Chapter 222 Victor’s Fate

Chapter 222 Victor’s Fate
~Victor’s POV~

The cell was colder than the last one. I sat on the edge of the thin mattress, looking at the gray wall in front of me. My fingers tapped on my knee in a slow rhythm. I had been doing that for hours.

“They really moved me to this dump,” I said to myself. “For my own safety, they said. What a joke.” I let out a dry laugh and shook my head. “Safety. As if anyone cares about Victor Kane anymore.”

I stood up and walked to the small sink. The metal felt cold against my hands as I turned on the tap and splashed water on my face. I looked at my reflection in the tiny, scratched mirror. “Look at you,” I said. “You used to have men who would kill for you. Now you can’t even get a decent meal without it tasting terrible.”

I turned off the tap and walked back to the bed. My old contacts were gone. Every single one of them. The moment the verdict was read, they scattered like rats. Some changed their numbers. Some disappeared completely. My empire was gone. My name was toxic. And I was here. Alone.

I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Then her voice came back. “I’m leaving you now.” I closed my eyes. Miranda’s last words to me during that visit. The one where she told me she was pregnant. The one where she said the child might not even be mine. I could still see her face through the glass. The way she looked at me like I was already dead to her.

“I’m leaving you now.” I sat up suddenly and ran my hands through my hair. “You really said that to me,” I muttered. “After everything I did for you. You just… walked away.” I stood up and started pacing the small cell. “You think you’re better than me now, Miranda?” I said out loud. “You think because you testified and played the victim that you can erase me? You were nothing before I found you. Nothing.”

My voice echoed off the walls. I stopped pacing and pressed my forehead against the cold concrete. “But you left anyway,” I whispered. “You really left.” I stayed like that for a long time, breathing hard. Then I laughed again, a short, bitter sound. “You know what’s funny?” I said to the empty cell. “I used to think I owned you. I thought no matter what I did, you would always come back. I locked you up. I hurt you. And you still stayed. Until you didn’t.”

I pushed away from the wall and sat back down on the bed. “No one comes to see me,” I said quietly. “Not one person. Not even the ones I paid to be loyal. They all disappeared the second I became useless.” I looked around the cell. “This is it, huh?” I muttered. “This is how it ends for Victor Kane. In a box. With no one. Not even a single visitor.”

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “I used to have power,” I said. “Real power. People feared me. They respected me. Now look at me. Talking to myself like a crazy person.” I laughed again, but it sounded empty. “You did this to me, Miranda,” I said. “You and Chard. You took everything from me. And now I have nothing left.”

I stood up and walked to the door. I pressed my hands against the cold metal and closed my eyes. “I’m leaving you now.” Her voice echoed in my head again. I hit the door once with my palm. “Stop saying that,” I growled. “Just stop.” But the words kept coming back. “I’m leaving you now.”

I stepped away from the door and sat back down on the bed. My hands were shaking. I stared at the wall across from me. It was blank. Just like everything else in this place. Just like my future. I leaned back until my head touched the wall behind me. “Nothing,” I whispered. “There’s nothing left.” I stayed like that for a long time, eyes open, staring at nothing. The silence pressed in from every side. And for the first time in years, I had nothing left to say. Not even to myself.