"Nooo!! Please let my daughter go! I touch your feet, Louis! Please… please let my Aria go!"
Elara's scream rattled the shadows, her trembling body collapsing to her knees. The proud wife of a Quinn clan woman was now nothing more than a mother begging for her child's life.
Louis's laugh boomed across the room, coarse and triumphant. "Hmphh… Elara Quinn, do you truly think that will save you today?"
The dim light flickered from a single bulb, casting long, jagged shadows across the ten armed men encircling them. Rifles glinted in their hands, each muzzle aimed at Elara and her fourteen-year-old daughter.
Aria whimpered, her breath shallow. The knife wound in her abdomen bled through the fabric of her dress, staining Elara's hands red as she tried in vain to stop the flow. Elara's own face was bruised, and her forehead had splits from repeated blows. Her ribs throbbed with every breath, but her arms never loosened around her child.
Louis stepped forward, leaning heavily on his walking stick. His scarred face twisted into a grotesque smile. "The Quinn clan should have known better. Your husband's arrogance doomed you both. Tonight, the last of your bloodline dies."
Elara pressed her lips against Aria's clammy forehead, her voice breaking. "Take me, Louis! Burn me, torture me, but spare her! She's just a child!"
"Tsk, tsk," Louis sneered, shaking his head. "You know the rules. Once the decision is made, it's final. But don't worry, the night is young, and my men…" His eyes flicked to the guards, who smirked hungrily, "still need to satisfy their greed."
Aria whimpered again. Elara clutched her tighter, fury and terror colliding in her chest.
Then.
The steel door crashed open.
"No one touches her!"
The words cracked through the chamber like thunder.
Every man froze. Even Louis stiffened, the cane digging into the floor as his single leg shifted uneasily.
A tall figure strode into the room, his presence commanding instant silence. The guards lowered their eyes.
"Young master," they greeted in unison.
Louis forced a smile, though unease flickered in his gaze. "Son… I didn't want you to see her like this. But one day you'll have to face the truths of power,"
"I don't care what I see," his son interrupted, his tone sharp as a blade. His eyes, dark, unreadable, swept the room before settling on Elara. "No one lays a hand on her. Not while I'm here."
Elara's blood ran cold. Recognition struck, and her trembling lips formed words like broken glass. "Why… why did you do this to Aria?"
For a heartbeat, his mask slipped. His gaze lingered on the bleeding girl, a flicker of regret softening his expression. But then it was gone. His hand closed around his father's gun. He raised it, aiming directly at Elara.
Her heart plummeted.
"I'll spare you the sight of your daughter's death, Miss Quinn," he said, voice flat, merciless. "You'll go first."
Aria whimpered, clutching her mother's torn sleeve. Elara tightened her hold, ignoring the searing pain in her broken ribs. Tears streamed down her bloodied face. "Kill me a thousand times if you must, but please, let her live!"
The young master's finger curled around the trigger. The guards leaned forward, holding their breath. Louis's grin widened, victory gleaming in his eyes.
The gun roared.
Elara flinched, bracing for pain, but none came. Instead, shards of concrete exploded beside her as the bullet tore into the pillar at her back. Dust and stone rained down.
Louis's smile vanished. "What do you think you're doing?!" he snarled.
The young master's face was unreadable. He stepped closer, the barrel still aimed at Elara, but his voice dropped into a low, chilling calm. "Reminding her what mercy feels like," he said evenly. "A mercy no one else in this room would grant her."
Elara's chest heaved as she stared up at him, horror mingling with confusion. His eyes, hard as steel yet shadowed with conflict, lingered on her and her daughter. For the first time, she didn't know whether she had just met her executioner… or her reluctant protector.
Louis slammed his cane to the ground in fury. "Son,!"
But the young master didn't move his gaze from Elara. And though his gun remained steady, his finger had left the trigger.
Louis yelled. "Then she's mine to kill, son!"
The young master's jaw tightened. He knew how deep his father's hatred for Elara ran, how the very sight of her stoked every flame of bitterness in Louis's chest. Without another word, he handed the gun back and turned away, unable to bear the moment. His voice was low, hollow.
"If you want her dead, then kill her now."
"Son, don't be merciful, remember this sight, this is your work in future."
Saying that, before Louis could pull the trigger, the distant rumble of engines cut through the night. Several cars, fast and closing.
The guards stiffened, raising their weapons. The air in the room grew taut.
"Dad, are they already here?" the son asked, his confusion clear.
"Damn it!" Louis cursed, sudden panic lighting his eyes. "That bastard's here already!"
And with that, without a shred of hesitation, Louis fired. The bullet pierced Elara's chest.
The impact knocked her back against the cold floor. She clutched Aria tighter, trying to shield her even in her final moments. Her lips parted as if to whisper a farewell, but only blood spilt forth. Her consciousness wavered, slipping like water through her fingers.
Louis barked, "Take the girl from her, now!"
But his son seized his arm. "No time, Father! If Jaxon Quinn catches us here, we're finished. Forget the girl. We leave!"
"No! Aria is the key!" Louis snarled.
"We can hunt her later," his son pressed, shoving his father toward the exit. "But if we stay, Jaxon will end us both."
Louis's jaw worked furiously. He wanted Aria. He wanted Elara's corpse. He wanted proof of the Quinn downfall. But in the roar of approaching engines, even his hate bent beneath fear.
"…Fine. Let's go."
Spitting on the ground, Louis flung his pistol toward Elara's limp body. He pressed harder into his son's shoulder, leaning on him for balance, and together they slipped into the night.
Moments later, the abandoned bungalow shook with the sound of a hundred boots. Men in black stormed the compound, weapons drawn.
"Find them!!!" Jaxon thundered.
Before they could reach the upper floor, two sharp gunshots cracked in the distance. Jaxon's heart seized. His stomach churned with dread.
The metallic stench of blood filled the air as he climbed the stairs, his voice echoing through the halls. "Elara! Aria!"
"Boss, we found Mr. Vivian!" a guard called.
Jaxon tore around the corner. His son Vivian, broad-shouldered and long-limbed, was slumped in the arms of two guards, battered, barely conscious.
Jaxon ran to his side, cupping his boy's face, he asked in horror. "How badly?"
"Number of Knife wounds and broken bones," the guard answered quickly. "But he'll live."
"Hospital. Now!" Jaxon barked. "Get him out of here!"
But his heart was already pulling him upstairs. He sprinted, shoving open the door to the room where Elara had fallen.
The sight stopped him cold.
Elara lay sprawled on the floor, Aria still clutched against her chest. Blood pooled beneath them. Her eyes, once fierce, were half-closed, her body already cooling.
Jaxon collapsed beside her, trembling hands hovering over her, afraid to touch. "Elara…" His voice cracked.
Aria stirred faintly, coughing weakly in her mother's arms. Elara forced her heavy eyes open. For the first time that night, hope flickered when she saw Jaxon's face.
With a last surge of strength, she pressed Aria into his arms. Her lips brushed the girl's forehead one final time.
"Protect… our Aria," Elara whispered, her voice barely a breath.
Her eyes slipped closed.
Jaxon's heart stopped. "No, no, no! Elara! Wake up, my love! Look at me, I'm here. Talk to me! Baby? Elara!!! ELARA!!!"
His anguished cries filled the chamber, but his wife was gone.
"Boss!" a guard shouted from the doorway, panic in his voice. "The whole place is wired! Bombs in every corner, we have minutes at best!"
Another man bent down, inspecting Elara's body, then shook his head grimly. "She's too hurt to move, sir. If we try, we'll tear her apart before the blast does."
Jaxon's chest heaved as the truth sank in. He clutched Aria against him, staring down at Elara one last time. His hands shook violently, torn between staying to die with her or leaving to save what remained of his family.
"Boss, we have to go!"
Tears blurred his vision as his men dragged him back, carrying him toward the exit as the countdown of fate ticked around them.
Jaxon's last glimpse of Elara was her bloodied body lying still on the floor, bathed in the flicker of a dying lightbulb.
Minutes later, the bungalow erupted in flames, the explosion consuming everything inside.