Chapter 120 A Looming Threat

Chapter 120 A Looming Threat
Kenna

The name left my lips barely more than a whisper.

I stood beside the bed with my phone pressed tightly against my ear, staring at nothing as my heart pounded so hard I could hear it.

No.

It can’t be possible.

Cassian was dead.

I had made sure of it.

I had even convinced myself that whatever guilt I had carried afterward would eventually disappear.

“How…” I swallowed hard. “How are you alive?”

A chuckle came through the phone.

“You really thought I was dead?” He spoke so quietly that it frightened me more than anger ever could. “I know it’s hard to believe when you sent men to kill me.”

My fingers tightened around the phone. Without warning, the memories I had buried so deeply came rushing back.

Cassian's face. 

His voice whispering my name whenever we were in bed alone.

The things we had done.

I gripped the edge of the bedside table, forcing myself upright.

“I thought you were going to expose me.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “That’s the only reason I did it.”

“And that gave you the right to kill me?”

“I didn't have a choice.”

“You always have a choice, Kenna!”

His voice echoed through the speaker.

I flinched so hard that my gaze immediately drifted toward the bedroom door. For one terrifying second, I imagined Varkos walking back inside and hearing every word.

I lowered my voice. 

“You don't understand.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly.” His voice was frighteningly calm. “I understand that when you thought I had become a problem, you decided I was disposable.”

I closed my eyes.

“Cassian, please.”

“Please?” A quiet laugh escaped him, but there was no trace of humor in it. “That's interesting.”

My chest tightened.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to suffer.”

The moment the words left his mouth, every muscle in my body locked. I opened my eyes.

And for the first time in years, I felt something I thought was impossible.

Fear.

“Please…” The words barely left my lips. “Please forgive me, Cassian. I never meant to betray you.”

“You already betrayed me, Kenna.” His voice hardened. “You chose money and their power. Then, when I became inconvenient, you tried to erase me.”

I struggled to breathe.

“You were going to ruin everything.”

“You should have been more afraid of what I knew.”

My blood ran cold.

“What does that mean?”

“You know exactly what it means.”

“No.” My voice cracked. “What do you know?”

For a brief moment, silence filled the other end. Then he finally spoke.

“You think kidnapping Lily was the worst thing we ever did?”

The words hit me like a physical blow. My fingers tightened around the phone as a cold chill ran down my spine.

Lily.

I hadn’t heard that name in years.

I turned toward the bedroom door again, almost expecting someone to be standing there.

There were things I had done that could never be forgiven. Things that could destroy everything if the wrong person discovered them.

And Cassian knew all of it.

“Please you can't tell anyone.” My voice trembled. “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”

A humourless laugh came through the phone.

“There she is.” His voice remained calm. “You always think everything is about money, don’t you?

“What else do you want?”

“Revenge.” The answer came without hesitation. “I want you awake at night, wondering when everything you've built will collapse.”

I pressed my palm against my chest.

“Please—“

“You begged me once to protect you.” His voice cut through mine before I could finish. “Now I'm going to make sure you have to protect yourself against me.”

I hated myself for being afraid of him.

But most of all, I hated the fact that somewhere beneath all that fear was the knowledge that he could destroy me.

Because he possessed the one thing none of my enemies ever had.

My secrets.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Meet me.” 

My eyes opened. 

“When?”

“In three days,” he replied immediately. Black Rose Motel. Room seventeen.”

“What happens if I don't come?”

There was a brief pause. Then his voice came through the phone, dropping to a low, dangerous whisper.

“I'll tell Varkos the one secret you don’t want him ever to find out.”

My heart dropped.

“Cassian, please—”

The line went dead.

For several seconds, I remained frozen. Slowly, I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the screen.

Before I realized what I was doing, I immediately called the number back.

It rang once.

Twice.

No answer.

I called again.

Nothing.

My hands were shaking so badly that I almost dropped the phone.

“Fuck!!!”

The words burst out before I could stop them. I threw the phone onto the bed and began pacing the room like a caged animal.

No.

No, no, no.

Cassian couldn't come back.

Not when Ginnie was already a huge threat in our lives. Not when Varkos was already drifting away from me. 

I pressed both hands against my face.

Think, Kenna.

Think.

Maybe Cassian was bluffing.

Maybe he doesn’t know anything.

Maybe he was trying to frighten me into meeting him.

I stopped pacing.

But if that were true, he wouldn't have sounded so confident.

Three days.

I had only three days before I had to face the man I had believed was dead. Three days before I found out what secret he was holding over my head. 

Slowly, I turned and walked toward the mirror. The woman staring back at me looked different.

Her face was pale.

Her eyes were wide.

And for the first time in years, there was something in them that I had never allowed anyone to see.

Fear.

I lifted a trembling hand and touched the mirror.

“Get yourself together,” I whispered.

The words didn’t sound convincing even to my own ears. Because somewhere in the back of my mind, I could still hear Cassian's voice.

And for the first time in years, I had no idea how to control what was coming.

Cassian was alive.

He wanted revenge.

And whatever secret he was holding...

I knew one thing with absolute certainty.

If he exposed it, I wouldn’t just lose Varkos.

I could lose everything I had spent years fighting to build. And this time, there might be no way to stop it.