her distance. “Busy. Everyone was talking about the gala.”
“I’m sure they were.”
Uncomfortable and heavy silence stretched between us.
“Gavin,” she said finally. “Won’t you ever explain what went on at the gala? With the symbols and the chanting and… Zeus?”
I looked at her. She deserved better than this. Better than me. Better than being caught up in my family’s darkness.
“I know you’re secretive,” she continued when I didn’t answer. “But we’re getting married. I want to know. I deserve to know.”
“I’m sorry, Diana.” My voice was quiet. Firm. “I can’t say a lot. But I’ll protect you and Melissa. You don’t have to worry.”
“You always say that.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “But okay. I trust you.”
She moved to her side of the bed. Facing up while holding her favorite plush pillow.
“You know,” she said softly. “Something weird happened at the gala.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “What?”
“It’s Melissa.” Diana turned to look at me. “When she came back inside… her lip was bleeding. And she had marks on her neck. Like someone had…” She stopped. Swallowed hard. “I’m really worried about her, Gavin. Did you see her? Did something happen?”
My hands fisted in the sheets.Bleeding lip. Marks on her neck.
“What kind of marks?” My voice sounded hoarse.
“Like… fingerprints. Bruises.” Diana’s voice was shaking now. “She was wearing a turtleneck this morning to cover them. I saw when she was reaching for something and it shifted. Gavin, someone hurt her.”
I was on my feet before I realized I’d moved.
“Where is she now?”
“She went out. Dinner with Jason, I think. She said she’d be back late.” Diana stood too. “Gavin, what’s going on? Do you know something?”
“Go to bed, Diana.” I was already moving toward the door. “Don’t worry I’ll get to the bottom of it, please go to sleep.”
“Gavin…”
“Rest okay?.”
She didn’t argue. Just nodded, fear flickering in her eyes.
I left the room and pulled out my phone, dialing Marcus as I walked.
He answered immediately. “Sir?”
“Check every camera from last night. Every single one. Including the secret ones in the private corridors. I want footage from 9 PM to 11 PM.”
“Looking for something specific?”
“Melissa. And whoever she was with.”
“On it. Give me twenty minutes.”
I hung up and paced the hallway like a caged animal.
Bleeding lip. Fingerprint bruises.Someone had put their hands on her. Had hurt her.
My phone buzzed. Marcus.
“Found it,” he said. “You need to see this.”
“Send it to me.”
My phone lit up with a video file. I pressed play.
The footage was from a hallway camera. Timestamped 9:47 PM.
Melissa appeared on screen, walking fast, looking behind her. Then a figure stepped out of the shadows.
The figure was tall with dark hair. He wore expensive suits. He grabbed her. Pulled her into an office.
The camera angle didn’t show inside, but I didn’t need to see.
I knew who it was.I zoomed in on the figure’s face before the door closed.
Stephan.
My brother.My twin.
Rage unlike anything I’d felt in years flooded through me.
“Marcus,” I said, my voice deadly calm. “Where is Stephan staying?”
“The Meridian Hotel. Penthouse suite.”
“Thank you Marcus."I hung up and grabbed my keys.
Twenty minutes later, I walked through the Meridian lobby like I owned it. The night clerk started to speak, saw my face, and went silent.
The elevator ride to the penthouse felt like it took years.
When the doors opened, I didn’t knock.
I kicked the door open.
Stephan was sprawled on the couch, shirtless, a glass of whiskey in hand, watching something on his phone.
He looked up when I entered. And smiled.
That same smile I’d seen my whole life. The smile we shared because we’d shared a womb. Because we were two halves of the same whole.
Except we weren’t. Not anymore.
“Brother,” he said, his voice dripping with false affection. His eyes lit up with something twisted. Obsessive. “I was wondering when you’d come.”
I didn’t answer.
Just walked forward and swung.
My fist connected with his jaw with a sickening crunch. His head snapped back. The whiskey glass flew from his hand, shattering against the wall.
Stephan’s body hit the floor. He spit blood onto the pristine white carpet.
“I see you got my message, brother,” he said, that insane smile still on his face despite the blood.
I didn’t react. Didn’t speak.Just moved forward and kicked him in the ribs. Hard.
He gasped, curling in on himself.
I grabbed his left hand…the one he’d used to touch her, to hurt her…and brought my boot down on it.
The sound of bones breaking was satisfying.
Stephan screamed. The sound sent joy flooding through my veins.
I crouched down beside him, grabbed him by the hair, and forced him to look at me.
“Touch her again,” I said quietly, “and you die.”
“She felt so good, Gavin.” He was laughing through the pain, blood bubbling at his lips. “So soft. So scared. Did she tell you I kissed her? That I…”
I slammed his head into the floor. Once. Twice.
When I let go, he was barely conscious, blood pooling beneath him.
I stood, adjusting my jacket like I’d just finished a business meeting.
“Send a message back to Father for me,” I said, looking down at my broken brother. “Tell him I’m coming. For him. For all of you. And this time, I’m not walking away. I’m burning it all down.”
I turned and walked out, leaving Stephan bleeding on the floor of his expensive hotel room.
My phone was already ringing before I reached the elevator.
Unknown number.
I answered. “What.”
“Gavin.” Zeus’s voice. Old. Weak. But still commanding. “I hear you’ve been visiting your brother.”
“He shouldn’t have touched what’s mine.”
“Everything is mine, boy. Everything. Including her. Including you.” A wet cough. “Come home. Before I take everything from you.”
“Try it.” I stepped into the elevator. “And I’ll kill you myself. Father or not.”
I hung up.
The elevator descended, carrying me back down to the lobby, back to my car, back to Melissa.
My phone buzzed with a text from Marcus.
Marcus: Security detail on Melissa?
Me: Yes. Two teams. One visible, one shadow. And Marcus? If anyone gets within ten feet of her without my permission, they don’t leave breathing. And tell Kane to report to me first thing in the morning.
Marcus: Understood.
I drove home through the city, my hands steady on the wheel despite the blood on my knuckles.
Stephan had made a mistake.
A fatal one.
He’d touched her. Hurt her. Made her afraid.
And now he knew…they all knew…that there were consequences.
I’d walked away from the empire once to protect the people I loved.
But I wouldn’t walk away again.
This time, I was walking straight into the fire.
And I was bringing hell with me.