After leaving Kaya's home, Damien was striding toward his car. He reached it and slipped his hand into his coat pocket to grab his keys.
He pulled them out, but along with the keys, a folded page slipped free and fluttered onto the ground. His brows knitted in confusion. Bending down, Damien picked it up and unfolded it-and the moment his eyes ran over the words, they widened.
"Please help me, uncle. I don't want to go with him. He hurted me a lot. I was running away from him. He is a bad person. He will hurt me again. Don't let him take me, please... help me..."
Damien instantly knew whose handwriting it was-he'd become familiar with it in the past days. So that was why she looked so terrified. Why she cried like that.
Turning toward the closed door he had just walked out of, Damien's jaw clenched. Crushing the paper in his fist, he sprinted back.
He kicked the door open, the wood slamming loudly, and fury surged through him at the sight before him. Kaya was on the floor, pressed against the wall, hands clasped together as she begged the monster towering over her.
Paul whipped around, eyes widening as he saw Damien standing there-gaze blazing with something deadly. Damien didn't need anyone to explain. Kaya's tears and sheer terror told him everything. His jaw worked furiously. Anyone could tell what this man was about to do.
Ripping his gun from his pocket, Damien aimed it at Paul, whose face drained of color.
Damien stepped forward, eyes locked on Paul like a predator ready to strike. Instinctively, Paul backed away.
"Come here, Kaya," Damien said, glaring at Paul.
Kaya froze, trembling at the sight of the gun. Damien shifted his gaze to her, his expression softening.
"Come here, dear. I will never hurt you."
Kaya wiped her tears, unsure what to do, but being with Damien was safer than staying with Paul. She stepped forward, but Paul yanked her arm, stopping her.
"Get out of my house right now, Damien Karlson. This is between her and me. You have no reason to interfere," Paul barked. Kaya hissed in pain as his grip tightened. A vein pulsed sharply on Damien's neck.
"Leave... her... alone," Damien growled, each word deadly.
Paul flinched but tried to assert himself. "It's our family matter. You-"
A scream tore from his throat as a bullet ripped through his hand. He dropped Kaya immediately.
Pure terror washed over Kaya as she watched blood spill down his wrist. She stumbled away. Paul stared at the wound, trembling, before looking at Damien's gun still raised. The gunshot hadn't echoed-but the smoke curling from the barrel said enough.
The pain knocked him to the floor. He groaned, clutching his hand.
Lowering his gun, Damien turned to Kaya, who stood frozen, traumatized. He walked to her and kneeled.
"Was he trying to hurt you again?" he asked softly. Kaya didn't speak, but her tears answered for her. Damien gently cupped her cheek.
"Tell me, Kaya. Don't be afraid, my child. Tell me the truth, and I promise I will never let him near you again. Was he trying to hurt you?"
Her tears broke loose, heavier than before, and she nodded. Damien's nails dug into his palm.
Rising to his feet, he took her small hand in his. His gaze shifted to Paul, who writhed in pain on the floor.
"I would give you what you deserve, Paul," Damien said coldly, "but not in front of this kid."
His hands burned with the urge to end the man who had tormented her, but he wouldn't let Kaya witness something that would scar her for life.
Damien led Kaya out of the house, keeping her close as she followed him without a word. She didn't look back, not even once. She just wanted to get away from Paul, away from that darkness that had been swallowing her whole.
Reaching the car, Damien opened the door and gently guided her inside. He fastened her seatbelt himself, making sure she was secure, then shut the door softly so it wouldn't startle her.
Before getting in on his side, Damien pulled out his phone. His jaw was tight, eyes burning with the fury he was trying to hold back. He dialed a number and pressed the phone to his ear.
"I have texted you the address. Come to that place right now, Leo."
✧✧✧✧✧
Zia was chopping vegetables for dinner when the doorbell rang. She set the knife down and wiped her hands on her apron before heading out of the kitchen.
Opening the door, she found Damien standing there.
"Damien, you..." Her words faded when she noticed the small figure beside him. "Kaya?" Her brows knit in confusion. She stepped aside to let them in, closing the door behind them. None of it made sense. Damien had gone to drop her and her uncle home. So why was Kaya here again?
"Damien," she called softly. He understood what she was asking without her saying it. With a quiet sigh, he pulled the folded letter Kaya had slipped into his pocket and handed it to her.
Zia looked even more confused but took the page anyway. Her gaze flicked to Kaya, who kept her head bowed.
Opening the note, Zia began reading.
At first, the words didn't fully sink in. But when they did, her breath caught. Her eyes widened and her heart dropped.
"Kaya slipped this into my pocket at the hospital," Damien said, explaining everything-what he'd walked in on, what that house truly was, and who Paul really turned out to be.
Tears welled in Zia's eyes as understanding washed over her. She looked at Kaya, still staring at the floor, shoulders trembling. Zia walked over and crouched in front of her.
"Kaya," she whispered, voice breaking.
Kaya slowly lifted her head, and Zia felt her heart twist at the sight of those silent tears trailing down her cheeks.
Zia pulled her into a tight hug. Shame washed through her thinking that the world had become cruel enough to hurt a child like this. Kaya was only fifteen, yet the pain she carried was heavier than most adults could endure.
Kaya finally broke down, her breaths turning shaky. Damien realized she was trying to speak-her lips moved, but no sound came.
They settled her on the sofa and gave her a pen and paper. With trembling hands, she began writing, tears falling onto the page as she did.
When she finished, she handed it to Zia. The moment the couple read it, their hearts clenched, and their heads dropped in grief and fury.
Kaya had written that after her parents died, she'd been living with Paul since she was eleven and from the very first day, he had abused her. He burned her skin, scratched her, tortured her, and touched her in ways no child should ever suffer. The only reason he hadn't gone further was because he intended to sell her as a virgin. And the day she saved Zia from the accident was the day she had escaped because she had overheard Paul arranging her sale over a phone call.
Tears streamed down Zia's face, and Damien had to shut his eyes just to control himself. Every muscle in him screamed to destroy every person responsible for this. As for Paul, Damien already knew exactly what kind of end he deserved.
Zia gently cupped Kaya's face, wiping her tear-stained cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, my baby. You had to go through all of that. I'm so, so sorry," Zia whispered before pulling her into another hug.
"We're so sorry, dear. So sorry," she murmured, and Kaya rested her head on her shoulder, tiny arms wrapping around Zia as if she had finally found a safe place.
Damien knelt beside them, resting his hand softly on Kaya's head.
"We promise," he said quietly, "your aunty Zia and I will never let anyone hurt you again. Never."
Kaya blinked at Damien's words, her eyes wide and unsure. Damien shared a quick glance with Zia before looking back at the fragile girl in front of them.
"Will you stay with us from now on? Will you be a part of our family, Kaya?" he asked gently.
Her heart twisted at that word. Family. She had dreamed of it, longed for it, prayed for it through every moment of pain. Was fate finally being kind to her?
"Yes, Kaya," Zia added softly. "Will you accept our request to stay here with us? Will you let our home be your home too?"
Kaya's lips quivered. Tears spilled before she even realized it, and she threw herself into Zia's arms, burying her face into her neck. Zia wrapped her arms around her instantly, as if protecting something delicate and precious.
Damien and Zia knew that this child needed love more than anything else. And they had already made up their minds to give her all of it.
Zia looked up at Damien. He gave her a gentle blink, a silent reassurance, before both of them stroked Kaya's trembling head.
"Alright, no more tears now," Zia whispered, wiping Kaya's wet cheeks with both hands. "We won't let our beautiful Kaya cry again."
"We'll give her every happiness she deserves," she added, glancing at Damien.
"Of course we will," Damien said with a small smile. He ran his hand through Kaya's hair carefully, avoiding her injury. "Our Kaya deserves the whole world."
A tiny smile tugged at Kaya's lips for the first time.
"So, first things first," Zia beamed, placing a kiss on Kaya's head. "We need to fill our Kaya's tummy with something delicious. And after that, we're going shopping to buy her the prettiest dresses ever."
Zia's warmth made Kaya's chest swell with something she hadn't felt in years-safety.
The couple stood up, and Kaya climbed off the sofa with Zia's help. Then she shuffled toward Damien and hugged his legs, her tiny arms barely reaching around him. She mouthed a quiet thank you, and Damien understood immediately.
He smiled softly and stroked her head. "Careful, sweetheart," he murmured, mindful of her injury.
"Zia, where's Zian?" he asked.
Zia's expression fell. "I think he's still asleep in his room."
Damien's brows pulled together sharply. "At this hour? He's still sleeping?" His irritation made Zia tense, while Kaya simply looked around with wide eyes, taking in what would be her new home. It was warm, bright, beautiful-nothing like the place she had come from.
Then her gaze froze.
Standing at a distance was a boy with icy blue eyes, staring straight at her. Cold.... Expressionless.... Unwelcoming....
Kaya instantly hid behind Damien's legs and peeked out nervously. That boy's stare sent a chill down her spine.
"What is she doing here?" Zian's displeased tone resonated, gaining his parents' attention on him.
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