CHAPTER 68

CHAPTER 68
Kieran’s POV 

Fear for Serena pushed me down the muddy slope toward the water’s edge while I also feared for Adrian and Damien and felt an odd dread about the arrival of an unknown person. Police lights shimmered up the hill, yet I deliberately ignored them. Evelyn’s order echoed in my mind: We’ll find her. Every word I said carried genuine meaning for me, even if it meant risking my life.

I reached the dock while my boots became mired in the yielding ground. The little boat sat partly submerged in the shallow water while rain hammered its hull. I dropped to my knees to pull the rope free while straining my ears for Serena’s possible struggle. Nothing. Just the wind and the lapping waves. I tried the engine—dead. No surprise. She must have known I’d disable it. 

I felt my heart pounding while I scanned the shoreline looking for any indication of her presence. The shoreline was hiding her secrets behind every ripple and shadow with deceptive rocks. Then I heard it: A faint splash occurred close to the lake centre. The moment I grabbed the oar and pushed away from the shore, my muscles began to burn instantly. Despite my body's painful protest from the chase I experienced, I pushed myself to increase my rowing speed.

The sky split with a burst of lightning, which revealed a sharp silhouette far away. The island. Serena had drifted there—somehow. Her choice of that lake rock baffled me, yet I needed to reach her. If she had passed away at that place, I would forever blame myself. She needed to face judgment for her crimes if she survived.

As I approached the island’s shore, the rain pounded against my face. Each wave threatened to flip my boat, but I held onto the oar with all my strength because my survival depended on it. I landed on the rocky shoreline and sprinted out while my heart pounded fiercely in my chest. The chill didn't register as I made my way to shore while searching for Serena.

“Serena!” I shouted, voice raw. “Where are you?” 

Only the wind answered. The island consisted only of several boulders and scattered scrubby trees. I sprinted toward a slim trail that opened into a stand of pine trees. While wet roots made my feet slip, I kept moving forward, shouting for her. As the storm built above me, the thunder roared so intensely that I worried it might overpower my voice.

Then I heard her cry. “Kieran!” 

My feet lost traction, and I crashed through dense foliage. Lightning lit a clearing: Between two trees, she crouched as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her elegant coat was shredded, and mud had stuck to her knees. Her eyes initially expressed a desperate appeal for rescue before transforming into a defiant gaze when she saw me.

“You found me,” she spat. “I wasn’t ready to give up!” 

I rushed forward, open arms. “Serena, I’ll get you back—” 

A figure emerged from behind her. Tall, broad-shouldered, face half-hidden in shadow. My breath froze. The man possessed excessively sharp eyes combined with deep insight. Ice shot down my spine. 

“Victor,” I snarled, heart hammering. “You’re alive.” 

Serena flinched. “You brought him,” she said, voice trembling. “He insisted.” 

The lightning illuminated Victor as he emerged with a chilling presence. A scar ran down one side of his face, forming a long white line. His expression revealed nothing as he stared at me. “I always come back,” he said quietly. 

I lowered my voice. “You disappeared in that fire.” 

He shrugged. He responded with a smirk as his lips twisted into a dark grin. My ghost became your responsibility to put to rest.

My chest clenched. “Where’s Adri—” 

Victor raised a hand, cutting me off. He assured me my son was secure at this moment. “But you need to stand aside.” 

I felt a surge of anger. “Stand aside? He’s my son!” 

Victor directed his gaze toward Serena before returning his attention to me. “He’s a tool. A weapon. The words struck me with the force of a physical blow. The survival of your son depends entirely on your compliance with my orders.

The words Evelyn spoke to me reverberated through my thoughts with one clear message: No further choices remained. I stepped into the space between Victor and Serena while tightening my fists. “I won’t let you hurt him.” 

Victor’s smile widened. He turned to look behind me after saying that his intention wasn’t to harm me. Trees rustled in the wind. “I’m here to hurt you.” 

With that, he lunged. Everything happened at once: Thunder erupted while Serena shouted, and Victor pinned me to a tree. The wet bark of a tree struck my back as Victor's move took my breath away. Victor’s hands circled my neck, and I experienced his wild strength, which I couldn’t understand.

“Victor!” Serena cried. She moved ahead, but I swung my elbow into her hand, which sent her tumbling. My vision blurred as Victor’s grip tightened. Panic surged—I couldn’t breathe. I felt my fingers grip the small knife, which was tucked inside my pocket.

He laughed, a low, chilling sound. Do you believe a knife can hold me back?

But I was past fear. Using my wrist, I manoeuvred the knife into his hip. His snarl loosened his hold on me sufficiently for the knife to pierce his coat. I struck him in the ribs, which caused him to trip backwards. As he collapsed onto the tree trunk, he placed his hand over his injury. Blood seeped through his fingers. 

He wiped it away, eyes burning. “Stubborn as ever,” he said. He charged toward me more rapidly during his second attack. I moved aside and ducked under his attack before thrusting the knife deeper into his arm. He let out a howl while swinging his arms erratically, which resulted in a glancing blow that sliced my forearm. The sharp pain hit me, but I continued to resist.
Manoeuvred around one another as the rain washed away our mingled blood. The lightning illuminated my son’s sleepy face in the distance, where Serena held him securely. My fury spiked. Victor had repeated his threats against my family enough times to spark my rage.

I charged, tackling him to the ground. We rolled in the mud, fists flying. Neither of us yielded. The fire in my muscles pushed me to my physical limits, but I kept fighting on. All I could feel was gravel under my feet and rain on my skin while mud coated my tongue. Serena remained caught between the decision of joining Adrian and observing the fight.

I finally secured Victor’s arm under my knee. He cursed, struggling, but I held firm. I pressed the knife to his throat. “Stay down,” I gasped. “Stay down or you die.” 

He laughed, dark and broken. He spat rainwater onto my face while saying, “You’re as weak as I remember.” “Why do you protect them? You should have abandoned your efforts long ago.

Tears mixed with rainwater on my cheeks as the storm raged around me. “Because they’re my family.” 

His eyes glinted. “Then prove it. Or lose them.” 

As panic and rage fused, my grip became steel. “What do you want?” 

Moving nearer, he spoke softly, though thunder masked his words. “I’m not the only ghost you’ll face.” 

He expelled another comment through his teeth, which I failed to hear. I squeezed the knife harder as his words turned into a blur. Rain poured over us, cold and insistent. The sound of lightning hitting a tree behind us reached deafening volumes. Wood splintered, and branches crashed overhead. 

It became clear to me then that he had company. A shape stepped out from behind him from the darkness. Taller than Victor, broader still. The prototype. He remained frozen with that vacant look as rainwater streamed down his face. His face was cold, expressionless. 

I lost my grip on the knife slightly as I shifted my glance between Victor and the prototype. My breath came in ragged gasps. The tempest swirled around us while our moment seemed to freeze in time. Another danger appeared right when I learned that my family's survival depended on this battle.

Victor’s chuckle echoed. “Meet my heir.” 

A flash of lightning revealed their side-by-side stance: father and his failed experiment. My vision tunnelled. Victor’s hand shot out and crushed my wrist as I attempted to pull back the knife. Pain exploded. I dropped the blade. It skidded across the mud. 

The prototype stepped forward, silent as death. He raised his hand. My body reacted to an invisible force that struck me unexpectedly. I cried out, stumbling backwards. Victor rose, bleeding but grinning. 

“You see?” Victor said, voice triumphant. “You can’t win.” 

The prototype extended his pale hand to reach toward me. My legs collapsed beneath me while my knees slammed into the muddy ground. Evelyn screamed from a distance. Adrian stilled in her arms. 

As rain streaked down my face, I turned to see the two looming figures above me. The storm thundered, the world spinning. 

I understood that my only decision was to either remain upright or collapse.

Their figures emerged from the dark to dominate my sight as Victor and his heir prepared to complete what I commenced.

Using my strength, I came to balance on one knee while my fists remained tightly shut. The decision I made next determined the fate of my family.

My voice shook, but I managed to growl out, “You won't harm them.”

Victor met the prototype's eyes while both shared smiles synchronised with the thunder.

And everything went black around me—lightning forbidding, rain endless, and their promise hanging in the charged air: You can’t save them all.