From the perspective of Selena
My heart was pounding as we finally stopped—somewhere between nowhere and oblivion. No headlights behind us. No roar of motorcycles. No shouting.
Just the dark.
I slipped off my helmet, barely registering Mike's motorcycle cooling beside me. Without thinking, I ran straight to Felix and threw my arms around him, clutching him as if the world might swallow him again.
At first, he froze—startled—but then he wrapped me tightly in return, his chin resting lightly against the top of my head.
"I was so scared," I whispered against his chest. "But we did it. We got you away from Lucas."
Felix exhaled slowly, his voice low and grim. "You think he'll chase us? He won't. He'll strike differently. Make us want to come back."
I leaned back to look at him, searching his eyes. "What do you mean?"
He didn't answer right away. His gaze moved to Eve, then Mike. Their expressions mirrored their conflict—Mike's filled with warmth and pride at having reunited with his old friend, while Eve remained cold and guarded. She'd never trusted Felix. She helped only because of me.
"Thank you," Felix said, turning to them. "But you shouldn't get involved anymore. Go home. I know you have a daughter now, Mike. This isn't your fight."
Mike gave him a crooked smile. "I wanted to do more for you, bro. But... I get it. I just want you to find happiness, finally."
Felix nodded, his voice soft. "I appreciate it. But seriously—go. Be with your family."
He wasn't the same boy I remembered. There was something quieter in him now. Something that hurt more than it raged.
Eve's arms were crossed tightly against her chest. "I don't like leaving my friend with you," she said sharply. "I'm terrified, to be honest. I know her. She won't leave your side now that she's decided to help you. But don't you dare let anything happen to her."
Felix stiffened under her stare.
"You owe her, Felix. It was because of you that she suffered in the first place. I can only hope that whatever therapy you had gave you more than just medication. Because if she gets hurt again—if you or that psychotic cousin of yours do anything to her—I will hunt you both down and cut you to pieces."
Her voice didn't shake. She meant every word.
Even though I was still trembling inside, I smiled faintly and walked to her, holding her in a long, tight hug.
"I think he knows not to doubt your threats," I whispered. "Give Lily a kiss from me, and tell her her aunt will be back soon."
I turned to Mike and nodded. "Take care of your family. Be safe. I'll be in touch."
"We'll be waiting. Just let us know you're alive."
When they finally left, driving off into the dark, I felt it settle over us—the beginning of the storm. The moment when you know the real hell is just starting.
Felix stood beside me in the stillness, lit only by the faint glow of the stars above.
"We're in the middle of nowhere," he said, his voice tight. "What's your plan, Selena?"
I listened. Only the chirping of crickets from the tall grass answered us. No cars. No houses. No chance encounters. Just us.
"We'll cut through the forest," I told him, pointing into the shadowed line of trees in the distance. "It'll take a while, but it's the safest way."
I turned to him. "But first, we need to get rid of your phone. Lucas is too quiet. That's not like him. I'm sure he's tracking you."
Felix didn't even blink. He pulled the phone from his pocket, turned it off, and then hurled it to the ground. The screen shattered against the concrete. He crushed it beneath his shoe for good measure.
"He'll find another way," he murmured. "He won't chase us. He'll pull the strings until we come crawling back. That's who he is. So be prepared, Selena. Our escape won't go smoothly."
I looked at him, heart sinking. "Then why did you even propose this?"
He stepped closer, his eyes burning with something that looked dangerously close to desperation.
"Because it's the only way to be with you. I know it's selfish. I know I've put you through hell. But I also know you still can't live without me. Just like I can't breathe without you. So I'll take the risk. I'll take everything. You won't suffer—I will. I'll protect you. No matter what."
The air was still. The road behind us was empty. Ahead lay only darkness and the unknown.
I was risking everything for a man who had broken me in the past. A man I had every reason to hate—and yet, he was still everything to me.
Maybe I was stupid. Maybe Eve was right. Maybe others would say I was naive to love someone who'd once burned me to ashes.
But every person has that someone. The one who remains lodged in the heart like a splinter in the soul—no matter how much it hurts.
And sometimes, that someone deserves a second chance—especially when they've crawled out of hell and lived to tell the tale.
He deserved to be free from his family's demons.
And I was willing to help him.
Even if it cost me everything.
*
From Lucas' perspective
I rubbed my lower lip with one finger, eyes fixed on the laptop screen.
Felix's signal had gone dark.
He'd turned off his phone.
The last ping placed him somewhere in the outskirts—middle of nowhere. Some roadside commotion, maybe. It didn't matter.
What mattered was the sting in my chest. My beloved little brother. My flesh and blood. And this… was how he repaid me?
I got him out of that godforsaken psychiatric hospital. I gave him a roof over his head, protected him, made sure he had everything he needed. I raised him when no one else would. I held him together like broken glass in bleeding hands—and he shattered me anyway.
He ran away… with her. That foolish little vixen. That disease in his life who would drag him back to rock bottom—just like last time.
He would come back to me. I was sure of it. With his tail tucked between his legs. But when he did... there would be no mercy.
Especially not for her.
That manipulative, rebellious bitch had been on my radar ever since I ordered her to cut ties with Felix. I knew she'd try something. I expected rebellion. But I didn't expect her to have the audacity to steal him from under my nose. At my club, of all places.
That part still amused me. It was almost… comical.
But someone tipped her off.
"Sebastian!" I barked.
A moment later, my most loyal dog came scurrying into the room, face pale, posture stiff.
"Boss? You need me?"
I didn't look away from the camera footage.
"You're my best man. My right hand." My voice was calm—too calm. "You've dealt with Selena twice. So tell me… how the fuck did you not recognize her when she stood right in front of you?"
He blinked. "I… I don't understand."
I lifted my face and looked him dead in the eyes.
"I don't understand either. Whose side are you on? Are you another ungrateful little rat, like my brother? After everything I gave you? You stab me in the back?"
He swallowed hard, sweat forming on his brow.
"If you mean the woman from the club… the one who took Felix—I swear, boss—I didn't recognize her. She was in disguise…"
I let silence fall like a guillotine.
"Really?" I asked coldly. "Then who told her we'd be there? If not a former classmate?"
I watched him shrink under my gaze. His fingers twitched, playing nervously with one another. Guilty hands.
"Boss, I…"
"I know everything, Sebastian. About everyone. Every person who's ever crossed me. You think I'm some fool you can outmaneuver? Are you on her side now? That poisonous little whore who drove my brother mad and left him to rot in a psych ward?"
My voice roared through the office as I shot up from my chair.
Sebastian flinched and dropped to his knees.
"Please," he stammered. "It's just that… Felix told me how much he was hurting. How much he wanted to be with her. I just… I felt like I had to help."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Because she's his obsession. His addiction!"
"And he's yours," Sebastian blurted, clearly not thinking, not realizing he'd just lit a match near a powder keg. "You keep him here like a prisoner. If you really cared, you'd see how much you're hurting him. He's afraid of you."
A sharp, hysterical laugh tore from my throat. The kind that had no humor in it. Just venom.
"You must be out of your fucking mind," I hissed.
I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up, like a puppet dangling from strings. He still refused to meet my eyes.
"Where are they?" I snarled. "Where did she take him?"
"I don't know, boss. I swear, they never told me anything."
I shoved him hard. He fell like a rag doll, and I paced the room in furious silence, fingers raking through my hair.
Then something clicked.
A memory.
A smile curled on my lips—slow, wicked, deliberate.
"Oh… maybe this will refresh your memory."
I reached down, hauled him back up, and dragged him down the hall. I pushed him into one of the guest rooms.
Only tonight… it held a special guest.
Tied to a chair, mouth taped shut, sat a young woman. Her eyes burned with fury as she glared at me. Even gagged, she looked like she could kill.
She was beautiful like this. Trapped. Defiant. Helpless. The contradiction made me grin.
Sebastian gasped beside me, frozen in place.
"Well?" I purred, throwing my arm around him. "I hope you recognize this classmate. She's not in disguise."
"Hannah…" he whispered, his voice cracking. "Why is she here?"
"Because she helped them escape," I said cheerfully. "So now? She's mine. My toy. My punishment."
"You're going too far," he stammered. "She had nothing to do with this. Maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time—"
I turned my gaze back to her, biting my lower lip as I admired the beautiful irony of fate. Life was cruel. Life was perfect.
"Destiny," I murmured. "She's such a wicked little bitch."