———————————————————-
Chapter 4 – The Attack
The sound was deafening.
Glass shards scattered across the marble floor, catching the light of the chandelier as masked figures poured into the hall like a flood of shadows.
"Down!" Alexander's voice was sharp, commanding. Before Elena could react, he shoved her behind him, his body shielding hers from the first spray of gunfire.
The guards stationed at the doors moved instantly, weapons drawn. A storm of bullets lit the air, the acrid scent of gunpowder mixing with the metallic tang of blood.
Elena's heart thundered. She pressed her hands against her ears, crouching low, but her eyes refused to close. She couldn't look away from the chaos, from the way Alexander moved like a man possessed — precise, ruthless, every motion dripping with control.
He grabbed a fallen guard's gun and fired back, his aim terrifyingly accurate. Each shot was deliberate, protective, as though his sole purpose was to carve a path of survival for her.
"Adrian!" Alexander shouted over the noise. "Who the hell are these people?"
Adrian Hayes stood strangely calm, even as bullets whistled past him. His eyes glittered like cold fire. "Enemies who have waited a long time for Elena to resurface."
He gestured sharply, and two of his own men — hidden until now — emerged from the shadows, unleashing a brutal counterattack.
Elena's head spun. Enemies? Waiting for me?
Her gaze darted to Adrian. His calm expression told her everything she feared: this wasn't unexpected.
"You knew this would happen!" she shouted at him, her voice raw. "You brought me here—"
"Because it was the safest place," Adrian cut her off smoothly. "Until they arrived sooner than I calculated."
Alexander's jaw clenched as he fired another round, narrowly taking down an assailant who had been aiming at Elena. He grabbed her wrist, yanking her up. "Safe? You call this safe?!"
Another window shattered, and more masked intruders leapt through.
"We're surrounded!"
Alexander pulled Elena flush against him, his arm around her waist, his breath hot against her ear. "Listen to me. Stay behind me. Don't move unless I move you."
The command in his voice made her chest tighten. She hated that her body still reacted to him — the man who had broken her heart — but right now, there was no time to think, no time to breathe.
Gunfire, shouts, and the crash of bodies filled the air.
Suddenly, Adrian's voice rang clear: "Elena, come to me! Now!"
She froze. Both men were fighting for her — but not just with words this time.
Adrian's men created a shield around him, their formation precise, as if they'd trained for this moment. His outstretched hand cut through the haze of smoke and chaos, beckoning her like a promise.
Alexander's grip on her tightened painfully. His eyes, silver and burning, locked on hers. "Don't you dare go to him."
"I—" Elena choked, torn between them. "What do you want me to do?"
Before either man could answer, one of the masked intruders lunged directly for her.
Alexander reacted first. His arm swept her behind him, his gun raised — click. Empty.
The intruder's blade gleamed as it came down.
Elena screamed—
And Adrian moved. A throwing knife whistled through the air, embedding itself in the attacker's throat. The man collapsed at Elena's feet, blood pooling across the marble.
Elena stumbled back, her hands trembling violently.
Alexander's expression was murder itself. "If she gets hurt—"
"She won't," Adrian replied coldly. "Not as long as she's with me."
The firefight raged on. The mansion's grand hall was turning into a battlefield, every polished surface shattered, every luxurious detail ruined by violence.
"Elena!" Alexander grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. His eyes blazed with something raw, unguarded. "You trust me, don't you?"
Her lips parted, but the words stuck in her throat. Do I? After everything?
He didn't wait for her answer. He pulled her close, his mouth at her ear. "Then run when I tell you."
---
Minutes Later
The attackers were regrouping, pressing harder.
"They want her alive," Adrian observed grimly. "That's the only reason we aren't both dead."
"Not for long," Alexander muttered.
"Agreed."
Their voices clashed like steel, but Elena noticed something unsettling: in this chaos, they fought side by side with a strange, unspoken rhythm.
Enemies, yet both bound by the same instinct — to keep her alive.
"Go!" Alexander barked, yanking her hand as he pushed forward through a gap in the line of attackers. Adrian's men covered them, bullets whizzing inches from Elena's face as she ran with Alexander pulling her.
The world became a blur of noise and terror. Her legs screamed, her lungs burned, but she didn't stop.
"Faster!" Alexander urged, his grip on her never faltering.
They burst through the side doors into a snow-covered courtyard. The icy air bit her skin, but freedom was fleeting.
More masked figures were waiting.
Adrian appeared behind them in an instant, his knife flashing, his men crashing into the ambush with brutal precision.
"You can't outrun this," he snapped. "We have to end it here!"
"Then fight," Alexander growled.
And fight they did.
Alexander's movements were brutal efficiency — breaking bones, disarming enemies, his strength a wall that no one breached. Adrian, on the other hand, was a blade in human form — every strike elegant, precise, fatal.
Elena stood frozen in the middle of it, torn between awe and horror.
Her ex-husband and her blood relative — both killers in their own right, both lethal, both terrifying.
And both fighting for her.
"Stay down!" Alexander barked, slamming an attacker into the snow before snapping his neck. The raw savagery made Elena's stomach twist, but also sent heat coiling low in her chest.
Adrian's voice cut through the chaos, calm and sharp: "Elena, you must choose now! With me, you'll have the Hayes power protecting you. With him…" His gaze flicked to Alexander with contempt. "…you'll have only empty promises."
Alexander caught her gaze mid-battle, his chest heaving. "Don't you dare believe him."
"Then what should I believe, Alexander?" Elena's voice cracked, tears threatening. "That you suddenly love me now that you've lost me?"
The words stunned him. For a fraction of a second, he faltered.
That was all it took.
A masked attacker surged forward, his blade aimed at Alexander's exposed side.
"Alexander!" Elena screamed, moving before she could think.
She lunged — shoving him out of the way.
The blade sliced across her arm instead, white-hot pain exploding through her body.
Blood splattered across the snow.
Alexander caught her as she fell against him, his face contorted in fury and fear. "Elena!"
Adrian's roar joined his, echoing in the frozen courtyard. "Get her out of here!"
But the attackers weren't done. They were regrouping for one final strike.
Alexander pressed Elena against his chest, his voice shaking with rage. "I won't lose you. Not again."
The world spun, Elena's vision dimming as she heard his heart hammering beneath her ear.
Her last thought before darkness swallowed her was a terrifying truth:
For the first time… both men were willing to kill and die for her.
————————————————————
Chapter 4 – The Attack
The snow stained red beneath her.
Elena's blood spread across the courtyard like ink on parchment, a grotesque mark of her sacrifice.
"Elena!" Alexander's voice cracked as he caught her limp form against his chest. His hands trembled, but his grip was unyielding, as if letting go would mean the end of the world.
Her skin was cold, far too cold.
"No—no, no, stay with me. Don't you dare close your eyes." His voice was a harsh whisper, raw with panic.
Adrian was already beside them, his movements precise, efficient. He pressed his gloved hand over the wound on Elena's arm, his calm demeanor finally cracking as blood seeped fast between his fingers.
"She's losing too much," Adrian muttered, his jaw clenched. "We need to move now."
Alexander's eyes snapped up, silver fury blazing. "This is your fault. You brought her here."
"And yet I'm the one keeping her alive right now," Adrian retorted coldly. "Argue later. Right now, she needs a surgeon."
Another wave of masked men surged into the courtyard, their boots crunching the snow. The fight wasn't over — not even close.
Alexander laid Elena gently on the snow for only a heartbeat before standing to face them. His aura shifted, dark and merciless.
"You picked the wrong woman to touch," he growled.
Then he unleashed hell.
---
The Battlefield Turns Savage
Gunfire roared, echoing against the mansion walls. Adrian's men closed ranks, forming a shield around Elena's prone body. Adrian himself moved with ruthless elegance, every throw of his knife claiming a life, every strike of his blade exact, measured, final.
But Alexander…
He was wrath incarnate.
He fought like a man who had nothing left to lose. His fists shattered bones; his kicks sent attackers flying. A stolen gun barked in his hand, and every bullet found its mark. He wasn't just protecting Elena — he was destroying anyone who dared breathe in her direction.
Adrian watched him for a fleeting second, grim recognition flickering in his eyes. So this is the man she once gave her heart to.
"Fall back! Cover Elena!" Adrian barked to his men.
Two of them crouched by her side, lifting her carefully, shielding her with their bodies. Elena stirred faintly, a weak groan slipping past her lips.
"Don't… leave him…" she whispered hoarsely, her bloodied fingers twitching toward Alexander.
Adrian's chest tightened. Even unconscious, even dying, she reached for the man who had broken her.
"Damn you," Adrian hissed under his breath — but not at her. At Alexander.
The attackers pressed harder. They weren't ordinary thugs; their movements were coordinated, military. This wasn't a random strike.
"They're trained," Alexander snarled, snapping an assailant's neck with brutal force. Blood splattered his face, but he didn't flinch. "Who sent them?"
Adrian's knife lodged into another attacker's skull before he answered. His voice was sharp, clipped. "The Black Serpent Syndicate. And they want Elena alive."
Alexander's heart froze. He knew the name — a shadowy organization, whispered in the darkest circles of power. Ruthless. Untouchable.
"Why her?" His voice was low, dangerous.
Adrian's gaze cut to Elena, then away. "Ask yourself why your wife hid from you for five years."
The words were a blade, but there was no time to bleed.
---
The Escape
"We can't hold them off forever," one of Adrian's men shouted, ducking as a bullet grazed his arm. "We need extraction!"
"Helipad!" Adrian barked. "Move!"
Alexander scooped Elena back into his arms, her head lolling against his shoulder. He pressed his cheek against her hair, whispering, "Hold on, sweetheart. Just hold on."
Her lashes fluttered weakly, her lips parting. "...Alex…"
His chest constricted painfully. She still says my name.
The group pushed through the snow-covered courtyard, gunfire chasing them. Adrian and Alexander fought side by side, enemies forced into a rhythm of survival.
Every time Alexander faltered under the weight of carrying Elena, Adrian covered his blind spot without hesitation. Every time Adrian's blade missed its mark, Alexander's bullet finished the kill.
It was chaos, but also unity — one born of desperation, not trust.
Finally, the helipad came into sight, a sleek black helicopter waiting, its rotors slicing the night air.
"Go!" Adrian barked, ushering his men forward.
Alexander climbed aboard first, laying Elena carefully across the seats. Blood soaked through his shirt where he'd pressed her wound. He ripped his sleeve and tied it tight around her arm, his hands stained crimson.
"Stay with me," he murmured, brushing damp hair from her pale face. "I can't lose you again."
Adrian jumped in after, signaling the pilot. "Take us to the Hayes estate. Now."
The helicopter lifted off just as more attackers burst onto the helipad, their bullets bouncing off the reinforced glass.
The mansion below burned, its once-grand silhouette swallowed by smoke and flame.
---
In the Air
The thrum of the helicopter filled the silence. Alexander sat rigid, holding Elena against him, his forehead pressed to hers as if sheer will could keep her alive.
Adrian watched them from across the cabin, his jaw tight, his eyes unreadable.
"She needs a surgeon immediately," Adrian said, his voice cutting through the hum of the rotors. "I have one at the estate. You'll keep your distance."
Alexander's head snapped up, his silver eyes murderous. "The hell I will. I'm not leaving her side."
"You already lost that right when you divorced her," Adrian shot back.
The words cut deep, but Alexander didn't flinch. He only pulled Elena closer, his voice steady, lethal. "And yet, here I am — the only one she called for when she bled."
Adrian's fists clenched. He wanted to argue, to rip Elena away, but her faint murmur silenced him.
"Alex…"
The name left her lips like a fragile prayer.
Alexander closed his eyes, a storm raging inside him. He kissed her temple, whispering, "I'm here. Always."
Adrian turned his face away, his chest tight with something dangerously close to jealousy.
---
Landing at the Hayes Estate
The helicopter touched down on the private helipad of the Hayes estate — a sprawling fortress of steel and glass. Armed guards swarmed instantly, forming a perimeter.
"Bring her inside!" Adrian barked, leading the way.
Alexander carried Elena, refusing to let anyone else touch her. Blood stained the marble floors as they rushed through the grand halls toward a private infirmary hidden deep inside the estate.
Doctors and nurses flooded in, quickly surrounding her.
"Set her down," one ordered.
Alexander froze, his arms tightening. "No. I'm not leaving her."
"Then you'll kill her," Adrian snapped, stepping forward. His voice was cold, merciless. "Let them work, or your stubbornness will be the reason she dies."
Alexander's teeth clenched. Slowly, agonizingly, he lowered Elena onto the surgical table. But he never released her hand.
Doctors moved swiftly, cutting away her blood-soaked dress, sterilizing the wound, stitching torn flesh. The metallic tang of antiseptic filled the air, mixed with the copper of blood.
Alexander stood like a statue at her side, his silver eyes burning holes into every doctor who touched her.
Adrian hovered behind, his presence equally commanding, his gaze sharp, calculating.
Two men. One woman.
A battlefield far quieter than the courtyard, but just as dangerous.
---
The Waiting
Hours passed.
Finally, the lead surgeon removed his gloves, his expression weary but relieved.
"She'll live," he announced. "The wound was deep, but it missed any major arteries. She's weak, but with rest, she'll recover."
Alexander's knees nearly buckled. Relief hit him so hard it was painful.
He dropped his head, pressing Elena's hand against his lips. "Thank God…"
Adrian exhaled quietly, his tension hidden behind a mask of control. "Good. Prepare a private recovery room."
The doctors filed out, leaving the three of them in heavy silence.
Alexander stroked Elena's hand gently, whispering words only she could hear. Promises. Regrets. Pleas.
Adrian finally broke the silence. "You should go."
Alexander's head snapped up. "Over my dead body."
"This is my estate," Adrian reminded him icily. "My resources saved her. My doctors kept her alive. You'll show some damn respect and leave."
Alexander stood slowly, his full height radiating menace. "Try to force me, and you'll find out exactly how far I'll go for her."
Their stares clashed — steel against fire, two predators circling the same prey.
And in the middle of it, Elena stirred weakly, whispering a single word that shattered them both.
"...Why…?"
Her lashes fluttered open, revealing glassy eyes. She looked at Alexander, then Adrian, confusion and pain etched on her face.
"Why… are you both… here?"
Her voice was faint, but it was enough to freeze the room.
Alexander leaned closer, his voice breaking. "Because I can't let you go. Not again."
Adrian's hand clenched at his side. His answer was quieter, colder. "Because I'm the only one who truly knows why they want you dead."
Elena's heart thudded weakly in her chest. Fear, love, and betrayal twisted together inside her as she drifted back into unconsciousness.
But one truth burned clear:
This was only the beginning.
————————————————————