The west gate exploded into chaos.
Gunfire echoed into the night like a deadly symphony. Dylan moved with lethal precision, his black coat trailing behind him like a phantom. His men followed, loyal and silent, their orders clear—no survivors from Richard's squad.
Richard had finally crossed the line.
Dylan's eyes scanned the shadows as he approached the wrecked gate. Smoke hung in the air. Bodies lay sprawled on the concrete—some his, but mostly theirs. And then he saw it—Richard's calling card.
A silver snake pin.
His fists clenched. That symbol was a message. A declaration. Richard was done hiding.
"Boss!" one of the men called out. "He wasn't here. It was a decoy raid."
Dylan's face hardened. "Then where the hell is he?"
Just then, his phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number.
"You protected her once. Let's see if you can do it again."
Attached was a photo.
Heaven.
Standing at the window of the drawing room—just minutes ago.
Dylan's blood ran cold.
"Jayden!" he barked through the comms. "Get back to the mansion! Now!"
Jayden was already running before he responded. "On it, boss!"
Back at the mansion, Heaven had barely moved from her spot. She held the small dagger Dylan had once given her for self-defense, gripping it tightly now. Something in the air shifted. The silence was too loud.
Then she heard it.
A whisper of movement.
She turned.
A figure in black was stepping into the hallway. Tall. Calm. Eyes filled with a twisted kind of amusement.
"Hello, Heaven," Richard said, stepping into the light.
Her heart dropped. She knew that face from the photo Jayden had shown her once. Dylan's younger stepbrother. The one who wanted the throne. The one who hated Dylan enough to burn the world.
"Don't scream," Richard said softly, tilting his head. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to borrow you."
Heaven stepped back. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"You think you have a choice?" he smirked. "You don't know what Dylan took from me. But you will."
She raised the dagger, trying to steady her breath. "You don't scare me."
Richard chuckled. "You should be scared, Heaven. Not of me—but of the man who made me this way."
And then—
A gunshot rang out.
The window shattered.
Jayden burst through the hall, gun blazing. "Don't touch her!"
Richard dodged just in time, retreating into the shadows, but not before whispering, "Next time, I won't miss."
Jayden rushed to Heaven's side. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, trembling. "I think so."
"Let's get you out of here," Jayden said.
But her eyes remained on the broken window, heart racing with the knowledge that the war wasn't just about territory anymore.
It was personal.
And she was now in the center of it.