Chapter 60 THE NAME THAT SHOULD HAVE STAYED BURIED
The name left Marcus's mouth like a blade.
“Cassian Ward.”
The corridor seemed to shrink around them. The red emergency lights flickered, humming louder, as if even the building recoiled from the sound of it.
George didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
Didn’t blink.
His face went blank, not empty, not stunned. Blank in a way Lea had never seen, the expression of a man who’d been running from a ghost and just realized the ghost had caught up.
Billy swore under his breath, a raw, broken word that hung heavy in the air.
Marcus smiled like he’d won.
Lea whispered, “Who is Cassian Ward?”
No one answered.
George’s fingers twitched around his gun. “You’re lying.”
Marcus laughed softly. “You KNOW I’m not.”
Billy stepped forward, pointing his gun directly at Marcus’s forehead. “Say his name again and I swear"
“You’ll do nothing,” Marcus cut in. “None of you can afford to kill me now. Not when Cassian is back in play.”
George finally found his voice, low and sharp. “Cassian is dead.”
Marcus’s grin stretched wider. “Are you sure?”
George’s jaw tightened. “I watched him go under.”
“Yes,” Marcus agreed. “You did. But you didn’t dive in after him, did you? You didn’t check the body. You walked away.” His eyes gleamed. “And that? That was your mistake.”
The hallway felt colder.
Lea looked from one man to the other, her heart pounding. “Someone tell me who he is.”
George’s throat bobbed with a swallow. His voice was tight. “He was a business partner.”
Marcus laughed. “Try again.”
Billy didn’t laugh at all. He whispered, “Lea… Cassian Ward was the reason everything fell apart eight years ago.”
George shot him a look, one sharp enough to slice. “Billy.”
“She deserves to know,” Billy said quietly.
Marcus spread his arms. “Finally, some honesty.”
Lea’s voice trembled. “Eight years ago? George… I didn’t even know you then.”
“No,” Marcus said. “But he knew YOU were coming.”
George turned sharply. “Don’t bring her into this.”
“Why not? She’s already in it,” Marcus said. “Cassian made sure of that.”
Lea’s head spun. “George, please, tell me who he is.”
George stared at her for a long second, pain flickering behind his eyes. Then he said, quietly but firmly:
“A man I buried for a reason.”
Marcus’s laugh bounced off the walls. “Did you, though? Because he’s very much alive, and he’s the one who’s been hunting you. Not me. Not my men. Him.”
George shook his head. “Impossible.”
“Is it?” Marcus asked. “The bombs? The ambush at the cabin? The break-in at her apartment? The hit at the gas station? You think I had the reach to pull all that off? Please.”
Lea’s chest tightened. “You mean… all of that… wasn’t you?”
“Oh, I took advantage of the chaos,” Marcus said with a shrug. “But the orchestration? The precision? That was Cassian. And he wants one thing.”
George’s voice hardened. “Me.”
Marcus lifted a finger. “No. He wants what you stole from him.”
Billy paced once, running a hand through his hair. “We need to leave. Now. If Cassian is back”
Marcus tilted his head. “You won’t make it out if you leave without hearing the rest.”
George snapped, “You’ve told enough.”
“Oh, not even close,” Marcus replied, stepping further into the room. “You think this is just about betrayal? Money? Old grudges?” He leaned closer. “Cassian wants Lea.”
George surged forward so fast Billy had to grab his arm. “No.”
“Let him finish,” Billy hissed.
George snarled, “He speaks another word”
“George,” Lea said softly, trembling. “Let him finish.”
George froze at her voice.
Marcus gave her a small nod. “Thank you.”
She glared at him. “Don’t thank me. Just explain.”
“Gladly,” Marcus said. “Cassian Ward wants you, Lea. And he doesn’t want you dead.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. “Why me?”
George’s voice was barely a breath. “Marcus. Stop.”
“You know why,” Marcus said. “Tell her.”
“I said enough”
“Tell. Her.”
George slammed his gun against the wall, the metallic crack echoing down the corridor. “SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM.”
Marcus smiled cruelly. “She has everything to do with him. She always did.”
Billy stepped between them. “Marcus. Just say it.”
Marcus turned to Lea, eyes sharp. “Cassian Ward is your mother’s son.”
The world stopped.
Lea blinked. “What?”
“Half-brother,” Marcus clarified. “Different fathers. Same mother.”
George whispered, “Don’t listen to him”
“He’s family,” Marcus cut in, “and he thinks you should have been his ticket, not George’s.”
Lea stumbled back a step, her mouth dry. “My mother never, she never said...”
“Of course she didn’t,” Marcus said. “She was paid not to. By who?” He pointed to George. “Him.”
Lea’s breath shattered. “George…?”
He closed his eyes in agony. “Lea, I, I didn’t want you near that world. Near him. Near any of it.”
“By lying to me?” she whispered. “By hiding my own family from me?”
Billy muttered, “This is getting out of hand.”
Marcus took another slow step, enjoying every fracture forming between them. “Cassian survived the river. He built an empire from the bones George left him with. And now he wants revenge. On George. On Billy. On everyone.”
George lifted his gun again. “Last warning.”
“Shoot me,” Marcus said softly. “But it won’t stop him.”
The hallway vibrated, faint at first, then stronger. Billy turned his head sharply. “Grenades. They’re hitting the east side.”
Marcus grinned. “Ah. Looks like someone tracked you through the tunnels.”
George grabbed Lea’s arm. “We’re leaving.”
Marcus stepped in front of them. “You won’t make it three floors.”
“Move,” George warned.
Marcus raised his hands. “You want to get out? You need me.”
Billy scoffed. “Why would we trust you?”
“Because,” Marcus said, voice turning deadly serious, “I’m the only one Cassian doesn’t want dead yet. Which means I’m the only shield you have left.”
The walls trembled again, louder.
Explosions.
Boots.
Shouts.
Marcus smiled faintly. “He’s here.”
Lea felt George squeeze her hand. “Stay close to me.”
Billy cocked his pistol. “We need to move.”
Marcus backed into the corridor. “Follow me if you want to live long enough to regret every choice you’ve ever made.”
In the distance, a door blew off its hinges.
Cassian Ward’s men had entered the building.
George pulled Lea behind him. Billy covered their flank.
Marcus moved ahead, hands lifted, walking unbothered through the spreading smoke.
“Welcome to hell,” he said.
“And to Cassian Ward.”