Chapter 115

Chapter 115
Chapter 115

Blood for Redemption

Aurora’s POV

For the first time in what felt like years, my heart slowed. It wasn’t peace, not really it was the hollow calm that came after chaos.

Peter had only been acting. The terror, the trembling, the cruel whispers of death against my ear, all of it had been a performance. For Tiffany. For the illusion. And somehow, by some miracle, I had survived it all.

Dominique’s arms around me were the anchor that kept me from collapsing. His scent, his warmth, the ferocity of his hold, it was all that convinced me I was still alive. My chest rose and fell rapidly against him, but I clung tighter, breathing him in like he was air itself.

And then, unexpectedly…

BANG.

The sound tore through me like lightning. My body stiffened. My breath stilled. My head whipped around in instinctive dread.

As I turned, that’s when I saw him.

My father.

Standing there, his body arching slightly as if he’d taken the world on his shoulders. His chest was blooming red where the bullet had pierced through. His lips trembled, as he mumbled inaudible words. His eyes glistened with pain.

“Dad…” The word escaped me in a breathless whisper, so fragile it barely carried through the air.

He staggered forward, his face etched with sorrow, with regret, with something heavier than pain. “I’m sorry,” he gasped, blood staining his shirt, dripping down his chin. “I’m so… so sorry, Aurora.”

My body moved before my mind caught up. I lunged out of Dominique’s hold, catching him just as his knees buckled. His weight crashed into me, and though my arms trembled under the strain, I refused to let him fall.

“No, no, no, stay with me!” I cried, tears spilling so hot they burned down my cheeks. “Please, Dad, you can’t do this, not now, not like this! You are not dieing any time soon.”

He coughed, scarlet blooming against his lips. His hand rose weakly, trembling as it cupped my cheek, smearing my skin with his blood. His eyes met mine, soft even through the agony. “I couldn’t… let her take you. Not again. This time… it had to be me. This is my redemption.”

My heart cracked in two. He had stepped in front of the bullet. He had taken Tiffany’s shot. For me.

Behind me, Dominique’s voice thundered, sharp and commanding. “Get them out of here! Cover us!”

The world erupted into chaos. Gunfire split the air like a storm, bullets ricocheting off steel and shattering glass. Screams, curses, and the deafening thunder of war raged around us.

Dominique bent down, wrapping one arm under me and the other under my father. “Hold on!” he roared, hauling us both to our feet.

Damian’s voice cut through the barrage. “This way! The car's waiting!”

We moved through hell. Sparks flew as bullets tore through walls and beams, the acrid stench of gunpowder burning my throat. Peter’s gunfire rang out beside Damian’s, both men covering us as Tiffany shrieked orders in the background.

Through the haze, I caught sight of her, the pure satisfaction on her face, the venom on her face, the pure, feral rage as she realized what she had done. That the bullet she intended for me had struck my father instead.

And beside her, Alex. Always Alex. He pulled her arm, dragging her away, their silhouettes slipping into the shadows like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

“Cowards!” Dominique bellowed, firing after them, but Damian yanked him back. “Forget them! We need to move now!”

The warehouse door burst open, and cold night air rushed in. The screech of tires, the slam of car doors, it all blurred as Dominique and Damian shoved us into the back seat.

My father was pale now, his breaths shallow, uneven. My hands pressed desperately against his wound, but the blood wouldn’t stop, no matter how much pressure I applied on it. It poured through my fingers, soaking the fabric, soaking me, even staining my dress.

“Drive!” Dominique ordered, his voice hoarse with rage and fear.

The car jolted forward, racing through dark streets lit only by the distant glow of city lights.

“Stay with me, Dad, please!” I sobbed, my voice raw. “You’ll be okay, you’ll be okay, we’re almost there, just hold on a little longer.”

His gaze flicked to me, glassy, weak. A faint smile tugged at his lips. “Aurora… I’m happy for you.”

My heart squeezed painfully. “Don’t talk like that! You’re not going anywhere! You would make it”

But he shook his head slightly, his chest rising with effort. “I see it now… you found love. Real love. Something I never gave you the chance to have before. I… I ruined so much. But at least… at least I can give you this.”

Tears blinded me. “No! Stop it! You’re going to live, and you’ll see me marry Dominique, and you’ll hold your grandchild. You’ll have a second chance. Please, Dad, please, don't do this to me.”

His eyes fluttered, dimming, but his voice rasped again. “You… have my blessing. For your marriage. For your life. Even if… I’m not there to see it.”

I broke. My cries filled the car, raw and desperate. “You’ll see it! You will, I promise! Just, don’t leave me, not now, I need you now, please!”

His bloody hand reached up, brushing my cheek one last time before his strength gave out, his hand falling heavily into my lap.

“NO!” I screamed, clutching it, shaking it, as though I could force life back into him. “Stay with me! Stay with me! Dad!!!”

The car screeched to a halt, the hospital lights blinding as the doors flung open.

“Emergency! We need a surgeon!” Damian bellowed, dragging the stretcher toward the entrance.

They ripped him from my arms, his body rolling away on white sheets, doctors and nurses swarming him. The doors slammed shut, locking me out, leaving me trembling in the hallway with blood-stained hands and a heart that refused to accept what was happening arround me.

Dominique wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his chest, his voice a low murmur in my ear. “He’ll make it. He’s strong. He’ll pull through.”

But I knew. I saw the light fading from his eyes. I saw the weight of his sins finally pulling him under. Still, I clung to hope with bleeding fingernails, whispering prayers I hadn’t spoken since I was a child.

Hours passed. Agonizing hours where every tick of the clock felt like another slice across my skin. I sat curled in the cold hospital chair, Dominique’s arm around me, Damian pacing like a caged wolf, Peter silent as stone in the corner. None of us spoke. None of us dared to say a word.

Finally, the doors opened.

The doctor stepped out, his face grave. His eyes met mine, and in that instant, I already knew.

“No…” My voice trembled, fragile.

He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could. But… he didn’t survive.”

The world tilted. My vision blurred. My knees buckled, and Dominique caught me before I hit the ground. A wail ripped from my chest, one I couldn’t stop, one I didn’t recognize as my own.

My father. My broken, flawed, ruined father. He had given his life for me. His redemption had been written in blood, and now it was gone, just like that.

All that was left was the hollow echo of his last words, his blessing ringing in my ears, a cruel reminder that he had seen the future I wanted, just not lived long enough to share it with me.

And in that moment, surrounded by the weight of his sacrifice, I swore Tiffany would never have the last laugh.

Not while I still breathed.

I'll make sure she feels the pain that she had caused me this time around, the hunted would become the hunter.