CHAPTER 52: Victor’s Shadow

CHAPTER 52: Victor’s Shadow
Kieran’s POV

I hadn’t slept in two days.

Not since Evelyn’s evidence went public. Not since Adrian looked at me like I was a stranger. Not since Serena vanished.
Like a ghost, she had vanished, leaving only silence in her wake. Not a word. No justification. Just a house full of whispers and shame. The story in every headline was the same: Blackwood, Serena exposed. The board continued to call. Investors threatened to withdraw. I was not sure how long I could keep Blackfang together because it was breaking.

But the storm inside of me was greater than all of it.

With the lights down and the blinds closed, I sat in my office and gazed at the whiskey glass I was holding. The ice was no longer there. I had not drank any. Reliving the past twenty years—what I did to Evelyn, what I thought about Adrian, and what I allowed Serena to twist—took up too much of my time.

And now, she was gone.

I should have been angry. Furious. But all I felt was cold dread. Because Serena was acting desperate rather than merely afraid if she was running. Desperate people also make risky decisions.

I put down the glass and got up. My hand automatically went to my desk's top drawer, which I had not opened in years. There was a black folder inside. Thick. It was heavier than it appeared.

Cole Victor.

My jaw tensed at the name alone.

For more than ten years, he had been a ghost. Too cruel even for Blackfang's worst moments. When he began abusing his position of authority for extortion and other crimes, I severed my relationship with him years ago. Everything was buried. Or so I believed.

A name, however, had reappeared in one of Evelyn's leaks this morning. Victor had previously worked with Serena's old acquaintance, Paul Graves. Shortly, but long enough to be significant. I understood the angle, even though Evelyn had not stated it directly. She was aware.

Victor had returned.

And we were all in danger if Serena had gotten to him.

I picked up my phone and dialed my security chief, Nathan. Eyes on the docks is what I want. In particular, Pier 12. discreetly. Serena may be going to meet someone.

"You believe Victor is the one?" Without hesitation, Nathan asked.

I remarked, "I think she is desperate enough to try." “And if he’s alive… we need to know what he wants.”

“I’ll dispatch two men. They will answer to me directly.

After hanging up, I reached for my coat. I had to get out of here. Every bodily instinct urged me to take action. Victor's reappearance was not random. And people vanished the last time he was near my family.

My phone buzzed once more as I entered the elevator.

A film.

No sender.

I paused, then pressed play.

It came from a shaky phone camera and was grainy. Initially, all I could see were fog and shipping containers. After that, the camera focused on a black car. The window rolled down.

Serena took a step forward.

What about the face that emerged from within?

Victor.

It is older, but it is clear. He still had a deep scar running down his cheek. He continued to smile with that same icy curve, as if he had no emotions and was pleased by everything.

That was the end of the video.

My hand gripped the phone more tightly.

Victor was still alive. Serena had fallen into his trap, too.

I was aware of my obligations.

The fog had grown thicker by the time I arrived at the docks. I parked a few blocks away and walked up, my tires crunching against gravel. I did not want to give anyone away.

Nathan's men had already returned with their reports. Someone had seen Serena walking into Pier 12. She had remained indoors.

I slipped between the piled containers like a shadow. The silence was strange, too quiet for a shipping yard, and the air smelled of oil and salt. As I got closer to the black car in the video, my pace slowed. It remained, windows foggy, lights off.

I ducked behind a container and circled back from the left.

empty.

Then I heard voices. mute. Close.

The sound led me to a side door that was part of one of the bigger shipping units. The door stood open a crack. I looked inside.

They were there.

Serena stood with her arms folded, and although her tone was one of defiance, her voice was trembling. "You promised to keep me safe. Victor, this is not protection. This is a cage.”

Calm and wearing all black, Victor leaned against a steel beam. “Serena, you’re smarter than that. You approached me. You requested assistance. I’m helping.”

"By concealing me like cargo in a shipping container?"

He grinned. “For now. Until the noise dies down. After that, we move.

She did not think he was real. Her eyes darted calculatingly toward the exit, and I could see it.

Victor also took notice.

"You will run for the rest of your life if you run," he said quietly.

"I ought to have approached someone else."

“Too late for that.”

Then his voice changed—low, threatening. "Serena, you transported me back to Kieran's world. You opened the door. Don’t forget it.”

I felt sick to my stomach.

She had returned him.

Victor wanted more than just leverage. He desired retribution.

I was about to back off and call for help when my foot slammed into a loose can, sending it crashing across the sidewalk.

Oh no.

Serena's head jerked in the direction of the door.

Victor moved more quickly than I recalled. Grabbing her arm, he pulled a gun from under his coat and yanked her behind him. "Who is present?"

I remained motionless.

He went outside into the mist.

I circled around the container and ducked to the left. In my ears, my pulse roared.

"Kieran, you have always had spies," Victor yelled. "However, none of them smell like you."

He was luring me in.

I moved from the darkness forward.

“It’s not spies you should worry about,” I said coldly. “It’s me.”

Slowly, he turned.

He grinned as he said, "Kieran Blackwood." "I was curious about the duration."

"When I had the chance, I ought to have finished you."

He remarked with amusement, "You tried." "But I always return."

"This time, no."

I was on the move when he cocked the gun. I swung forward and hit him hard. The gun fell to the floor with a clatter. With our fists flying, we wrestled against the container wall. I was quicker, but he was stronger than he appeared. I was vicious because I was angry.

Serena screamed behind us.

I pinned Victor with my forearm and slammed him against the wall. "Why return now?"

With blood in his teeth, he laughed. Since your idyllic little world is on fire. Additionally, I plan to light the last match.

With a grunt, he pushed me away and sprang for the gun.

I jumped after him.

It is too late.

I was directly in the line of the barrel.

"Kieran, good-bye—"

There was a shot.

Stunned, Victor stumbled back. He put his hand to his side and dropped the gun.

Serena carried a small pistol behind him. She had trembling hands.

She muttered, "I told you you do not control me."

Victor's knees gave way.

He did not fall, though.

He grinned icily and knowingly as he looked up at her. "You believe this is where it ends?"

He then faced me.

"Your son is not who you believe him to be."

I went cold.

"What were you saying?"

Victor’s smile widened.

"You will see."

Then, bleeding but alive, he turned and ran into the fog.

I did not go after him. I was unable to. His final words sounded like a warning to me.

Your son isn’t who you think he is.

What the hell did that mean?

I turned to Serena. She was pale, shaken, but alive.

I said, "You knew he was dangerous."

"I believed I could manage him."

"You couldn't."

She remained silent.

In the midst of fog, blood, and questions, we stood silently.

Victor vanished into the night somewhere in the distance, carrying secrets that none of us were prepared to face.