Chapter 11 #2
Romeo’s entire demeanor changed.
The rage became something colder. Something far more dangerous.
A slow, satisfied smile appeared on his face.
“Good.” He looked at Keegan. “Take him to the ninth warehouse.”
His voice dropped. “Keep him restrained and out of sight.”
A chill ran through me.
“Make sure he understands every second of what is coming.”
Romeo’s eyes darkened.
“He won’t be granted a quick death. My sister was denied that mercy.”
His gaze hardened. “He’ll be denied it too.”
Keegan hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
Romeo looked at him. “Speak.”
Keegan’s expression became serious.
“Our cyber team detected an unauthorized GPS tracking implant on your phone before you traveled to Poland.”
Romeo went still.
“That’s how the Polish authorities found you so quickly.”
A beat of silence followed.
“Our investigation is complete. We’ve identified the person who has been feeding information to Sokolov.”
Keegan’s gaze shifted.
To me.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Romeo noticed.
Slowly...
Romeo turned toward me.
My breath caught.
Why were they looking at me?
I hadn’t spoken to my father. Not since he disappeared.
“Do you have proof that Juliet planted the tracking implant on my phone?”
Romeo’s voice was dangerously calm.
Keegan nodded. “Her father confessed.”
The air left my lungs.
“He told our men he gave her the device before he disappeared.”
My stomach twisted.
“He instructed her to place it on your phone.”
Silence.
“He knew you were coming after him.”
My eyes widened.
No.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
I looked between them, my heart pounding painfully.
“No!”
The word tore out of me instantly.
I shook my head so hard my vision blurred.
“That’s a fucking lie.”
My voice trembled with panic.
“My father disappeared without warning. He never gave me anything. I haven’t spoken to him. I haven’t seen him. I don’t even know where he’s been hiding.”
But Romeo wasn’t listening.
His eyes stayed fixed on me.
And what I saw there terrified me more than his anger.
It wasn’t just hatred anymore.
It was betrayal.
The kind that came from believing someone had deliberately destroyed you.
“You’re right, Keegan.”
Romeo’s voice was dangerously calm.
“A few days before I traveled to Poland, I went to her father’s house to check on Yarina. Juliet came in furious, accusing Yarina of killing her cat. She attacked her, and while I was getting Yarina into the ambulance, I came back and found Juliet with my phone.”
His eyes hardened.
“Now I know that was likely when she installed the tracker.”
My heart sank.
No.
Not this.
My mouth opened, but no words came.
“That isn’t what happened.” The denial came out broken.
But Romeo continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
“She has been her father’s eyes this entire time.”
Pain flashed across his face.
And somehow, that hurt more.
“She was the reason the Polish authorities found me. She was the reason I was dragged back into prison.”
His breathing became heavier.
“I survived six assassination attempts inside those walls. She knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted me dead. Her father wanted me dead.”
He slowly nodded, like every missing piece of a puzzle had finally fallen into place.
“And after all of this...” His gaze dropped briefly to my stomach. “She’s carrying my child.”
The way he said it made it sound like a crime.
Like my baby was another weapon being used against him.
“Listen to me, Romeo. You’re jumping to conclusions.” My voice shook as I fought to keep myself together. “I only picked up your phone because it was lying on the floor. That’s all. I swear to God, that’s all I did.”
My voice cracked.
“I was curious, okay? I wanted to know what was on it. Maybe I shouldn’t have looked, but I never tampered with it. I never installed anything.”
I shook my head desperately.
“I did not put that tracker on your phone, Romeo. I swear I didn’t.”
Romeo’s expression didn’t change.
“I made myself clear. If my investigation led back to you—if you were the one who sold me out to your father—you would pay for it.”
My blood ran cold.
“No...”
He turned toward Keegan. “Handcuff her.”
My entire body froze.
“Romeo...”
His face remained emotionless.
“Take her to the same warehouse where her father will be held. Put her in the basement.”
My breathing became shallow.
“The darkest one. Make her understand what happens to traitors.”
Terror ripped through me.
“Do exactly what we do to anyone who betrays this family.”
Keegan didn’t hesitate.
He reached behind his back and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
“No...”
I backed away slowly.
My body moved before my mind could process what was happening.
“Romeo, please.”
My hands went instinctively toward my stomach.
“I’m four months pregnant with your child, Romeo, and you’re ordering me into some dark basement after keeping me locked away for four months?”
My voice trembled violently.
“You’re wrong. You have to be wrong. This is some horrible mistake. I never betrayed you. I never gave my father your location. I swear to you, Romeo, I haven’t spoken to him. Not once.”
Keegan moved toward me.
I shook my head.
“No, please.”
I tried to step back, but my legs were weak.
“Romeo, look at me.”
For one second, I hoped he would.
I hoped he would see me.
The woman who had stood beside him. The woman who had saved him. The woman carrying his child.
But his eyes held only judgment.
Only condemnation.
Keegan grabbed me.
His hands were rough as he forced my arms behind my back.
Pain shot through my body.
Especially through my healing stomach.
The metal cuffs snapped around my wrists.
The sound was final and cold.
“Romeo, please.”
My tears spilled freely.
Keegan pulled me upright.
“Move.”
I looked over my shoulder at Romeo, desperation clawing at my chest.
“I know you hate me,” I said, my voice shaking violently. “And believe me, I hate you too. But I would never do this to you.”
My eyes burned with tears.
“I swear, Romeo. I would never betray you like that. You have to believe me.”
He didn’t move.
“I’ve loved you since I was fourteen.” The confession came out broken. “I loved you before you ever saw me as anything.”
My chest heaved. “I saved your life thrice.”
Tears fell down my face. “You can hate me. You can be angry. But you can’t do this.”
Keegan started dragging me toward the door.
“I have done nothing wrong.”
My voice rose, panic overtaking every attempt to remain composed.
“I’m telling you the truth! I’m afraid of the dark...”
The words faltered into a whisper.
I shook my head violently.
“Romeo.” I could barely breathe. “Please don’t send me down there.”
I knew the stories.
Everyone did.
The basements beneath those warehouses weren’t just rooms.
They were where people disappeared.
Where traitors were broken.
Where men and women were left in suffocating darkness for days, weeks, sometimes months.
The ones who came out were never the same.
Some couldn’t stand the light afterward.
Some couldn’t sleep without screaming.
Some came out empty.
Broken. Haunted.
Keegan tightened his grip and pulled me forward.
“Romeo!”
My voice cracked through the room.
“I’m still injured!” I fought against the cuffs desperately. “My stomach hasn’t healed!”
He didn’t listen.
Not once.
My pleas followed him, but Romeo never turned around.
He simply walked away.
His back was the last thing I saw before Keegan forced me toward the door.
I fought against Keegan’s grip, but my body was weak and my wrists were bound.
Keegan pushed me outside and toward the car.
The cold air hit my face, but I barely felt it.
All I could feel was panic.
“Keegan...”
I turned toward him desperately. “Please.”
For the first time, my voice wasn’t angry.
It was broken.
“Talk sense into him.”
His expression remained unreadable.
“You know me.” My tears fell faster. “I can’t betray him.”
My voice cracked. “I would never do that.”
I swallowed painfully. “I loved him.”
The confession escaped before I could stop it. “I’ve always loved him.”
Keegan said nothing.
Not a single word.
And somehow, his silence hurt almost as much as Romeo’s cruelty.
He opened the trunk.
My heart stopped.
“What are you doing?”
Before I could understand, he grabbed me and forced me downward.
The world tilted.
Then I was inside.
The realization hit me like a physical blow.
No.
This couldn’t be happening.
I wasn’t a criminal. I wasn’t a traitor.
“I’m pregnant!” My voice rose in terror. “You can’t put me in here!”
I twisted desperately, trying to fight against the cramped space.
“My baby!”
My breathing became frantic. The trunk door began to close.
The last thing I saw was Keegan’s face.
Cold. Expressionless.
Then—
Darkness.
The trunk slammed shut.
Complete darkness swallowed me.
My breathing stopped. “No, no, no...”
The air felt too heavy.
I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t tell how much space was around me, whether I could stretch my arms or even move my legs.
The darkness pressed against my skin, thick and suffocating.
My chest tightened until every breath became a struggle. My vision blurred even though there was nothing to see.
I was terrified.
I was exhausted.
And then, mercifully, everything went black.