Empire of Lies and Flames (Ruins of Power #1)

Chapter 40

JAVIER

I didn’t make it far before my legs faltered, and I pressed my back against the cold hallway wall. The weight of her words hit me harder than the bullets she’d fired. You’re defending the man who raped Ellie.

I closed my eyes, dragging a trembling hand down my face. Her voice echoed in my head—raw, cracked with heartbreak and fury. Each word was a dagger, twisting deeper because she wasn’t wrong.

Ellie. Sweet, innocent Ellie. Her laughter used to light up the darkest corners of my world. She was so young, too young to be destroyed by monsters like Lorenzo Marchetti. And yet here I was, standing between that bastard and the justice Ellie deserved.

I trusted you. Ellie trusted you.

God, I loved that little girl. Protecting her was supposed to be the one thing I could do right. When Renée started visiting her, I saw the spark in Ellie’s and all those children’s eyes, a flicker of hope after everything they had endured. And now… now I had torn it all apart. For what?

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. For her.

Renée didn’t understand. She couldn’t. I wasn’t doing this to protect Lorenzo Marchetti. I was doing this to protect her. Vincent’s threats weren’t idle—they were promises, and they all led to Renée. If I refused, she’d be the one paying the price. Vincent wouldn’t blink before targeting her, before ripping her apart just to make me watch.

I could still see Renée, crumpled on the floor, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. I hated myself for being the reason she was like that. For the way she looked at me—as if I were the monster.

Maybe I am.

FIVE DAYS AGO

Vincent leaned back in his chair. “My son,” he began, his tone almost conversational, “made a mistake. A grave one, some might say.” His expression remained deceptively light.

One of Vincent’s men stepped forward, placing a thick file on my desk. I stared at it, my jaw tightening, my gut warning me not to open it. But I did.

The first page hit me like a freight train. Ellie’s name was printed there in stark black letters, along with a photo of her—too young, too fragile for the world she’d been thrust into. The details of what had happened to her were scrawled across the pages, and by the time I reached the end, my hands were trembling.

I slammed the file shut and shoved it away, the sound echoing through the office. “You think this will go away?” I growled, standing abruptly. “You think your son will walk free after this? No. I’ll make sure he rots in a cell. Lorenzo will beg for mercy before I’m done with him.”

Vincent’s facade dropped, his face darkening like a storm cloud. Slowly, deliberately, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone.

He began to read. “Renée Margot. Twenty-nine years old. Resides at…” He rattled off her address, her previous workplace, even personal details about her life. His eyes flicked up to meet mine, gleaming with sadistic satisfaction. “And, of course, her relationship with you.”

My blood ran cold. My mind screamed at me to stay composed, but my face must’ve betrayed me because Vincent’s smirk widened.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?” he continued. “I know everything, Javier. How long you’ve been fucking her. How much you care for her.” He leaned forward, his tone turning vile. “Maybe I should find out what it is about her. What she has that’s got you so... riled up. Maybe I should taste her for myself. Maybe I—”

“Don’t you dare!” My voice cut through his words, low and lethal. My fists were clenched at my sides, every muscle in my body coiled, ready to strike.

Vincent chuckled, a sound that was more threatening than humor. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t—provided you do as you’re told.” He rose from his seat, towering over me with the weight of his authority. “Represent my son. Get him the lightest sentence possible. Make the world believe it was a misunderstanding, a lapse in judgment. Do that, and your woman will remain safe and sound. No accidents. No visits from my men in the dead of night.”

He circled the desk, closing the space between us. I didn’t move, refusing to back down, even as his presence loomed like a shadow. His voice dropped to a near whisper, each word dripping with menace. “But if you fail me, if Lorenzo doesn’t walk out of that courtroom smiling… let’s just say Renée won’t be smiling either. Maybe she’ll be crying, screaming even. And every sound she makes, I’ll make sure you hear it.”

I gritted my teeth, forcing my fury into silence. He stepped closer, his breath now ghosting over my shoulder. “You think you can protect her? Against me? Against my entire world?” He laughed, the sound hollow and cold. “Don’t be stupid, Javier. I know you are anything but stupid. You’re not in control here. I am.”

I could feel the weight of his threat suffocating me, the reality of my helplessness closing in. Renée’s image flashed in my mind—her smile, her laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she looked at me. I couldn’t let him touch her, couldn’t let her fall victim to his cruelty.

Vincent stepped back. “You have a choice,” he said, his tone almost jovial now. “Be the loyal little attorney and keep your woman untouched, or defy me and watch as everything you care about burns to the ground.”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t trust my voice not to betray the storm raging inside me. Vincent gave me one last smirk before motioning to his men and turning toward the door.

As he left, he called over his shoulder, “You’ve got twenty-four hours to decide, Javier. I suggest you make the smart choice.”

PRESENT

Renée had always looked at me as if I could be more than the shadows I came from as if I had the strength to rise above the filth that clung to men like me.

But tonight, that belief had shattered. The way her eyes burned with betrayal, how her voice cracked—it wasn’t just me she was accusing. It was everything I stood for, everything I had failed to be.

I suppose she wanted me to be a person who stood by what was right, who ensured the scales tipped in the favor of justice. Even if it wasn’t what she expected from me, there was one thing she needed. Ethics. Someone bound by integrity, impartiality, and an unwavering belief in what was right.

But what does justice mean when the world you live in is built on lies and blood?

Ellie deserved justice. Renée deserved justice—for the trust I’d destroyed. But I wasn’t fighting for justice anymore.

I was fighting to survive in a game I couldn’t win.

Every choice I made had an edge sharper than any knife. Protect Lorenzo, and I became the monster Renée saw in me. Refuse, and Vincent’s threats would become promises, and Renée would pay the price.

The world expects justice from me. They don’t see the strings tied around my hands, the noose tightening around my neck.

They don’t see that I’m already suffocating.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides.

Justice.

Ethics.

Right and wrong.

I’d stopped believing in those fairy tales a long time ago.

I wasn’t a hero. I wasn’t a saint. I wasn’t even the man Renée thought I could be.

All I could do was try to keep her safe in this hell we were caught in—even if it meant becoming the very thing she hated.

The world expects justice from me. I don’t care about justice—I care about her.