Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Damien’s POV

The hum of the ceiling vent was the only sound keeping me company.

Stacks of documents spread across my desk, shareholder statements, legal notes, and other documents I had been ignoring for the past few weeks now because of all the chaos around me.

My temples ached, as the work began to take its toll on me.

That’s when I heard it…

Heels clicking over the marble floor of the corridor, approaching slowly.

I didn’t even have to look up to know who it was.

Elena.

The sound stopped right outside my door, followed by a gentle knock.

I didn’t answer, but she pushed it open anyway.

She stepped inside with that same effortless arrogance of hers.

Her black dress hugged her body in all the right areas enough to make a weak mind seduced.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” I said, my voice low and even.

Elena smiled, although I could tell even that was fake. “Aww, you missed me, huh, Damien?”

I leaned back in my chair, keeping my expression steady. “Maybe, but we know, Leo wouldn’t approve now, would he?”

That made her laugh softly, not with amusement, but more with mockery.

“Leo approves of whatever I decide,” she murmured, walking toward the chair opposite me and sitting down gracefully.

The scent of her perfume drifted across the desk, tingling my nostrils.

I placed the pen down and folded my hands, my gaze fully locking on hers. “Why are you here?”

Her gaze flicked to the documents on my desk before meeting my eyes again. “Oh, come on. You know why I’m here.”

“I made it pretty clear to your boyfriend,” I said, cutting her off, “that he better be gone by tomorrow. After tomorrow, my patience finishes.”

She tilted her head, her lips twitching. “Oh… I’m scared.”

A heavy dose of sarcasm tinged her voice and I didn't like that.

“You should be,” I said quietly. “If your boyfriend advises you to leave, I think it’s best you take it.”

Elena chuckled, leaning forward, her elbows resting on her knees. “No. I won’t leave till Bianca is six feet under the ground.”

That earned a bitter laugh out of me. “I don’t know what your obsession with Bianca is, and I don’t care. But she’s gone, Elena.”

“She’ll be back,” she said confidently. “And when she does, you’ll help us take her out.”

I smirked. “Help you? You’re joking, right?”

Her eyes narrowed. “No. I’m not.”

“Well, I’m not going to help you,” I said flatly. “And Bianca isn’t coming back. So save yourself the strength and leave while you still can.”

“I’m not leaving,” she hissed.

I slammed my palm on the desk hard enough to make the papers jump, my face instantly darkening. “Yes, you are!”

She didn’t flinch, even a little.

“You see, Elena,” I said, voice roughening, “what I hate is getting caught in the crossfire of your little revenge plot.

I’m barely holding my anger in because of Leo and what he's done for me. But after today… ” I leaned forward, eyes locked on hers.. “if I so much as set my eyes on either of you again…”

“Again with the threats,” she interrupted, rolling her eyes. “I get it.”

Her mockery was worse than any argument.

She stood, brushing invisible dust off her dress, and stared down at me. “You’ve made one thing clear, Damien,” she said, her voice calm now, almost sweet. “You’re against us.”

Then she turned and walked out.

Her heels clicked across the marble again until it faded down the hallway.

I stayed seated and for a long while, I just stared at the door.

By the time I got to the lobby, the night air had cooled.

The building was nearly empty.

My driver for tonight, Gerald, stood by the car, his posture firm. “Evening, sir.”

“Let’s go,” I muttered.

He opened the back door, and I slid in, and soon the engine roared to life.

The dark road stretched ahead of us.

I loosened my tie and leaned back, my head against the seat.

Elena’s voice kept replaying in my mind.

‘I won’t leave till Bianca is six feet under.’

She wanted Bianca dead… Well, I wasn't going to let that happen.

The car turned onto the main highway, its tires hissing on wet asphalt.

Gerald adjusted the wipers. “Bit of a storm coming in, sir.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, barely listening.

I reached for my phone, scrolled through my messages. Bianca’s number still sat there at the top, for a moment I wanted to call her, maybe explain that I didn't upload the rumors.

But I shrugged the thought off.

I sighed, sliding it back into my pocket.

The rain began to pick up, now dropping like bullets on the glass.

“Careful on the bend,” I said absently. Gerald nodded.

We were halfway through the turn when I heard it.

A faint grinding noise beneath us. First it was subtle, then it became louder.

I frowned. “What’s that?”

Gerald’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Not sure, sir… might be the brake pads.”

The sound grew harsher. Something was wrong.

He pressed the pedal again. Nothing.

“Sir…” His voice broke slightly. “The brakes—”

I sat upright immediately. “What about them?”

“They’re not responding.”

He pressed harder, but nothing was happening.

The car didn’t slow.

“What the hell do you mean they’re not responding?”

“I.. I don’t know!” Gerald’s tone rose as panic edged in.

He pumped the pedal, harder, faster. The car just kept moving.

The road ahead curved sharply to the right, and beyond that, nothing but a slope and dense woods.

“Gerald—”

“I’m trying, sir!”

The tires screeched, the car fishtailed, spinning once as the headlights cut across the trees.

For a brief and surreal second, everything around me slowed down, even my thoughts.

I saw the guardrail ahead… a thin strip of metal separating us from open air.

And then the impact came.

The world around me exploded.

The front end crushed inward; the dashboard cracked.

My shoulder slammed into the window , as a massive wave of pain shot up my neck.

The seatbelt wrenched tight across my chest as the car pitched forward and rolled.

The SUV hit the ditch with a very loud and disturbing thud.

The headlights shattered; darkness swallowed everything.

For a second, I was still… chest heaving, blood trickling down the side of my face.

“Sir… sir!” Gerald’s voice was faint, panicked.

I tried to answer, but the words caught in my throat. My vision blurred, edges dissolving.

Then nothing but black…