Laurel P.O.V
The gun in Richardo's hand didn't rise.
It hesitated.
That fraction of a second,small enough to be missed by anyone else-was everything.
The door exploded inward with a thunderous crack, the wood splintering against the walls as armed shadows poured into the room. Orders barked in Italian sliced through the air like blades. Boots hit the floor.
Guns lifted.
I flinched.
But Richardo didn't fire.
Instead, he turned the gun away from me.
The movement was sharp, decisive, final.
He fired once into the ceiling.
As a threat.
"Take a step forward and" He roared, his voice detonating over the chaos. "DIE"
The men froze.
Not because they feared the weapon,but because they feared him.
I had never seen Richardo like this.
Not wounded. Not controlled.
This was dominance stripped raw.
"Don't touch her" He said, stepping forward, placing himself directly in front of me. His back was to me now-broad, injured, unguarded. "Her death is mine"
One of the men-taller, older, carrying the authority of the Dons lowered his gun just enough to speak.
"The vote was clear"
Richardo didn't turn around.
"So was my answer"
The room went still.
Even the alarms seemed to fade, as if the building itself was holding its breath.
"You were ordered" The man continued, voice cold. "She compromises the structure. The lawyer side. The business side. The balance"
Richardo laughed once-low, dangerous.
"Then the structure was already rotten"
I stared at his back, my chest tightened,heart crashing violently against my ribs.
He was choosing.
Not me.
But us.
The man's gaze flicked to me. I felt it like a brand.
"She's seen too much. She's a spy"
Richardo's jaw clenched.
"She's not!"
Silence cracked between them.
Then slowly Richardo lowered his weapon.
Not in surrender.
In defiance.
"She leaves" He said. "Alive. Tonight"
A murmur rippled through the men.
"The Dons won't allow-"
"I don't care" Richardo snapped, finally turning. His eyes burned,not with madness, but certainty. "Tell them this: if she dies, I burn every ledger. Every name. Every courtroom deal. I don't fall alone"
The threat wasn't loud.
It was absolute.
The men exchanged looks.
Power recalculated itself in real time.
At last, the leader nodded once-sharp, reluctant.
"You've crossed a line"
Richardo stepped back toward me, close enough that I could feel the heat of him, the tension vibrating under his skin.
"I crossed it the moment I pulled her out of that cell"
The men backed away.
One by one.
The door slammed shut again, leaving wreckage and silence in its wake.
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved.
Then Richardo exhaled-slow, heavy and the gun fell from his hand, clattering to the floor like something dead.
He turned to me.
Really looked at me.
"You shouldn't still be breathing" He said quietly.
I swallowed. "Neither should you"
A ghost of a smile touched his mouth,gone just as quickly.
"They'll come again" He said. "Next time, I won't be able to threaten my way out"
I stepped closer,my voice trembling. "Then why did you do it?"
He closed his eyes briefly like a man bracing for impact.
"Because" He said, opening them again, "killing you would have been easier than living with what I'm becoming"
My heart broke open.
Outside the room, footsteps faded.
Inside it, everything had changed.
And somewhere deep in my bones, I knew this wasn't an escape.
It was a war declaration.
And Richardo had just chosen a side.
Katy P.O.V
I didn't stop walking until the gate slammed shut behind me.
My hands were shaking so badly that I had to clench them into fists just to keep myself steady. The cold air outside Acadia's house bit into my skin, but it was nothing compared to the fire burning in my chest. Rage. Humiliation. And something darker, something that refused to let me turn back.
I got into the taxi without looking back.
"Anywhere" I told the driver, my voice sounded flat. "Just drive"
The city blurred past the window, lights streaking like broken promises. Acadia's words replayed in my head, each one sharper than the last. Your father deserved it. The way she'd said James Bron's name without fear. Without hesitation. Like it belonged to her.
Like he owned her.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
The caller was Donald.
I almost ignored it. Almost. But something told me not to.
"Talk" I said the moment I answered.
There was a pause on the line. A careful one. "Miss Katy…I dug deeper.Not officially"
My heart thudded. "And?"
"Acadia's records don't add up. Her trips. Her expenses. The cases she claims she's handling" He exhaled slowly. "She's been receiving payments through shell firms tied directly to James Bron"
The world tilted.
"What kind of payments?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
"Off-the-books. Cash funneled through law firms in three countries. Poland included" He lowered his voice. "This isn't just legal defense. She's protecting him illegally"
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"So she wasn't just refusing to help me" I whispered. "She was hiding him"
"Yes" Donald said quietly. "And there's more"
My pulse roared in my ears. "Tell me"
"James Bron isn't just a man anymore. He's a network. He owns judges, prosecutors, police commanders. He doesn't go to court to win,he goes to remind people who controls the law"
I closed my eyes.
My father's face flashed behind my lids. His smile. His voice telling me to believe in justice. To believe the law protected the innocent.
He had believed that right up until he made deals with a dangerous man and the day it killed him.
"When your father started digging" Donald continued, "he wasn't chasing a criminal. He was threatening a system. James Bron doesn't eliminate people personally anymore. He erases them"
The taxi stopped at a red light. Outside, people laughed. Lived. Loved. Completely unaware that monsters didn't hide in shadows,they hid in courtrooms.
"Send me everything" I said.
"Miss Katy—"
"Everything" I snapped. "Every file. Every transaction. Every name connected to him"
There was silence. Then, reluctantly, "Alright"
The call ended.
My phone immediately flooded with documents.
I scrolled.
Bank transfers. Encrypted emails. Signed legal motions that bent laws until they screamed. Acadia's name appeared again and again,clean on the surface, filthy underneath. She wasn't just James Bron's lawyer.
She was his shield.
And then I saw it.
A scanned document buried deep in the murder files. A sealed witness suppression order from years ago. The signature at the bottom wasn't Acadia's.
It was James Bron's.
My breath caught.
The witness name listed above it made my vision blur.
My father.
My hands began to tremble violently.
This wasn't revenge anymore.
This was war.
James Bron wasn't just responsible for my father's death, he had signed off on silencing him. Legally. Quietly. Like crossing out a line of text.
My father was a puppet to James Bron.
I laughed then. A soft, broken sound that scared even me.
"Found you" I whispered.
The taxi started moving again, but I no longer cared where it was taking me. Every road led to the same place now. To James Bron. To the truth behind the name that had ruined my life.
I didn't feel fear.
I didn't feel doubt.
Only obsession.
And somewhere deep inside, a terrifying thought took root that I was willing to burn everything down, including myself, just to watch James Bron fall.
Because if justice wouldn't take him…
I would.