CHAPTER 64

CHAPTER 64
Damien’s POV

Through the pandemonium, my voice broke out, commanding "Let him go" while maintaining a low, fierce tone. The rifle barrel shook against my back while the frigid metal pressed into my shoulder as the guard restrained me. My hands remained tied behind my back, yet I worked hard to resist any involuntary movement. My vision blurred to show Adrian standing between Evelyn and Kieran while Serena stood smug and fearless at the cliff edge.

Serena extended her hand upward, as if presenting a reward. She spoke gently, yet her tone remained icy as she instructed me to calm down. “You know why I’m here. You have what I want. She indicated Kieran while insisting he hand it over as he remained at the clearing centre, struggling to decide whether to approach or protect Evelyn and Adrian. The rain intensified, striking the earth with a continuous percussive rhythm. The entire planet seemed to pause in anticipation.

Kieran swallowed hard. The gun’s muzzle aimed directly at the prototype, who resembled Adrian yet possessed sinister darkness in his eyes. “You can’t have him,” Kieran spat. The movement of Serena’s eyes toward her men revealed her lack of fear. She organised herself to face a confrontation which she planned to win.

Her smile suggested she'd been anticipating this exact moment. “Oh, but I already do,” she said. She turned her head in my direction, and I felt her stare like a heavy force pushing me down to the ground. You won’t succeed in rushing me if you think you can do so. “You’ll give me everything. Or—” She paused, enjoying the tension. “Or you’ll lose him.” 

I stared straight at her. My heart pounded as adrenaline surged. “You won’t,” I said, voice shaky. “We’ll fight you. Evelyn will fight you. Kieran will fight you.” Damp from the rain, my hair stuck to my forehead. I drew in a deep breath to calm the shaking in my chest.

“Fight all you want,” Serena replied. She indicated to the guard behind her, who approached with a remote in hand, as she declared our disadvantage in both numbers and weaponry, and time. “See this? One press, and the prototype disintegrates. I gasped as I realised what she meant by “Gone”—no way that could be true. Serana was bluffing, right? But the guard’s face said otherwise. He pressed the button. 

A high-pitched whine filled the air. The prototype experienced his inner self coming undone as he widened his eyes in shock. Kieran moved to fire his weapon at the blast, yet his action came too late. The creature shuddered violently and vanished instantaneously before anyone could react. A quick burst of light followed by an air sound. Evelyn shouted his name in reverse while standing at the edge of the cliff.

“My boy?” She stumbled forward, voice trembling. The cliff’s edge felt too close now, as though we all might slip off at any moment. “No…” Her voice broke. Kieran moved to her side, pulling her back by the arm. My own heart wrenched at her pain.

Serena watched, triumphant. “I did warn you,” she said. “Now, give me access to Adrian’s neural core. Or I’ll do the same to him. And then you’ll see how much he is my property.” She lifted the remote again. The threat hung heavy in the air.

Every instinct screamed at me to rush forward, to fight, to tear that remote from her hand. Instead, I forced myself to stand perfectly still, head up, shoulders squared. I had to keep Evelyn and Kieran from doing something desperate. Fear roared in me, but I would not let it win.

Kieran took a step forward, voice low and trembling. “You can’t—” He stopped as Serena shot him a warning glance. Her silence cut deeper than any bullet.

Evelyn covered Adrian’s face with her body, shielding him from the threat. “No—” she cried. “You can’t take him too.” Her words shook, but they were as fierce as fire.

Serena raised a hand again. “That’s exactly what I will do.” She let the words linger, watching them soak into Kieran’s face. “So here’s my demand: You give me full control of the company registry right now. You sign the papers. You officially make me the heir. You hand me everything. And you make Kieran step down as head of Blackfang.”

I felt it in my gut: If they agreed, Serena would own the world. She would own my brother. She would own us. The weight of her words shouldered me down, but I refused to be broken. Evelyn and Kieran exchanged a look that said everything—this was wrong, but we might not have a choice.

Kieran’s jaw clenched. He spat the words out: “Never.” He reached for his pistol again. I held my breath, ready to fight beside him.

But then Serena’s guard pointed his rifle at us. “Last chance,” she said. “Do it.” She pressed the remote to her lips for emphasis.

Time slowed. Every drop of rain felt like a bullet. I could almost feel the cold inside the remote, the power to destroy Adrian. My mind raced. They couldn’t hand her control—couldn’t do that. But if they refused… Adrian would die.

Evelyn took a shaky step forward. “Kieran—” She placed a hand on his arm. “We can’t lose him, too.” Tears blurred her vision, but her voice was steady. “I would rather watch you die than give her everything. But I won’t watch my son die, too.”

Kieran’s shoulders sagged a fraction. His eyes burned with heartbreak. He reached into his pocket. I saw the set of keys he held—keys to Blackfang’s main vault. Without hesitation, he tossed them to Serena.

She caught them, her smile cruel. “Very well.” She pressed a button on the remote. The screens behind her flickered to life—live feeds from every office in Blackwood enterprises. Each camera showed board members watching the standoff, their faces pale, their loyalty gone.

“With these,” Serena said, pointing to the keys, “I have full access. And as soon as I’m done here, I’ll make myself CEO.” She licked her lips. “Then you’ll have nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run.”

Kieran straightened, eyes ablaze. “You’re a monster,” he said, voice low. “But I’ll find a way to take it all back.”

Serena laughed. “Oh, swee,t naive Alpha. You can’t climb out of this. Not now.” She released the flush button on the remote. A low hum vibrated in my ears. Adrian’s breathing hitched. Evelyn’s eyes widened in terror.

And I felt, for the first time, the real weight of failure.

“Wait,” Kieran said, voice rough. “Before… we give you anything… let me see him.”

Serena’s smile twisted. “Of course.” She nodded to her guard. “Bring him here.”

Adrian was carried forward, limp and pale, supported by two guards. He looked at us with tired eyes. My heart seized. Despite everything, he saw me, and for a fleeting moment, a flicker of recognition passed between us. Then he closed his eyes, as though bracing himself.

Serena watched as he was laid at her feet. “Beautiful,” she said, crouching beside him. She brushed his hair from his forehead. His face was bruised, his cheek cut. Still, he was his person, and she held his life in her hands. “But if he dies, you all die.”

Evelyn moved to kneel beside Adrian, her hands trembling as she reached for him. Kieran held her back, but her eyes never left her son. “Don’t,” she whispered, voice strangled.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run to Adrian and carry him away. But Marcus’s guard shoved me back with a rifle butt. The metal stung my side.

Serena straightened and looked at each of us, her eyes blazing. “Here’s my final offer.” She held up her hand. “You sign those papers, making me CEO, before the next breath he takes, or I’ll remove the helmet sensors and he’ll die. No second chances.”

Kieran closed his eyes, visibly trembling. He glanced at Evelyn—her face was pale, tears streaming. I took a step forward, shaking my head. I had to do something.

“We need to think,” Marcus said, stepping between Serena and us. “Let’s not rush.”

“No thinking,” Serena said sharply. “Not now. You have thirty seconds.” She placed the remote back to her lips. “Adrian breathes only if I say so.”

Time slowed again. Thirty seconds felt like an eternity. Evelyn whispered to Kieran, “We can’t lose him. He needs us.”

Kieran’s eyes flicked to mine. I saw the pain there, raw and desperate. I held his gaze. We both knew what needed to be done—but could we live with ourselves afterwards?

Twenty seconds. Evelyn squeezed a hand on Kieran’s arm.

“Five seconds,” Serena called out. “Decide, Alpha.”

I took a breath, mind racing. My hands itched to fight, to rip Serena’s head from her shoulders, to tear Marcus’s eyes from his skull.

But I knew that anger would kill Adrian.

Three… two… one…

Kieran lowered his head. His hand went to his pocket, and he pulled out a pen. He knelt beside Adrian and pressed it to a sheet of paper. Evelyn pressed the paper into management’s hands, and we heard the tearing of fabric as the signatures went onto the keys.

Serena watched, satisfied. She snapped her fingers, and the guards moved away from Adrian, but they didn’t remove the helmet yet. Serena rose and stepped forward. She picked up his hand gently, grimacing as her fingers pressed into his skin, just enough to remind him who held his life.

Kieran staggered back, rain soaking his hair. Evelyn gasped as the papers were complete. The flickering lightning revealed their faces—relief and terror weaving into one.

Serena leaned toward Adrian. “You’re mine again.” She lifted the helmet sensors. Adrian gasped, breath rushing back. Evelyn buried her face in her hands. I wanted to run to them, to shield Adrian from this nightmare. But there was nowhere to go. Serena’s men spread out, guns drawn, blocking any escape.

She turned to me last, her eyes dark. “Enjoy your victory while it lasts.” The thunder rumbled as she strode away, the prototype at her side.

We didn’t move until her SUV vanished over the cliff. The wind shook the trees, as if nature itself came to life.

Evelyn trembled by Adrian’s side, tears falling onto his cheek. I knelt next to them, reaching out to hold him.

Kieran stood a few feet away, staring into the storm. Lightning lit his face, and I saw his eyes burn with something I’d never seen before—cold resolution.

“Damien,” he said, voice low, “we’re not done.”

The rain pounded harder, the thunder echoing like a war drum.

And Serena’s final words lingered in the wind: “Enjoy your victory while it lasts.”

But I knew better. This was just the beginning.