The night stretched thin inside the hospital.
It wasn't silent—not truly. Machines hummed. Footsteps passed beyond closed doors. Somewhere down the hall, a nurse laughed softly, the sound startling in its normalcy.
But in Vinny's room, time seemed to move differently.
Matthew sat beside the bed, still holding Vinny's hand as if letting go would cause something terrible to happen. Vinny slept now, deeply, his breathing slow and even. His lashes cast faint shadows against his cheeks, bruises still blooming beneath his skin like dark constellations Matthew wished he could erase with his bare hands.
Matthew hadn't moved in hours.
Every so often, he brushed his thumb gently across Vinny's knuckles—counting the rhythm of his breath, grounding himself in the fact that Vinny was alive. Here. Warm.
Safe.
For now.
A soft knock came at the door.
Matthew didn't look up. He already knew who it was.
Kieran stepped inside quietly, closing the door behind him. He paused when he saw Matthew still seated there, shoulders slumped in a way Matthew would never allow anyone else to witness.
"He's sleeping," Matthew murmured, voice low.
Kieran nodded. "Good."
Matthew finally glanced at him. Kieran looked exhausted—dark circles under his eyes, jaw tight. But his posture was controlled, contained. The kind of stillness that came before violence.
"How's Aiden?" Matthew asked.
Kieran hesitated for just a fraction of a second. "Stable. Awake. Shaken."
Matthew's grip tightened involuntarily around Vinny's hand.
"He asked for Vinny," Kieran added. "Doctors said no."
Matthew exhaled slowly. "Good."
Kieran studied him for a moment. "You're not leaving his side."
Matthew shook his head. "Not tonight."
Kieran didn't argue. He understood that kind of fear too well.
"I'll stay with Aiden," Kieran said quietly. "Someone should."
Matthew nodded once. "Thank you."
Before leaving, Kieran glanced at Vinny—pale, vulnerable, but alive. His expression hardened.
"Matthew," Kieran said softly, "whatever Tom did… it's worse than we thought."
Matthew's jaw tightened, but he didn't ask. He already knew enough to keep the fire alive in his chest.
Kieran left without another word.
Aiden's room was dim, the lights turned low to keep him calm.
He sat upright in bed, knees pulled to his chest, hospital gown hanging loosely from his frame. There were faint bruises visible along his wrists and collarbone—nothing graphic, nothing obvious to an untrained eye. But Kieran noticed everything.
Aiden looked up when Kieran entered.
His eyes were the same brown Vinny's used to be—sharp once, now dulled by something heavy and unspoken.
"You're not him," Aiden said quietly.
"No," Kieran replied, pulling a chair closer and sitting down. "I'm Kieran."
Aiden nodded slowly. "You work with Matthew."
"Yes."
Aiden swallowed. "Then… I guess you already know I'm not lying."
Kieran didn't speak. He didn't interrupt. He just waited.
Aiden stared at his hands for a long time before speaking again.
"He didn't start with chains," Aiden said finally. "That came later."
Kieran felt something inside his chest go cold.
"He said he was protecting me," Aiden continued, voice flat. "That the world wanted to use me. That I was safer with him."
Kieran's jaw clenched.
"He took my phone. My name. Sometimes he called me Vinny by accident."
Aiden laughed once—short, broken. "Then he'd get angry. Said I wasn't good enough to replace him."
Kieran's fingers curled slowly into fists.
"He dressed me like him," Aiden whispered. "Same colors. Same cut. Same perfume. Then he'd stare at me like I was wrong."
Silence filled the room, thick and heavy.
"He said Vinny abandoned me," Aiden went on. "That Vinny chose Matthew over me. That Vinny didn't want to be found."
Kieran finally spoke, voice dangerously calm. "That wasn't true."
Aiden nodded. "I know. I think… I always knew."
He rubbed at his wrist unconsciously. "But after a while, it messes with your head. You start thinking maybe you deserve it. Maybe you're easier to keep if you don't fight."
Kieran leaned forward slightly. "You didn't deserve any of it."
Aiden's lips trembled. "I tried not to break. I really did."
Kieran swallowed hard.
"Tom liked to talk," Aiden continued. "He'd tell me how much he hated Matthew. How he wanted everything Matthew had. The market. The power. Vinny."
Aiden's voice dropped. "Especially Vinny."
Kieran's expression darkened.
"He said if he couldn't have Vinny," Aiden said quietly, "then breaking me was the next best thing."
The room went very still.
Kieran didn't move. Didn't speak. But something behind his eyes shifted—something sharp and lethal.
"I'm sorry," Aiden added suddenly, panic creeping into his voice. "I know this is a lot. I—I don't want to cause trouble—"
Kieran stood abruptly, causing Aiden to flinch.
But Kieran didn't shout. Didn't threaten. He simply reached out and adjusted the blanket around Aiden's shoulders with careful hands.
"You're not trouble," Kieran said firmly. "And you're not weak."
Aiden stared at him, stunned.
"What Tom did," Kieran continued, voice low and controlled, "was monstrous. And you survived it."
Aiden's eyes filled with tears he didn't let fall.
"I don't feel strong."
"You don't have to," Kieran replied. "Not tonight."
Aiden hesitated. "Is Vinny…?"
"Alive," Kieran said immediately. "Resting. Matthew hasn't left his side."
Aiden's shoulders sagged in relief. "Good."
After a moment, he whispered, "Does Vinny know?"
Kieran paused. "Not everything."
Aiden nodded slowly. "I don't want him to see me like this."
Kieran met his gaze. "He already loves you. Nothing Tom did can change that."
Aiden's lips quivered, and this time, the tears came—silent, shaking.
Kieran stayed. He didn't rush him. He didn't ask more questions.
He just sat there, bearing witness.
And inside him, something burned—quiet, furious, and unextinguished.
Back in Vinny's room, Matthew hadn't moved.
Vinny stirred slightly, brow furrowing as if caught in a half-remembered dream. Matthew leaned closer immediately.
"Hey," he whispered. "I'm here."
Vinny's eyes fluttered open. "You didn't leave."
Matthew brushed his hair back gently. "I told you."
Vinny smiled faintly. "Good."
He squeezed Matthew's hand weakly. "How's Aiden?"
Matthew hesitated, then answered carefully. "Alive. Safe. Resting."
Vinny closed his eyes in relief, a shaky breath leaving his chest.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Matthew leaned down, pressing his forehead against Vinny's. "Always."
As Vinny drifted back to sleep, Matthew stayed exactly where he was—anchored between fear and devotion.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Kieran sat in silence beside a broken man who had survived hell.
And far from there, ashes cooled where a monster once believed he owned what was never his.