Chapter 12 #2
It poured from the room like ink, swallowing the hallway light.
For a second, I froze.
The emptiness inside that room was so complete that my eyes struggled to understand it.
It felt like stepping into blindness.
Keegan reached inside and found the switch.
The lights flickered.
Then—
The room was exposed.
And my entire body went cold.
Juliet.
She sat on the floor in the center of the room.
Alone. Small.
Broken.
The woman who had screamed at me.
The woman who had fought me.
The woman who had looked at me with so much anger and pain.
Now she looked like there was nothing left.
Her dress was torn and stained.
Her body was curled slightly inward, as if she had been trying to protect herself from something invisible.
Then I saw the blood.
My breath stopped.
Dark, thick blood had soaked through the fabric between her thighs.
Too much.
Far too much.
It had spread beneath her, pooling on the cold concrete floor before slowly creeping outward.
The metallic scent filled the room.
My stomach dropped.
This wasn’t a minor injury.
This wasn’t someone who was simply frightened.
Something was terribly wrong.
Juliet didn’t move.
Her eyes were open, but they weren’t focused.
She wasn’t looking at the room.
She wasn’t looking at me.
She was somewhere else entirely.
Her face was pale.
Empty.
Like she had already retreated somewhere no one could reach.
If not for the faint movement of her chest...
I would have thought she was dead.
“Juliet...”
Her name left my mouth before I could stop it.
Rough. Broken.
Filled with something I didn’t want to acknowledge.
Fear.
The terror I felt on the stairs transformed into something worse.
Dread.
Because suddenly I understood.
I hadn’t been punishing a traitor.
I might have been destroying the woman who trusted me most.
“Juliet.”
I stepped forward.
My boots sounded painfully loud against the concrete.
But she didn’t react.
Not to the light.
Not to my voice.
Not to my presence.
Nothing.
She remained trapped inside whatever nightmare the darkness had dragged her into.
My mind raced.
Everything I believed was beginning to collapse.
And there she was—the woman I had been so certain was my enemy, the woman I had punished without ever questioning whether I was wrong.
The person who might have been the only innocent one in this entire war.
I took one step closer.
Then another.
Her arms were marked with scratches.
Her hands looked raw from clawing against the floor and walls.
Her lips were cracked, her hair tangled and disheveled, her skin pale from exhaustion and fear.
She looked like someone who had spent hours fighting an enemy that could never be defeated.
The darkness.
My throat tightened.
Because I knew exactly what I had done.
I had taken the thing she feared most...
And used it as punishment.
I had placed my own wife inside her worst nightmare.
She didn’t even seem aware that we were there.
“Juliet...”
My voice sounded different.
Rougher. Uncertain.
She slowly lifted her head.
And when her eyes finally found mine, I wished they hadn’t.
Because there was no anger there.
No hatred.
Only pain.
A pain I had caused.
Tears slipped down her dirt-streaked face, leaving clean trails behind them.
For a moment, she simply stared at me.
Then she spoke.
“Our child is dead.”
My entire body went still.
No.
I stared at her.
Unable to process what I had just heard.
Her fingers curled weakly against her lap.
Silent tears continued falling.
“Is that enough for you, Romeo?”
Her voice remained soft and broken.
My heart stopped.
The room seemed to disappear.
There was only Juliet.
And the devastating reality standing between us.
The child I had doubted.
The child I had accused her of using against me.
Gone.
And for the first time, I felt the full weight of what I had done.
I had not just hurt Juliet.
I had destroyed something innocent.
“Get an ambulance here.” My voice came out rough.
Then louder. “Now!”
Keegan snapped out of his frozen state immediately and reached for his phone.
I didn’t wait.
I moved toward her.
For once, I didn’t care about pride. I didn’t care about anger.
I only saw Juliet.
I bent down and lifted her into my arms.
She weighed almost nothing.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The woman who had always fought me with every ounce of strength she possessed now felt fragile in my hands.
Like she could break from the slightest pressure.
And the worst part?
She didn’t resist.
Juliet always resisted.
She fought. She argued. She pushed back.
But now...
Nothing.
Her arms hung loosely at her sides.
Her head rested against my shoulder.
Her eyes remained fixed somewhere above me, empty and distant.
She wasn’t even crying.
And somehow, that hurt more.
“Juliet.”
My voice lowered.
No response.
I tightened my hold around her carefully. Not because I was afraid she would escape.
Because I was afraid I would lose her.
Then I ran.
My boots slammed against the concrete stairs as I carried her upward.
I shoved aside anything blocking my path.
Crates crashed against the walls. Chairs splintered under my force.
The noise echoed through the warehouse, but I barely heard it.
All I could hear was the faint sound of her breathing.
Too weak. Too quiet.
Men rushed out from nearby rooms when they saw me.
Their expressions changed immediately.
They had never seen me carry anyone like this.
Not like she was something precious.
“Boss—”
One of them stepped forward.
I turned my head sharply.
“Stay back.”
My voice carried enough warning to stop everyone.
My grip tightened around Juliet.
I pushed through the main doors and stepped into the cold night air.
The ambulance lights flashed ahead.
Red. Blue.
Cutting through the darkness.
The paramedics rushed toward me immediately.
“Sir, we need to take her.”
For a moment...
I couldn’t let go.
My arms tightened instinctively.
I could feel the faint rhythm of her heartbeat against my chest.
A heartbeat that might disappear because of me.
A heartbeat I had nearly destroyed.
Then I forced my fingers to loosen.
I handed her over.
The paramedics moved quickly, placing her onto the stretcher and securing her.
I stood there watching.
Unable to move. Unable to speak.
The ambulance doors closed.
A final, unforgiving sound.
Then the siren erupted.
The vehicle pulled away, its lights cutting through the darkness as it disappeared down the long driveway.
I watched until the taillights vanished.
Only then did I realize I had stopped breathing.
My chest felt hollow and empty.
Like something had been ripped out of me.
I turned around and walked back into the safe house.
But this time, I wasn’t walking toward revenge.
I was walking toward answers.
The rage inside me had changed.
Before, it had been directed outward.
At Sokolov.
At Juliet.
At anyone who stood between me and the truth I thought I knew.
Now it burned differently.
Because beneath the anger was something I hated even more.
Regret.
Sokolov was still exactly where I had left him.
Tied to the chair.
The ropes had cut deeper into his already damaged wrists, leaving dark marks against his bloodied skin.
But he looked different now.
Not like an enemy.
Like a father terrified of losing his daughters.
I stopped in front of him.
My jaw clenched. “Do you want to live, Sokolov?”
My voice was quiet.
But the threat behind it was unmistakable.
His eyes lifted immediately.
He nodded frantically. “Yes.”
His voice cracked. “Yes, please.”
Tears rolled down his face. “I’ll tell you everything.”
He swallowed painfully. “No lies.”
I leaned closer. “Then tell me the truth. Juliet or Yarina?”
The silence stretched. “Who betrayed me?”
Sokolov closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them again, there was nothing left except exhaustion.
“I have no reason to lie.” His voice was rough. “I have already lost everything.”
He took a shaky breath.
“There’s a complete CCTV surveillance system installed throughout my private study.”
I listened carefully.
“Every camera records in high definition, with synchronized audio. The footage is archived, not overwritten immediately. Go back four months in the system and pull the recording from my study at approximately four in the afternoon that day.”
His expression remained ruined.
“You’ll find footage of Yarina and me in the room. The audio is recorded as well. Listen to the entire conversation before I disappeared. It will give you the answers you’re looking for.”
My stomach tightened.
“I love both of my daughters more than I love my own life. I don’t care that one of them is adopted. They are both my children.”
His voice broke.
“So whatever punishment you believe they deserve, spare them and put it on me instead.”
He swallowed hard.
“Especially when it comes to Yarina. In time, you’ll learn the truth about her betrayal. But whatever she has done, punish me for it. Just don’t hurt my daughters.”
I stared at him.
Searching.
Looking for the lie.
The manipulation.
The weakness.
But all I saw was a broken man begging for mercy for his daughters.
And suddenly I wasn’t sure who I had been fighting anymore.
“Keegan.”
My voice cut through the room.
He stepped forward immediately.
“Go to Sokolov’s house.” I held his gaze. “Retrieve every CCTV recording from that study.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Bring back everything.” I paused. “Verify the files. Check the timestamps. Make sure nothing has been altered.”
Keegan nodded.
“Yes, boss.”
He turned to leave.
“No.” I stopped him.
He looked back.
“You’re not doing it.”
Confusion crossed his face.
“I need you to drive me to the hospital.”
I turned toward Marco, one of my most trusted men.
He had once been a mafia boss himself, until a woman betrayed him and cost him his territory. Banished from his own organization, he eventually came to me and chose to work under my command.
Despite being one of the quietest men in my ranks, Marco was also one of the smartest.
He rarely spoke without reason, preferring to observe, analyze, and let everyone else reveal more than they intended.
“Marco.” The man straightened immediately. “You retrieve the footage.”
“Yes, boss.”