Chapter 85 A King's weakness
Lina’s POV
The handle turned.
Slowly.
The door opened and Kailen’s face came into view. He stepped inside like he owned the air in the room.
His sleeves were folded to his elbows, the fabric creased carelessly. A dark dragon tattoo curved along his forearm, its tail disappearing beneath the rolled cloth. One of the buttons on his shirt hung loose, the collar slightly open, exposing a glimpse of his chest.
He looked like a man who had just walked out of violence and didn’t bother cleaning the evidence.
I said nothing. I just watched him. Waiting. But Kailen didn’t look at me. His gaze moved straight to Liander.
“Why are you still here?” His tone wasn’t loud. But it carried the kind of authority that didn’t need volume.
Liander stiffened slightly. “I was bringing her food.”
“You brought it,” he said flatly. “You can leave now.”
Silence.
For a moment I thought she might argue.
However, she didn’t.
Liander placed the tray back on the small table, then walked toward the door without another word. As she passed Kailen, she kept her eyes down.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Now it was just him and me. Suddenly the room felt smaller.
Kailen finally turned his attention to me. My shoulders straightened automatically. The movement pulled at the burn mark on my collarbone, and a sharp sting shot through my chest.
I winced. Quietly. But it was not quiet enough.
Kailen’s eyes dropped instantly to my collarbone.
The mark.
The one he had given me.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then he walked past me as if it meant nothing. As if the trauma wasn't life bound.
He stopped at the window, pushing the curtain aside slightly and looking out at the estate grounds.
Guards moved below like shadows across the courtyard.
“Pain changes people,” he said suddenly. His voice was calm. Almost reflective. “If Carlino’s father hadn’t killed mine, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
He leaned one shoulder against the wall beside the window. “You wouldn’t have had to step into this world.”
Silence filled the space between us.
“A world of blood,” he continued, almost to himself. “Drugs. Power. Graves.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “It was supposed to be different,” he continued.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
Kailen’s eyes remained on the window.
“It was supposed to be me and Malder,” he said. “We were meant to inherit everything. The next generation. The next rulers.”
His fingers tapped lightly against the window frame. “But Silvio, Carlino’s selfish father ruined that,” His voice hardened. “He killed his own son.”
The words hit me like cold water. My head snapped up. “What?” Shock hit me like sea waves.
Kailen turned slowly to look at me. I stared at him, eyes slightly wide open. Confusion flooded my thoughts. “That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Silvio Lacentra only had one son.”
Carlino.
Everyone knew that.
That name was practically carved into the underworld’s history.
My mind raced. “So what are you talking about?” I demanded.
Kailen studied my face for a moment.
Then he chuckled.
Low.
Mocking.
“If you get the chance to see your Mafia king in your next life,” he said, “you can ask him yourself, sister.”
The word dripped with sarcasm.
His laughter followed, dark and humorless. I didn’t laugh. I stared at him. My patience snapped.
“I still don’t understand why any of this is my problem. Why any of this has got to do with me.”
His amusement faded slightly.
I stood up, stepping forward. “Why am I suddenly the bridge between you, Carlino, and Malder?” My voice sharpened. “How exactly is it my fault that your father got killed by Carlino’s?”
The frustration pushed past my restraint. “I didn’t ask to be dragged into your war.”
Kailen walked away from the window and dropped into the chair across from the bed. His posture was relaxed. Too relaxed. The kind of ease only dangerous men carried.
He leaned back, spreading his arms slightly along the chair. “You’re asking the wrong question. You always ask the wrong questions.”
“Then enlighten me.”
His eyes sharpened. “Carlino isn’t an ordinary man.”
No surprise there.
“He’s ruthless,” Kailen continued. “Cold. Calculated.” He tapped a finger against the armrest.
“Carlino doesn’t waste time on things that don’t benefit him.” His gaze lifted to mine.
“Women?” A faint smirk crossed his face. “They were never his weakness.” He leaned forward slightly. “I’ve studied Carlino for years.”
That made my stomach tighten.
“His focus is terrifying,” Kailen said. “Every move he makes is precise. Controlled.” His voice lowered.
“Measured.”
The word hung in the air.
“So we tested him.”
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean ‘we’?”
Kailen ignored the question.
“We sent women to him,” he said calmly.
My jaw clenched.
“They tried everything,” he continued. “Charm. Seduction. Vulnerability.”
His lips twitched.
“Carlino either ignored them… or fucked them and dumped them the same night.”
The bluntness of the statement made my stomach twist.
“He never got distracted,” Kailen said. “Never lost focus.”
His gaze sharpened.
“He was the perfect Mafia king.”
Silence filled the room.
Then he pointed at me.
“Until you.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“The moment you stepped into the picture,” Kailen continued, “everything shifted. Shifted dangerously.”
My heart began to pound.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It makes perfect sense.”
He leaned back again.
“You see, Carlino didn’t know he was being watched.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
“Watched by who?”
“Damien.”
Thst motherfucking traitor. The name meant nothing to me.
“He was the only one close enough to Carlino to gather real information,” Kailen said. “The only one who could observe him without raising suspicion.”
My fingers curled slowly. His betrayal wasn't something that happened of recent. It started years ago.
“The first time Carlino saw you was in his hotel.”
My breath caught.
The hotel. That night. He told me.
Kailen watched my reaction carefully.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “That one.”
My stomach twisted harder.
“The way he looked at you…” Kailen shook his head slightly. “Something about it was different.”
My pulse hammered in my ears.
“We noticed immediately,” he continued. His voice dropped lower. “And we knew.”
“Knew what?” I demanded.
“That you were the one.”
The room felt colder.
“The one who could break his balance, shift his focus.”
My chest tightened. “That’s ridiculous.”
Kailen smirked. “Is it?”
He leaned forward slightly.
“Everything that happened afterward proved us right.”
My heart raced.
“This whole thing…” I said slowly.
My voice felt unsteady. “You’re saying it wasn’t coincidence.”
Kailen’s smile widened. “No,” His eyes locked onto mine. “Nothing was coincidence.”
Every word landed like a hammer.
“Everything,” he said calmly, “was structurally planned.”
The weight of that statement crushed the air from my lungs.
“You’re lying.”
But even as I said it, doubt crept into my mind.
Carlino’s sudden chaos.
The way everything spiraled.
Kailen watched me carefully.
“You walked into our board without even knowing the game.”
My throat tightened. “You used me.”
“Strategically,” he corrected.
Anger flared in my chest. “I’m not a pawn.”
“You already were dear half sister.”
My hands clenched. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe.” His smile remained. “But you still did exactly what we expected.”
The room fell into tense silence.
Then—
BANG.
The door burst open.
Both of us turned instantly.
Pathy stood in the doorway.
Her chest rose and fell quickly as if she had rushed here. The calm composure she usually carried was gone. For the first time since I’d met her—
She looked tense.
My eyes flicked to Kailen.The expression on his face changed. The relaxed confidence disappeared. His gaze sharpened instantly.
Cold.
Alert.
Dangerous.
He stood— and even without a word spoken yet—
I could feel it.
Something was very wrong.