Chapter 25 #4
Blood painted the interior of the jet as Braxton’s body twitched violently, still pinned up by his hands. And Hassan? He just stood there, sword dripping, eyes black, jaw locked. Ready for the next cut.
“Fuck!” Braxton screamed, but Hassan didn’t flinch.
“She screamed too, didn’t she?” Hassan asked coldly, pressing the tip of the sword into Braxton’s stomach—not deep enough to kill, but just enough to make him bleed. “She begged you to stop, right? Looked at you with those beautiful, innocent eyes of hers… pleaded.”
He set the sword down slowly as Braxton cried, the lower half of his leg laying useless on the floor, blood seeping into the carpet beneath him. Roman handed Hassan another blade.
“That’s the thing about eyes,” Hassan continued, his voice calm and deadly. “They’re the door to the soul. And when I look into hers, I’m in heaven. A nigga like me—cold, broken, ruthless—but to her? I was an angel.”
Hassan stepped closer, his voice growing darker with every word. “Those same eyes you made tremble in fear… that’s where you fucked up.”
“Stop! Please!” Braxton cried out, body writhing as the pain intensified.
Hassan laughed—low and cold. “Damn… probably the same shit she said. But did you?”
Without hesitation, he carved the blade into Braxton’s eye. The scream that left Braxton’s mouth made even Roman and Von look away. Blood poured down his face as the eye dangled, useless.
Hassan’s phone rang.
He didn’t miss a beat—stabbed the other leg as Braxton howled in agony, then answered the call with a lethal calmness. “Word.”
“Hassan…” Harper’s voice cracked through the phone. “Please come to the hospital. Sevyn needs you.”
In the background, he could hear the panic. Her family must’ve found out she was rushed in.
“Aight,” he said, hanging up.
He turned to Braxton, barely breathing, body hanging limp. “You lucky… there was so much more I had planned.”
Hassan picked up his sword and drove it straight through Braxton’s heart, killing him instantly.
“Let’s go. I want my blades and sword cleaned spotless,” he said, his voice void of anything but purpose.
Carlos stood, giving a slow nod. “Go to your wife.”
As Hassan walked out, Carlos’s cleanup crew came in, stunned at the brutal scene but knowing better than to ask questions. Not a single drop of blood would remain—not on the walls, not on the records. This day never happened.
Hassan climbed into his Ferrari, blood still on his knuckles, heart racing with a different kind of fear. Roman and Von followed close behind.
If Sevyn wasn’t okay… Braxton wouldn’t be the last body they buried tonight.
???
Dorian sat in the waiting area, her leg bouncing uncontrollably as the silence gnawed at her.
Sevyn was still in the back being worked on, and no one had come out with an update.
Each passing second felt like a century, and the longer she waited, the angrier she became.
Her cousin—the one person who had been more like a sister to her—was fighting for her life, and she was stuck here helpless.
When Hassan gave her the green light to kill Ariel, she did it without a second thought.
No hesitation. She’d never killed anyone before, but for Sevyn?
She would burn the world down. That’s how deep her love and loyalty ran.
And if Sevyn didn’t make it... she didn’t know how she’d keep going.
The thought alone made her want to scream, cry, collapse—something.
How was she supposed to explain any of this to Sevyn's parents?
Or to her own parents? What words could possibly make sense of what just happened?
Everything felt too much, too heavy. All she wanted was her cousin beside her, laughing, talking shit, being Sevyn.
The elevator dinged, pulling Dorian from her spiraling thoughts.
Harper rushed out, eyes already filled with tears. But Dorian could see it—this wasn’t just about Sevyn. Harper looked like her world had cracked in two.
When Harper took Celine back to campus, her phone rang. It was the hospice.
Helen had passed.
The words hadn’t even fully settled in before Harper's world tilted. Her heart cracked open right there in the driver’s seat, but she didn’t have the luxury to break—not yet.
She wiped her tears, steadied her voice, and kept driving.
Because as much as she wanted to curl up and grieve, she had Sevyn to worry about… and Hassan.
She hadn’t told him. Not yet. How could she?
The love of his life was down the hall, unconscious, fighting for her life. How could she add that weight—the death of the woman who raised him, his rock, his anchor—to his chest?
She couldn’t .
Harper made a silent promise to Helen as the elevator doors closed behind her: I’ll tell him when he can breathe again. I’ll carry it for him until then.
Even if it broke her to do it.
The moment their eyes met, they fell into each other’s arms.
Neither spoke, but their pain did.
“Have they said anything?” Harper asked, her voice shaky once they pulled apart.
“No. They still back there with her.” Dorian wiped at her cheeks, trying to keep herself from crumbling.
“She’s going to make it,” Harper said softly, like she was trying to convince herself as much as Dorian. “Sevyn is strong.”
Dorian didn’t answer. She just nodded, holding back another wave of tears, praying Harper was right.
Because losing Sevyn would break them all—and for Dorian, there wouldn’t be no coming back.
The elevator dinged again, and Dorian and Harper looked up, expecting to see Hassan, Von, and Roman walk through. But the second Dorian saw who it really was, her heart dropped to her stomach.
Trina stormed into the waiting room, Steven right behind her, along with Dorian’s own parents. All of their faces were painted with panic, pain, and fury. Dorian shot up before they could make it to the front desk.
“What is going on? Where is my baby?!” Trina’s voice echoed through the waiting area, drawing attention from everyone seated.
“Auntie, calm down. You’re going to get us kicked out,” Dorian said lowly, trying to deescalate.
“Calm down?” Trina snapped. “My baby is in there fighting for her life, and you want me to calm down, Dorian?!”
Steven wrapped an arm around her waist, trying to hold her back, but even he looked like he was about to snap.
“You told me she was on vacation,” Trina continued, voice shaking, eyes brimming with tears.
“And I find out from a doctor that my child has been rushed in here—bruised, bloodied, possibly overdosed?!” She paused, her chest heaving.
“Thank God I used to work here, or I’d still be in the dark! ”
Dorian’s tears fell before she could even form a sentence. “I’m sorry,” she croaked, overwhelmed by guilt.
“Baby, breathe. Let Dorian explain,” Steven said, trying to hold it together as he looked between the women. “Dorian, explain.”
Dorian turned toward her family, eyes filled with grief. She opened her mouth but no words came. Her voice cracked, and her chest caved inward as the sobs came pouring out. Sean caught her before she could fall, wrapping her tightly in his arms .
While the chaos unfolded, Harper stood back in the corner, already on the phone. The second Trina had started yelling, she called Hassan.
By the time she hung up, she stepped into the tense circle with all eyes shifting to her.
“Harper…” Diana asked, her voice trembling. “What’s going on? Why is everyone—what happened to Sevyn?” Harper hesitated. “Braxton did this.”
Silence blanketed the room. Even Trina stopped moving. “What?” Steven’s voice dropped to an icy low.
“He kidnapped her. Drugged her. Tortured her,” Harper said, her voice cracking, tears threatening to fall again.
Steven’s entire demeanor shifted. He clenched his fists, eyes reddening. “Where that nigga at?” he asked, his voice laced with rage. “He dead.”
His only child. Hurt. Broken. And by the man he once told her to give a chance.
Harper nodded slowly. “It’s already been handled, sir.” Dorian, finally steady, spoke again. “Ariel was helping him.” Diana and Trina turned to her, stunned.
“What?”
Dorian said nothing more. She didn’t need to. The weight in her eyes said enough.
She also left out the part where she killed Ariel with her own hands. That wasn’t something her parents—or Sevyn’s—needed to know right now. They’d find out eventually, once Ariel’s face popped up on the evening news, reported missing.
But tonight… all that mattered was Sevyn surviving.
“Wait—slow down…” Trina said, rubbing her temples, trying to make sense of everything.
“Sevyn is in love with someone else,” Harper explained, voice steady but low. “Braxton didn’t like that… so he did what he did and tried to flee the country with her. But he was stopped.”
“By who?” they all asked in unison.
Before Harper could respond, the elevator dinged.
All eyes turned as Hassan stepped off—Roman and Von behind him. He didn’t change out of his black clothes. Blood still stained the bottoms of his pants and shoes, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t here for appearances. His entire world was somewhere in that hospital, fighting to live.
“The man she’s in love with,” Dorian said, her voice quiet but clear, watching her aunt and uncle turn toward him.
Hassan spotted Harper first and walked toward her, focused. He didn’t even register the parents standing beside her—not out of disres pect, but because his tunnel vision had one target: Sevyn.
“Hey, San,” Harper said gently. “The doctors haven’t come out yet. But… Sevyn’s parents—and her aunt and uncle—are here.”
Only then did Hassan look at them. His eyes landed on Trina— and for a moment, he froze. She looked just like Sevyn. That same warmth. That same strength behind the eyes.
He cleared his throat. “My apologies. I know this isn’t the right way to meet… I’m Hassan.” He extended a hand politely.
Trina and Steven stared at him. Steven's jaw was tight, his eyes unreadable. Trina’s were soft, emotional. She couldn't stop looking into his.