Damon's POV
I took out my telecom and said,
"Batch I-4… check the hospital… immediately."
"Yes, sir," came the reply.
Batch I-4 is for hospital security—more like my personal security.
We were about to land on the hospital rooftop when I heard,
"Batch I-4 reporting, sir… all clear. Safe to land."
Hospital staff rushed over and took Emily into the emergency room.
I was shaking, thinking about her. Her blood was all over my shirt.
I quickly dialed Alex's number.
"What happened? Did you find where the hell he is hiding?" I asked.
"Yes, we found him. I sent our men to catch him and we're on our way," he replied.
"Come to the hospital basement room—with him," I yelled, not caring that I was in the hospital.
"Mr. Roy? You've injured your arm…" A doctor passing by stopped in front of me and looked at my left arm.
Only then did I notice the deep scratch—probably a bullet had just grazed me.
"I don't need any treatment. Please… please save her," I said, holding his hands.
"Mr. Roy, this is your hospital. And the doctors here are the best in LA. They will save her. But you need to come with me," he said, dragging me into another room.
He stitched up my arm and gave me medication. In the meantime, I texted Natasha to come over.
I didn't need to inform Mom and Dad—they already knew what happened and were on their way.
Soon, Alex texted that they were here. I went to the basement.
I saw him—terrified to see me.
Just then, Mom and Dad arrived.
My dad stormed over to him, his face full of rage, and slapped him hard.
"I treated you like my own brother, you basta**d!"
"Henry… let Damon deal with him. Calm down first," my mom said, helping him to sit on the couch and handing him water.
My phone buzzed—Natasha. I told her to come to the basement.
She arrived within minutes.
"Damon… are you alright? Why are you in the hospital?" she asked, checking me for injuries.
She hadn't seen her father yet.
I turned my face towards where her father was tied.
She froze, then dropped her hands from my shoulders.
"Dad?" she whispered.
She ran to him and cupped his face.
"Dad… why are you here like this?"
She turned to my parents.
"Aunt? Uncle?" she asked, confused.
Then she walked back to me, grabbed my collar, and shouted,
"What is the meaning of this, Damon? Tell them to release him… now!"
She started crying and yelling in my face.
I made her sit beside my parents, held her hands, and said quietly,
"He tried to kill Emily—in front of my eyes."
A tear escaped my eyes at the memory.
I remembered when she was eight years old—I had promised her I wouldn't let her cry, that I'd kill whoever was the reason for her tears.
"Emily? How is she? Where is she? Is she alright?" she asked, panicked.
"She's in the emergency room. Doctors are taking care of her," I said, my eyes fixed on her father.
"Natasha… he's the one who leaked our picture to the media using one of my men. He's the one who told the media she committed suicide. He blackmailed Mrs. Williams to approach Emily and ruin her birthday—or he would kill Stella.
"And now…" I said word by word, careful not to break her more.
"I could forgive him for anything. But he… he tried to kill her."
She stood, walked to Ethan, and whispered,
"Why? Why would you do that? She's been good to me as a friend. She helped me with things no one else could… she's a nice person, Dad."
"She is also his weakness," he yelled, glaring at me.
"I worked hard for this empire, but Henry gave the authority to him!" he shouted.
"But we are happy as we are now, right? Then why?" Natasha asked, her voice breaking.
"Honey… I did this for you. For us. We can live happily," he said, faking concern for her.
"You really did this for her?" I interrupted.
"Yes! I did this for her!" he shouted.
"What about the accident—your wife, my aunt died, Natasha barely survived?!" I said, revealing the truth.
His face turned pale. Natasha looked at me, silently begging me to be wrong.
"Accident?" my mom gasped, realizing what I meant.
"Dad… it's not true, right? Please tell me Damon is lying," Natasha pleaded, hope in her eyes.
"You're going to die anyway—even if you agree or not," I said coldly.
"Yes! I killed her. That girl should have died that day too! My wife? I never loved her for a single second. It was your mother, Aurora, who forced me to marry her," he said, looking at Natasha.
"As for that woman on her deathbed—not just her—I wanted to take everything you people ever loved. I wanted to kill Maria too, but she got lucky—I didn't need to lift a hand!"
Before I could react, my mom slapped him hard.
"Don't you dare say their names with your filthy mouth! You betrayed the family who gave you shelter. Your own father left you homeless because you were his illegitimate child. Henry brought you home, gave you a name, gave you rights—and you do this to him? To Henry?" she screamed, pulling Natasha into her arms.
"Look at him. Look how betrayed he feels right now. I've never seen Henry like this in our 35 years of marriage," she said, looking at my father.
"Dad, I can't leave him alive," I said, stepping closer.
"No. Leave the choice to Natasha. She already lost her mother. My princess can't bear that much pain again," he said, getting up from the couch.
"Mom, take him home. I'll take care of Natasha," I said. They both left.
I knelt in front of her.
"You heard him, right? He called you his princess. This man blackmailed Mrs. Williams to kill Stella—the sister of the person you love—Jack. And Emily too," I said.
She was sobbing. I handed her my gun.
"He wanted to kill you. And all of us. If you want revenge for your mother, here. Take this."
I turned to leave.
"You have ten minutes. I'll leave the choice to you," I told her.
I looked at Alex.
"After ten minutes, take her home and keep her safe. Whatever her decision is," I said, leaving the basement.
Natasha's POV
I took out my phone and showed him a picture of me and Jack.
"See? He's the person I want to marry. He loves me. I was going to tell you everything when you came back from your business trip. But I didn't even know when you returned," I said, tears streaming.
"You know what? At first, Jack didn't realize my love. Emily is the one who helped me. And when we had a fight, she brought us back together. Aunt didn't agree to my marriage because of his mother, but Emily convinced her.
"I wanted to tell you everything. But you wanted to kill her?"
He looked away.
"Oh yeah, who am I speaking to? You wanted to kill your own daughter. I'm just an outsider to you."
"You're right. I don't care about any of you. Not even my wife, not even my daughter. I only care about property and authority," he said with a cruel smirk.
"You know what? You just woke up the bit** inside me. You think I'm a shy girl because I'm in love? You're wrong, Dad. I'm still that bit**."
Alex looked at me.
"There are five minutes left," I said coldly.
"Show him your guards' best skills."
They beat him mercilessly.
"Stop," I said after four minutes.
I walked up to his face.
"This is for everything you've done until now."
He was breathless, gasping for air.
"And this… this is for my mother's death."
I raised the gun and shot him point-blank.
He fell silent.
A single tear escaped my eyes.
"Mom, now rest in peace," I whispered.
I walked out of the hospital with Alex.
Damon's POV
I waited outside for more than two hours before the doctors finally came out.
"How is she?" I asked the first doctor.
"Don't worry, Mr. Roy. She's alive. No internal injuries, but she has a fractured leg and broken ribs. We need to wait until she regains consciousness," he said.
"When will that be?"
"It depends on the patient."
I ignored them and went inside.
Emily had IVs on both hands, a tube in her mouth. The sight reminded me of Maria's last day.
I sat beside her bed, holding her hand.
I remembered how she waited for me every night, even when I was ignoring her.
I knew I had been rude, but it was the only way to keep her away from the beast inside me.
Whenever I missed Maria, I didn't know what got into me. At those times, I couldn't even respect my parents—how could I be kind to Emily?
"You were so happy that day to see me… but I left you alone. I was afraid to show you my vulnerable side.
"I always told you I'd only touch you when you were ready. But the truth is—I'm not ready yet.
"What should I do, Emily? Please don't leave me like she did. Please… I'll be good to you. I'll do as you say. I won't let you cry. Please wake up, Emmi," I said, holding her hand to my face as tears escaped.
Then I heard a faint voice.
"Wh… who… left… you?"
I looked at her. Emily was speaking, though her eyes were still closed.
"Emily! You're alright? Open your eyes!"
She slowly opened them. I called the doctor. They checked her, ran some tests.
"Mr. Roy, her left leg is fractured, and she has broken ribs. She will have difficulty moving her neck until she fully recovers," the doctor explained.
"How long will it take?"
"Three to four months. Take good care of her."
"Can I take her home? We can shift all the equipment there."
"Yes, but after a week. We need to monitor her for now," he said.
I nodded.
"Damon… I… want to… tell you… something…" she said with great effort.
"First take rest. We'll talk later."
"No… this is… imp… important… I… lo… love… y—"
"If you don't take rest, I'll leave," I said, heading towards the door.
She had no choice but to stop.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep within minutes from exhaustion.
Five Days Later – Emily's POV
"Damon, how did you find out Ethan was behind all this?" I asked for the twelfth time.
He still wouldn't say anything.
When Natasha visited yesterday, she told me everything Ethan had done.
I wanted to hear it from Damon, but he kept denying.
Just then, there was a knock on the door—and my whole family walked in.
"Mom?" I gasped, seeing a flower bouquet in her hands.
"Emily…"
Stella ran to me, holding my hand gently.
"You alright?"
"How are your injuries?" Jack asked.
"I'm alright, my love. I'm fine, Jack," I said softly, then looked at Mom and Dad approaching.
"Get well soon," my dad said.
"Thank you… Mom?" I said, glaring at Damon. I was sure he had done something behind my back to get her here.
"He didn't do anything. I came on my own," Mom said, as if reading my thoughts.
"I wanted to say sorry on your birthday. But Ethan Roy blackmailed me. I had no choice—Stella's life was in danger."
She stroked Stella's hair.
"I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I'll be nice to you now… but I can't be your mother," she said softly.
I saw Damon coming closer, but I glared at him to stay back.
"The truth is… you are not adopted. We just raised you after you were rescued. Barry told your grandfather to adopt you, but he refused—he said, what if your real family comes for you one day?"
A tear escaped my eyes.
She held my hand.
"But believe me—he tried his best to find your family. He couldn't."
"It's okay. I'm happy now. I have my family," I said, glancing at Damon.
He smiled.
After some time, they left. Damon handed me orange juice.
I asked again,
"Damon, how did you find out about Ethan?"