Chương 15 - Sins of the Father
The blast was contained, deafening, and violent.
The magnetic seal shattered in a blinding shower of white-hot sparks. The heavy ballistic glass didn't break, but the lock bolts violently sheared off under the concussive pressure. Elias hit the heavy door with his full body weight, driving his shoulder into the reinforced steel.
The door flew open.
Ward spun, lifting his weapon, but Saraphina was already inside. Fueled by raw, maternal fury, she swung the heavy iron crowbar she had carried from the dock. The metal slammed into Ward’s wrists with a sickening crack.
The submachine gun clattered across the tiled floor.
Ward shrieked in agony, stumbling back, but Elias was already upon him. Elias caught the older man by the throat, lifting him clear off his feet, and slammed him against the concrete wall with enough force to rattle the foundations.
"Don't kill him!" Saraphina cried out, scooping Leo into her arms.
The little boy buried his face into her neck, sobbing uncontrollably, his tiny fingers clinging to her sweater like life preservers. "Sara! You came back! The bad man said you were dead!"
"I'm here, sweet boy. I'm never leaving you," she whispered, kissing his hair, tears finally spilling freely down her cheeks as she shielded his eyes from the violence.
Elias’s fingers were crushing Ward’s windpipe. The silver-haired executive gasped for air, his heels drumming helplessly against the wall.
"Who opened the London vault?" Elias hissed, his voice like grinding tectonic plates. "Answer me, or I swear to God I will tear your jaw from your skull."
Ward choked, a bloody bubble popping on his lips. "It... was... Julian..."
Elias’s eyes dilated. "Julian is dead!"
"He... faked... the crash..." Ward wheezed, his face turning dark purple. "Julian... sold your father out twenty years ago... and he sold... the Morettis... to Sterling. The vault contains the original blood contracts. Kingston... your entire empire... was built on a lie Julian told you..."
Elias froze. The revelation hit him like a physical blow.
His entire life—his rise to power, the war he waged to avenge his family, the ruthless crusade that had turned him into a monster—had been orchestrated by the very mentor he revered.
Before Elias could demand another word, Ward bit down hard on his back molar.
A faint pop echoed in the room.
Within three seconds, Ward’s eyes rolled back. His body convulsed violently, foam spilling from his lips, and he went completely limp in Elias's grip. Cyanide.
Elias let the corpse drop to the floor. It hit the tiles with a dull thud.
The room fell dead silent, save for Leo's muffled sobs against Saraphina’s neck.
Elias stood there, his hands trembling—a sight Saraphina had never imagined possible. The terrifying King of Kingston looked at his bloody knuckles, his chest heaving, utterly hollowed out by the dead man's words.
"Elias," Saraphina said softly.
He didn't turn around. "My father didn't die in an accident. Julian had him executed. And I spent ten years working for the man who pulled the strings."
Saraphina walked over, shifting Leo to one hip, and placed her free hand firmly against Elias’s back. She felt the violent tension humming through his frame.
"We don't break now, Elias," she whispered, her voice steady and resolute. "We finish this. For your father. For mine. And for Leo."
Elias turned slowly. He looked at Saraphina holding his son—the two people in the world who had every reason to run from him, yet stood beside him in a room full of corpses.
He reached out, his trembling fingers gently cupping Leo’s tear-stained cheek. Leo opened his eyes, sniffled, and reached a small hand out to touch his father’s jaw.
"Daddy," Leo whispered.
May you like
Elias closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against his son’s forehead, exhaling a broken, ragged breath. "I’ve got you, Leo. Daddy’s got you."
***
