Chapter 24 #4
Dorian caught her before her skull cracked against the tile and gently laid her across the kitchen island. Her breathing was shallow, knocked out cold, just like Dorian planned.
She opened the front door—Hassan was already waiting.
He walked in without saying a word and scooped Ariel’s unconscious body into his arms like she weighed nothing. Dorian snatched the keys to Ariel’s Jeep from the counter.
“She ain’t gonna fit in your trunk,” she said, following him out.
Hassan laid Ariel across the backseat of the Jeep while Dorian climbed into the driver's seat.
As they pulled out the gate, her headlights swept across the guard shack—and Dorian caught sight of the fa t security guard slumped forward in his chair, his throat sliced clean, blood sprayed across the glass like a horror movie.
Cleanup crew was already there, zipping the body into a black bag while wiping down the window like it was just another Tuesday.
“Damn, San,” Dorian muttered, gripping the wheel tighter as she followed behind Hassan. There was no turning back now.
???
Ariel jolted awake, gasping as ice-cold water splashed across her face.
Her nose throbbed, already swollen and leaking blood from Dorian’s earlier hit.
Her limbs felt heavy and useless, like her body wasn’t even hers.
But nothing compared to the pure terror crawling through her when she looked up—and locked eyes with him.
Those cold blue eyes stared down at her, unblinking and merciless. Hassan stood over her, his face carved from stone. Her heart pounded as she looked around, realizing she was in a dark, freezing room— strapped to a metal chair with no way out.
“Please, don’t hurt me!” she screamed, voice cracking.
Hassan didn’t flinch. “My baby probably yelling the same shit right now,” he said flatly, his voice colder than the room. He undid the chains but didn’t back away. “Move a centimeter, bitch, and I’ll peel your fucking skin off with my knife.”
He unsheathed a blade so sharp it shimmered in the dim light. Ariel froze, her breath caught in her throat, trembling under the weight of his stare.
“W-what do you want from me?” she asked, voice shaking like her limbs.
Hassan’s eyes dropped to her stomach. “I thought you was pregnant?”
She flinched. “I—I was. Braxton made me get an abortion. Said he didn’t want the baby... wasn't ready for kids. But I know he still love me.”
Tears fell freely down her cheeks, but Hassan didn’t move. He didn’t feel shit for her. Not after what she did to Sevyn. Not after her betrayal.
“You know that nigga about to die, right?” Hassan said calmly, almost casually.
Ariel’s eyes widened in horror. “No! Please! Don’t kill him!”
She was begging for the life of a man who forced her into an abortion and played her like a pawn. It was pathetic. Hassan could see she still had a twisted idea of love. Maybe she’d always been delusional.
“He got my baby,” Hassan said with a crooked, deadly smile. “He already dead. ”
“Who... who’s your baby?” Ariel blinked in confusion. Hassan didn’t answer. He just stepped closer. “Please,” she whimpered again.
“Why you helping that nigga, huh? He clearly don’t give a fuck about you,” Hassan asked, crouching to her level, the blade gleaming as he twirled it between his fingers.
“Because I love him,” Ariel whispered. “Despite everything, I love him.”
“Then die with his dumb ass,” Hassan said coolly, pressing the knife to her skin.
Ariel screamed in terror.
“Wait—wait! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you whatever you wanna know!” Hassan didn’t move the blade.
“Where the fuck is Braxton?”
“I—I don’t—AHHH!” she shrieked mid-sentence as the knife sliced a deep line into her arm, blood rushing out fast.
Hassan leaned in closer, his tone dropping to something even more terrifying. “Next one’s across your fucking throat.”
“I swear, I don’t know where he is!” Ariel cried, panicked and trembling. “I only have access to his offshore accounts. I just... He’s waiting on a call from me. He said once I give him the green light, we leave the country.”
“We?” Hassan raised an eyebrow.
“He said it was for us. That the money was for our fresh start— together.”
Hassan sat back and stared at her, then laughed bitterly. “You really believe that?”
“Why else would I be holding his money?” Ariel asked, confused, her voice small.
“He’s running, alright—but not with you,” Hassan said, dark amusement glinting in his eye. “He took Sevyn. That’s who he’s trying to run off with.”
Ariel’s face went pale.
“She’s mine,” Hassan said coldly. “And when I find him, I’m gonna peel him slow. Strip his ass to the bone until I see the first layer of his fucking soul.”
The silence in the room turned suffocating. Ariel sat there bleeding, betrayed, broken—realizing she was never part of Braxton’s plan. Her heart cracked open, pain turning quickly into rage. Hassan saw it in her face.
And for the first time since walking in, he knew she wasn’t just afraid. She was angry.
And that might make her useful.
“You love a nigga who forced you to kill your own baby... and thought you was running off to paradise with him?” Hassan chuckled coldly , the sound slicing deeper than the knife still drying in his pocket.
Ariel’s tears spilled faster now, but it wasn’t just fear—it was fury.
The kind that came when reality hit harder than any blade.
Her jaw trembled, lips quivering as the truth settled into her bones. “Okay... I’ll call him,” she whispered, voice fragile but cracking with betrayal. “I’ll tell him I have the money. I can lure him to a meeting spot. You’ll get him, and Sevyn.”
Hassan stared at her in silence, weighing her words. She was broken, but not useless. And right now, this was the closest lead he had. “Put her ass in the truck,” he ordered, his voice like frost. “Dori’s out front waiting.”
One of his men nodded and grabbed Ariel, her body limp and shaking as they led her out. She didn’t fight—she had nothing left.
Hassan turned to leave the trap house, but his phone vibrated.
Jules.
“Yeah,” Hassan answered.
“I got word back from the top,” Jules said. “Braxton’s planning to flip on Carlos. The fed he ratted to? That’s my inside man. Braxton’s trying to pin Carlos for some serious drug shit—he’s looking to take him down and vanish.”
Hassan’s jaw tensed. Shit was getting deeper by the hour. Before he could respond, another call buzzed in—Roman. “Hold up.” Hassan clicked over. “What’s good?”
“Carlos agreed to meet. He’s on edge since we grabbed his granddaughter. Nigga’s been blowing my phone up,” Roman said. “You want to set it?”
“Yeah. Give him the location to the casino. We meeting now—I’m done playing with these motherfuckers. Call Von and Bully. Tell them bring Celine closer. Keep her out of sight but ready.”
“Say less,” Roman said before hanging up.
Hassan switched back to Jules. “Meet at the casino,” he said flatly.
He hung up, jaw clenched tight as the engine roared to life.
His mind was racing, but one thing was clear: it was time to end this shit.
He had every piece lined up. Now all that was left was to make the move, tell Carlos the truth about the rat in his camp—and hope to God the deal was good enough to get Sevyn back alive.
Because if not... he’d burn the entire DeVille empire down to ashes.
???
Sevyn woke up in a pool of her own dried blood, every inch of her body screaming.
Her stomach churned, head pounding like drums in a war zone.
Her limbs felt useless, like heavy noodles soaked in pain.
The single cut Braxton gave her days ago had multiplied—her thigh s, arms, and midsection covered in shallow slices that burned with every breath.
He didn’t stop. Every time she whispered Hassan’s name through cracked lips, he retaliated.
First with the knife. Then with his fists.
Her faith kept her fighting at first—kept her mouth slick with comebacks and her eyes defiant. But now? Her hope was slipping. Hassan hadn’t come. Not yet. And maybe... maybe he wasn’t coming at all.
The door creaked open, and the masked woman entered again, her presence as bitter as the drugs they kept pumping into Sevyn's veins. Sevyn normally greeted her with venom, sarcasm... something. But today, she just laid there, barely able to lift her head.
“Why...” Her voice rasped, barely above a whisper, raw and torn. “Why are you helping him?”
The woman tilted her head, amusement dancing in her eyes behind the ski mask. “I’m not doing this for him,” she said with a shrug. “He ain’t my type. We just both want the same thing.”
Sevyn's lids fluttered, her breath shallow. “And... that is?” “To get rid of you,” the woman snapped.
Sevyn blinked slowly, her brows furrowing. “I don’t... even know you... what the fuck did I do to you?”
A slow, sinister chuckle slipped from the woman’s lips as she reached for the edge of her mask. With one swift tug, it came off—and Sevyn’s breath caught.
“Nova?!” she gasped, pain slicing through her as her stomach clenched.
“Yes, bitch. It’s me.” Nova's voice dripped with venom, and something unhinged twisted behind her eyes.
“He was mine. Hassan. He might’ve been cold, emotionally numb, but I knew that meant he needed someone.
I was that someone. I fucked him when he was stressed, stood by him when he was silent.
I thought if I gave him my all, he'd finally give something back.”
Sevyn stared, trying to process the madness unraveling in front of her. Her body was too broken to fight, but her eyes never blinked. Never looked away.
“But you?” Nova sneered, stepping closer. “You didn’t have to beg. You didn’t have to chase. And he gave you parts of him I would’ve killed for. He looked at you like you were oxygen, like he needed you just to fucking breathe.”
Sevyn swallowed hard, but didn’t speak. Pain silenced her, but her expression said it all—disbelief, disgust, and a flicker of pity.
“He cut me off without a word,” Nova said through clenched teeth. “The minute you stepped into his life, I was gone. Forgotten.”
She crouched closer, her twisted smile stretching wide. “So if Braxt on wants to take you far the fuck away, I’m all in. Let that nigga run off with you. Long as you’re gone, I can have Hassan back. And I swear, I’ll remind him every day of what we used to be.”
Sevyn mugged her, blood on her lips and fury in her eyes. “You really think Hassan won’t kill you the second he finds out you helped Braxton?” she rasped, her voice low but sharp enough to cut steel.
Nova’s smile faltered. “He’s not gonna find out. I’ll be long gone the minute you’re on that plane,” she shot back coldly, like she had the whole thing mapped out.
Sevyn gave a slow, painful blink, her voice dropping even lower. “Good luck with that.”
Nova’s smile dropped completely, her eyes narrowing. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Sevyn took a breath—sharp and aching—and forced her eyes open just enough to lock onto Nova’s. “You said it yourself... Hassan gave me a part of him he never gave anyone else.”
Nova’s jaw clenched.
“That part... was his heart. His soul.” Sevyn could feel her voice cracking under the pain, but the conviction in it was unshakable.
“He loves me with everything in him. Not some cold, calculated version of love. The real shit. The kind you never forget, never replace, never fucking get twice. And no other bitch—especially not you—is getting that from him.”
Nova’s face twisted in rage, and when she swung, Sevyn didn’t flinch. The punch landed hard, her head snapping to the side, but she just laughed. Bloody, broken—and still bold.
“I told you... you should’ve used both hands.”
Another hit came, harder this time. Her cheek instantly swelled, blood spilling from her mouth—but her laughter only got louder, darker.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” Nova screamed, breathing heavy.
Sevyn leaned forward and spit a thick stream of blood onto the floor between them. Her mouth curved into a slow, savage grin. “Get your licks in now,” she whispered. “Because once I’m out these chains... bitch, you’re mine.”
The door slammed open.
Braxton stormed in, his face twisted in fury. He didn’t hesitate— he walked straight up and cracked Nova across the face with the back of his hand so hard the slap echoed through the room. She stumbled, clutching her cheek, stunned.
“I told you not to fucking touch her!” he roared. “One more time, and I’ll bury you myself!”
Nova winced. “Sorry...” she muttered, her voice trembling.
Sevyn watched the whole thing with blood in her teeth and a sinis ter smile on her face. She was battered, broken, but not bowed. That kind of power pissed them off—and that’s what gave her strength.
Braxton turned to Sevyn, brushing her curls out of her face like he hadn’t just let someone beat her bloody. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Her stomach dropped. “Where are we going?” she asked, her voice barely holding itself together.
“Paradise, baby. It’s time,” Braxton said with a smug grin, his eyes glinting like this was some kind of fairytale ending.
He’d just gotten the call from Ariel—everything was in place, the money moved, and he’d already sent her the location for the meet-up.
He was ready to disappear, with Sevyn chained to him like some twisted prize.
Sevyn’s stomach turned. She wanted to believe Hassan was coming.
She needed to believe it. But that thread of hope she’d been clinging to—day after day, through beatings, slashes, and injections— was starting to fray.
She didn’t even have the strength to fight the tears anymore.
Not when her body was already too broken to move, too battered to scream. All she could do was pray… and wait.
Nova stepped in with the syringe again, her presence heavy with jealousy and venom.
She didn’t say a word this time. Just jabbed the needle into Sevyn’s thigh like it was routine, like drugging her was second nature now.
Sevyn barely flinched. She didn’t have the energy to.
Her eyes fluttered as the drug hit her bloodstream, dragging her down like cement on her chest.
As Nova and Braxton turned to leave, Sevyn’s body slumped. Her head fell back, breath shallow, lashes fluttering like wings fighting a storm. The room spun and faded into nothingness.
She felt it deep in her bones. This was it.
This was the end.