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00:00I was running when I first saw him.
00:02Not gracefully.
00:04Not like in movies.
00:05Stumbling.
00:06Breath short.
00:07My palms slick with sweat and fear.
00:10The alley stretched like a throat closing around me.
00:13The sound of footsteps chasing my own.
00:15I'd taken the nanny job out of desperation, not bravery.
00:18But tonight that word, desperation, had teeth.
00:22It was chasing me.
00:23I crashed through the back door of the mansion, slamming it behind me, chest heaving.
00:27My vision swam.
00:28The hall was marble and silence.
00:30The kind of silence that made you hear your pulse.
00:33I didn't belong here.
00:34This house breathed money, power, and danger.
00:37It was his house.
00:39His name was Damien Cortez.
00:41Cold.
00:42Precise.
00:43Every story in the city whispered his name like a warning.
00:47I'd only seen him once, from a distance, during the interview.
00:50The way he looked at me then, measured, unreadable, made my voice falter.
00:55The agency said he needed someone for his son.
00:58A quiet little boy who'd stopped speaking after his mother died.
01:02They didn't say anything about the blood in his world.
01:04Now I could feel that world closing in.
01:07I turned a corner and froze.
01:09He was standing there.
01:10No sound announced him.
01:12No movement gave him away.
01:13Just that stillness.
01:15Absolute and unnerving.
01:16A man carved out of dark calm.
01:18Black shirt open at the throat.
01:20Sleeves rolled to his forearms.
01:22A vein beating lazily beneath his skin, as if the chaos outside didn't touch him.
01:27He looked at me like he'd been waiting.
01:30Who's chasing you?
01:31Not a question.
01:32A command.
01:33I know one.
01:34I lied, voice breaking.
01:36His eyes dropped to my hands.
01:38The tremor gave me away.
01:39He stepped closer.
01:41The scent of smoke and leather and danger cutting through the air.
01:44I backed into the wall, the cold seeping through my spine.
01:47Try again.
01:48Something in me wanted to obey.
01:50Another part wanted to run.
01:51I made a mistake, I whispered.
01:54His fingers brushed my wrist.
01:56A light touch.
01:57Still my body locked.
01:58His eyes lingered on my face, studying me the way men like him study weaknesses.
02:03You don't belong in places like this, he said quietly.
02:06But you already know that.
02:08I didn't answer.
02:10Couldn't.
02:10The hallway seemed to shrink around him.
02:13The heat of him pulled everything into focus.
02:16The slow drag of my breath.
02:18The way his voice settled low in my stomach.
02:21He didn't raise it, didn't need to.
02:23Behind him, the little boy appeared at the end of the corridor.
02:26Dark curls.
02:27Wide eyes.
02:28Clutching a stuffed bear like it was the last safe thing in the world.
02:32My heart lurched.
02:33Eli, I breathed.
02:35The child blinked at me, then at Damien.
02:37Something fragile passed between them.
02:39A current I couldn't read.
02:41He turned back to me.
02:43You scared him.
02:44His tone wasn't anger.
02:46It was observation.
02:47Judgment.
02:48I didn't mean...
02:50Meaning is irrelevant.
02:51He cut in.
02:53Control is what matters.
02:55He walked past me toward Eli, kneeling down to the boy's level.
02:59His voice softened barely.
03:01Go back to bed.
03:03The child hesitated, then nodded and disappeared into the shadows.
03:06The house swallowed him.
03:09When Damien straightened, he looked different.
03:12Not softer.
03:13Just quieter.
03:14Like something dangerous had gone still beneath the surface.
03:17You took this job because you needed money, he said.
03:20But you didn't ask whose money it was.
03:22I wanted to speak.
03:24To explain that I didn't have choices left.
03:26My rent.
03:28My mother's medical bills.
03:29The endless crawl of survival.
03:32I was just trying to stay above water.
03:34But none of that sounded like enough.
03:37Do you always interrogate your employees like this?
03:40I asked, trying for brave.
03:42His mouth curved, not into a smile, but into something sharper.
03:46Only the ones who lie.
03:48He stepped closer again.
03:50So close I could feel his breath near my ear.
03:53Next time someone chases you, you come to me before you run into my house covered in fear.
03:57Do you understand?
03:59The word my wasn't about the house.
04:01It was about everything it contained.
04:03I nodded, unable to speak.
04:05His gaze dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes.
04:08Good.
04:09He turned to leave.
04:11And for a moment I thought it was over.
04:13But something in me, something reckless, made me whisper.
04:17Why did you hire me?
04:18He stopped.
04:20The pause felt like a blade hanging in the air.
04:22Finally he said,
04:23Because my son called you safe.
04:25I didn't know how to respond.
04:29Safe.
04:30I hadn't been called that before.
04:33He left without another word.
04:35That night I couldn't sleep.
04:37I lay in the small guest room.
04:39The hum of the mansion filling the dark.
04:41Every sound felt amplified.
04:44The creak of the floor.
04:45The whisper of the wind against the windows.
04:48I could feel his presence even through walls.
04:51Like the house itself bent around him.
04:53I thought about his eyes.
04:54The way they saw straight through me.
04:57About Eli.
04:58Silent and small.
05:00Staring up at a father who didn't know how to reach him.
05:02About the moment Damien touched my wrist.
05:05How it wasn't gentle.
05:06But it wasn't cruel either.
05:08It was testing.
05:10The next morning I met Eli in the garden.
05:12He was drawing in the dirt with a stick.
05:14When I sat beside him he didn't look up.
05:16I waited.
05:18Silence hung between us until finally,
05:20he whispered,
05:21You were scared last night.
05:23His voice startled me.
05:25He hadn't spoken before, not to anyone.
05:28Yeah, I said softly.
05:30A little.
05:31You don't have to be, he said.
05:33He doesn't hurt good people.
05:35Is that what you think I am?
05:37He shrugged.
05:39He said you were safe.
05:41The words hit harder the second time.
05:43Safe.
05:44The irony burned.
05:45When Damien appeared at the edge of the garden,
05:49dressed in black again,
05:51watching us with that still, unreadable gaze,
05:54Eli's hand found mine.
05:56Instinct, not trust.
05:57I met Damien's eyes.
05:59He didn't move.
06:00Didn't speak.
06:01But something passed through the air.
06:03Possession, maybe.
06:04Or warning.
06:05Later that evening, I was in the kitchen,
06:07washing dishes, when I felt it again.
06:10That awareness.
06:11I didn't need to turn to know he was there.
06:13You don't lock your doors, he said behind me.
06:16I jumped, almost dropping the plate.
06:18I didn't think.
06:19That's the problem, he said.
06:21You don't think.
06:22You feel.
06:23And feelings get people killed.
06:25His voice was quiet,
06:27but the weight of it pressed down on me.
06:29I turned to face him.
06:30You can fire me if I'm a problem.
06:33He stepped closer.
06:34If you were a problem, you wouldn't still be here.
06:36His eyes caught the light.
06:39Gray, sharp, and unreadable.
06:42I felt my chest tighten.
06:44What are you afraid of?
06:45He asked.
06:46The question slipped under my skin.
06:49I wanted to lie.
06:50Instead, I whispered, you.
06:52He nodded slowly, as if he'd expected that.
06:55Good.
06:56He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
07:00My breath caught.
07:01His hand hovered there, not quite touching,
07:04like he was studying the effect of his nearness.
07:06Fear keeps people honest, he said.
07:08But don't confuse it with safety.
07:11Then he walked away,
07:13leaving the air fractured behind him.
07:15That night I dreamt of him.
07:17His eyes, his voice,
07:18the slow, measured way he moved.
07:20I woke before dawn, pulse racing,
07:23half expecting to find him standing in the doorway.
07:25Instead, I found a note on the nightstand,
07:27in clean, deliberate handwriting,
07:29breakfast at seven.
07:30Don't make him wait.
07:32There was no signature.
07:33He didn't need one.
07:34When I entered the dining room,
07:37the world felt suspended.
07:38He was already seated at the end of the long table,
07:41coffee in hand, reading a file.
07:43The morning light caught the edge of his jaw,
07:46the unbuttoned collar of his shirt.
07:48He looked up.
07:49Sit.
07:49I obeyed.
07:50Eli sat beside him, quiet,
07:52watching both of us like he could feel the static in the air.
07:55Damien closed the file.
07:57You're staying, he said simply.
07:59I blinked.
08:00What?
08:01He leaned back.
08:02You think I didn't see the people following you last night?
08:05You brought danger to my door.
08:06That makes you my responsibility now.
08:09I don't want to be your-
08:10He interrupted with a small, sharp laugh.
08:13You don't get to want.
08:14Not here.
08:16I stared at him,
08:17fury and fear colliding.
08:18You can't just decide that.
08:20He leaned forward, voice dropping.
08:23I can, and I have.
08:24For a moment, I forgot to breathe.
08:27The room felt smaller, the air thicker.
08:30Then he said it, quiet, certain, final.
08:33You'll remember me.
08:35The words sank into me like a mark I couldn't wash off.
08:37I tried to leave three times.
08:45Each attempt ended before it began.
08:47The first, the car wouldn't start.
08:49The second, the gate code didn't work.
08:51The third, one of his men was waiting in the driveway,
08:54silent, unreadable, saying only,
08:57Mr. Cortez said you'd need help unpacking.
09:00That was the moment I understood.
09:03There was no leaving.
09:04Not until he decided I could.
09:06The mansion became a kind of cage.
09:10Beautiful, vast, and inescapable.
09:13I told myself I was here for Eli.
09:16The boy had started speaking again,
09:18in fragments, whispers.
09:20He'd draw pictures of people with no faces,
09:23then hand them to me without explanation.
09:25I'd nod like I understood.
09:26But the truth was, I was unraveling.
09:29Because Damien was everywhere.
09:30I'd feel him before I saw him.
09:32The shift in air pressure.
09:34The silence that followed his steps.
09:36He'd watch me sometimes from the doorway, saying nothing.
09:39Just standing there, arms folded,
09:42like he was cataloging the shape of my fear.
09:44And I hated that part of me lean toward it.
09:47One night, Eli had a nightmare.
09:50I rushed to his room, holding him until he calmed,
09:53whispering lullabies I barely remembered.
09:56When I looked up, Damien was in the doorway again,
09:58his eyes dark, unreadable.
10:01He said nothing.
10:02But when I rose to leave, he said quietly,
10:04Stay.
10:05I froze.
10:06He's asleep.
10:07His gaze didn't waver.
10:09I wasn't talking about him.
10:11Something in his tone pinned me.
10:13I followed him downstairs.
10:14Each step measured.
10:16Deliberate.
10:16The living room was dim, firelight flickering over glass and steel.
10:21He poured whiskey, the motion unhurried.
10:24You think I'm a monster?
10:26He said.
10:27I think you like people to think that.
10:29A small, humorless smile.
10:32It helps.
10:33He handed me a glass.
10:34I didn't take it.
10:35He studied me over the rim of his drink.
10:37Fear looks good on you, he said softly.
10:40It's honest.
10:42Maybe you mistake fear for respect, I said.
10:45Maybe you mistake survival for rebellion.
10:47His words hit low.
10:49He didn't raise his voice.
10:51He didn't need to.
10:52He'd built a world where silence did the work.
10:55He walked closer,
10:56the scent of whiskey and smoke wrapping around me.
10:59I could feel the heat of him even before he touched me.
11:02I should go to bed, I said,
11:05though my voice betrayed me.
11:07Should, he echoed.
11:09But you won't.
11:10His fingers brushed the side of my throat,
11:12tracing the flutter of my pulse.
11:15Your body always tells the truth before you do.
11:18I hated that he was right.
11:20I hated the shiver that followed his touch.
11:23He leaned close,
11:24his voice barely above a whisper.
11:27Tell me what you're afraid of now.
11:29You, I breathed.
11:31His lips curved.
11:33Still?
11:34Yes.
11:35He studied me for a moment that felt endless.
11:38Then, as if granting mercy, he stepped back.
11:40The air between us snapped.
11:42Go, he said.
11:43I ran before he could change his mind.
11:45But even after I shut the door behind me,
11:47I could still feel him.
11:49The echo of his presence settled in my chest,
11:51heavy and electric.
11:54Days passed.
11:54Or maybe it was weeks.
11:56Time blurred inside those walls.
11:58Eli started smiling again,
12:00laughing quietly when I'd chase him through the garden.
12:02For a while, that laughter was the only thing
12:04keeping me tethered to reality.
12:07But the house had rules.
12:09Unspoken.
12:10Rigid.
12:11Certain doors stayed locked.
12:13Certain questions were never asked.
12:14I learned to read the rhythms of his world.
12:17The meetings in the East Wing.
12:19The men in black who came and left at strange hours.
12:22The phone calls that ended with silence and clenched jaws.
12:26Then one afternoon, I overheard my name.
12:28It was in his office.
12:30The door wasn't fully closed.
12:32A man's voice said,
12:33She's a liability, Damien.
12:35You don't know who she talked to.
12:37She didn't talk to anyone.
12:39Damien replied,
12:40calm but sharp.
12:42How do you know that?
12:43Because she's still alive.
12:45The chill that crawled down my spine was instant.
12:48I moved before they could notice me,
12:50heart pounding.
12:51A liability.
12:52Still alive.
12:53The words clung to me like fingerprints.
12:56That night, he came to my room.
12:58No knock, no warning.
13:00Just the door opening and him standing there.
13:02Dark eyes catching the low light.
13:05Did you hear me earlier?
13:06I shook my head, but I wasn't convincing.
13:08He stepped forward.
13:10Don't lie to me.
13:11My throat tightened.
13:12What happens if I do?
13:14He tilted his head, studying me.
13:16You don't want to find out.
13:17The air between us pulsed.
13:19I hated how my pulse matched it.
13:21Then tell me.
13:23I said quietly.
13:24What am I to you?
13:25His expression didn't change, but something flickered in his gaze.
13:29Conflict, maybe.
13:30Or recognition.
13:32You're an inconvenience I can't seem to remove, he said.
13:35It should have hurt.
13:37Instead, it felt like honesty.
13:38He took another step, closing the space until I could feel the warmth of his breath against
13:44my skin.
13:45But don't mistake that for weakness.
13:48I don't, I whispered.
13:50Good.
13:51His hand lifted, fingers threading through my hair.
13:55Because I don't do mercy.
13:57And I don't do love.
13:58Then what is this?
13:59He paused.
14:01Control.
14:01I should have pushed him away.
14:03Instead, I stayed.
14:05His touch burned.
14:06Not cruelly, but with intention.
14:08Testing boundaries I didn't know I had.
14:11He didn't kiss me, not yet.
14:12It was worse than that.
14:14He looked at me like he already owned the space inside my chest.
14:17When he finally left, the air felt hollow.
14:21I sat there, shaking, trying to understand what he'd done to me.
14:25It wasn't attraction.
14:26It was gravity.
14:27And I was already caught.
14:29The next morning, Eli ran to me in the hallway, clutching something small in his hand.
14:35He said to give you this, the boy said.
14:38It was a silver key.
14:40No note.
14:41Just the key.
14:42I turned it in my fingers, feeling the weight.
14:45Did he say what it's for?
14:47Eli shook his head.
14:48He said you'd figure it out.
14:50That night, curiosity beat fear.
14:53I walked the halls until I found the door that fit.
14:55The lock clicked, soft and final.
14:57The room inside was different from the rest of the mansion.
15:01Smaller, colder, lined with metal cabinets and files.
15:05On the desk, a single photograph lay face down.
15:09When I turned it over, my breath caught.
15:12It was me, standing outside the hospital from months ago, before I ever met him.
15:17The date was printed at the bottom.
15:19He'd known me before I arrived.
15:21Before the interview, before I even applied, I dropped the photo, heart slamming.
15:27Footsteps behind me.
15:29You weren't supposed to see that, his voice said.
15:32I turned.
15:33He was in the doorway, eyes unreadable.
15:35But his calm was different now.
15:37Cracked.
15:39You knew me, I said.
15:40He didn't answer.
15:42How long?
15:43Long enough to know you'd say yes, he said quietly.
15:46The words hit like a blow.
15:48You set this up.
15:49He walked forward.
15:51I needed someone I could trust with my son.
15:53So you spied on me?
15:55I protected you.
15:56I laughed bitterly.
15:58You don't know the difference.
15:59He stopped inches from me, jaw-tight.
16:03You're right.
16:04I don't.
16:05Because every time I think about letting you go,
16:07I remember what happens to things I don't control.
16:10I stared at him.
16:12Trembling with anger and something worse.
16:15Want.
16:16You can't keep me here, I said.
16:20He reached out, fingers brushing my chin,
16:23forcing me to meet his eyes.
16:24I already am.
16:25I slapped his hand away.
16:27You think this is power?
16:28It's fear.
16:29He smiled, small and dangerous.
16:31Fear is power.
16:33The tension broke like glass.
16:34I shoved past him, storming down the corridor.
16:37His voice followed.
16:39Low.
16:40Final.
16:42Run if you want.
16:43But understand this.
16:45Every door you open still leads back to me.
16:48I didn't stop until I reached my room, locking the door behind me.
16:52My pulse wouldn't slow.
16:53I pressed my back against the wood, trying to breathe.
16:56He'd known me.
16:57Chosen me.
16:58Controlled everything from the start.
17:00But beneath the fury.
17:01Beneath the betrayal.
17:03There was another truth I couldn't deny.
17:05Part of me didn't want to leave.
17:07That was the worst part.
17:09At dawn, I woke to shouting.
17:13Men in the hall.
17:14Footsteps, hurried and harsh.
17:16I grabbed a robe and opened the door.
17:18Damien was there, gun in hand, eyes cold.
17:21Get Eli, he ordered.
17:23What's happening?
17:24He didn't look at me.
17:26They found us.
17:27Who?
17:28Now?
17:28I ran to Eli's room, heart racing, gathering him into my arms.
17:34His small hands clung to my neck.
17:36Behind me, the sound of glass shattering.
17:38Damien's voice.
17:40Low and lethal.
17:41Barking orders.
17:42When I turned, he was there again.
17:45Face streaked with shadow and fury.
17:47Stay behind me, he said.
17:49And then, over the noise, he glanced at me.
17:51Just once.
17:52The look was raw.
17:54Unguarded.
17:55Something I'd never seen before.
17:56It lasted a heartbeat.
17:58Then the gunfire started.
18:04The sound still lives inside me.
18:06The gunshot.
18:07The glass exploding into light.
18:09The way time stretched before impact.
18:11He moved first.
18:12I didn't see it.
18:13I felt it.
18:14Damien's body colliding with mine.
18:17The weight.
18:17The heat.
18:18The breath leaving my lungs as he pushed me to the floor.
18:21Then silence, thick and pulsing.
18:23I opened my eyes.
18:24His blood was on my hands.
18:26Stay down, he rasped, dragging himself up.
18:29The bullet had grazed his shoulder, but the look in his eyes made it clear.
18:33He wasn't done.
18:35He turned.
18:36Gun raised, firing once.
18:37Twice.
18:38The hallway filled with noise and smoke.
18:40When it was over, the air smelled like iron and endings.
18:43Eli was crying.
18:45I crawled to him, clutching him to my chest.
18:47My hands shook.
18:49My voice wouldn't come.
18:50Damien was already on his feet.
18:52Bleeding, but steady.
18:53He looked at us like he was memorizing the scene.
18:56Then his tone dropped, low and final.
18:59We're leaving.
19:00We drove in silence.
19:02The world outside blurred into night and motion.
19:04His men followed in black cars, headlights cutting through the dark.
19:08I held Eli against me, whispering his name over and over, like it was a spell to keep him safe.
19:14When we finally stopped, it was at a safe house by the coast.
19:18Empty.
19:19Quiet.
19:20Surrounded by fog and salt air.
19:22I put Eli to bed, brushing hair from his forehead, pretending my hands weren't trembling.
19:29When I stepped back into the living room, Damien was standing at the window, shirt half unbuttoned, blood seeping through the bandage on his shoulder.
19:38His reflection in the glass looked almost human.
19:40You should let me clean that, I said softly.
19:44He didn't turn.
19:45I've had worse.
19:47I haven't.
19:48That made him look at me.
19:49The sharpness in his eyes softened, barely.
19:52I moved closer, wordless, and reached for the bandage.
19:56He didn't stop me.
19:57The wound wasn't deep, but the sight of it made something in my chest twist.
20:02You could have died, I said.
20:03Would that matter to you?
20:05I hesitated.
20:06You know it would.
20:08His jaw tightened.
20:09That's exactly the problem.
20:11He turned away, but I caught his wrist.
20:13You think everything's a transaction.
20:16It's not.
20:17He laughed quietly.
20:18No warmth in it.
20:19In my world, everything is.
20:22Then maybe that's why your son stopped speaking.
20:25The silence that followed was thick.
20:28His hand closed around my wrist.
20:30Not hard, but enough to make me feel it.
20:33Careful, he said softly.
20:35I'm not afraid of you anymore, I whispered.
20:37He studied me for a long moment, the air between us sharp with something unnamed.
20:43Then slower this time he let go.
20:45You should be, he said.
20:46But his voice didn't match the words.
20:49That night I couldn't sleep.
20:50The ocean beat against the cliffs outside.
20:52Somewhere down the hall, a door opened.
20:55I didn't move until I felt him in the doorway.
20:58You're not resting, he said.
21:00Neither are you.
21:01He came closer, stopping beside the bed.
21:04The moonlight caught his face.
21:06Tired.
21:07Shadowed.
21:08Almost vulnerable.
21:09Why did they come after us?
21:11I asked.
21:12He sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees.
21:16Because I kept something that wasn't mine.
21:18What?
21:19He looked at me.
21:21You.
21:22The words hit like a storm.
21:24I couldn't breathe.
21:25What are you talking about?
21:27I made a deal, he said.
21:29Months ago.
21:30Before you worked for me.
21:32My pulse quickened.
21:33A deal?
21:34He nodded once.
21:35They wanted leverage.
21:37I gave them a name.
21:38Yours.
21:39My chest went cold.
21:40You sold me.
21:41I protected you.
21:43By giving me away?
21:44He met my stare.
21:46I gave them your name so they'd stop asking for others.
21:49I didn't know they'd come for you.
21:51You used me, I said.
21:53Voice breaking.
21:54He didn't deny it.
21:55Why?
21:56He looked at the floor.
21:57Because I wanted to see if something in this world could stay uncorrupted.
22:01Then you found out it couldn't, I whispered.
22:05He looked up.
22:06No.
22:07I found out it could ruin me.
22:09The room felt too small for the truth.
22:12I wanted to hate him.
22:13I wanted to scream.
22:15But all I could do was watch him.
22:17This man who built his life on control.
22:20Now looking like it had slipped through his hands.
22:23Tell me why you really hired me, I said.
22:26He hesitated.
22:27Because you reminded me of the woman who saved me once.
22:30My throat tightened.
22:32Eli's mother?
22:33He nodded slowly.
22:35She believed I could be better.
22:36She was wrong.
22:38And me?
22:38You made me want to try again.
22:41Something inside me broke.
22:43Not from pain.
22:44Something deeper.
22:45I reached out, fingertips grazing the edge of his jaw.
22:48He didn't move.
22:50Didn't breathe.
22:51Just watched me as if waiting for permission to feel.
22:53I don't forgive you, I said.
22:56I don't want forgiveness.
22:57Then what do you want?
22:59He leaned closer, voice raw.
23:01To forget what I've done when I look at you.
23:04And then he kissed me.
23:07Not gentle.
23:08Not cruel.
23:09Just real.
23:10Two people too far gone to pretend anymore.
23:12My hands found his face.
23:14His hair.
23:15His skin still warm from the fight.
23:17It wasn't peace.
23:18It was surrender.
23:19When it ended, he stayed close, forehead resting against mine.
23:23You should hate me.
23:25I do, I whispered.
23:26But it doesn't change what I feel.
23:29He closed his eyes.
23:30That's what scares me.
23:33By morning, he was gone.
23:35The safe house was empty except for me and Eli.
23:37His men had vanished.
23:39The world felt hollow again.
23:41On the table lay another note, written in the same sharp handwriting.
23:46If they come, take him to the docks.
23:49Don't wait for me.
23:50I burned it.
23:51Hours passed before I heard the engines.
23:53Cars, distant but closing.
23:55I grabbed Eli, running down the back stairs, out through the rain-soaked sand.
24:00But the voice that stopped me wasn't theirs.
24:02Stop, I turned.
24:04Damien stood at the edge of the cliff, gun in hand, clothes torn, eyes wild.
24:09You're hurt, I said.
24:11He shook his head.
24:12It's over.
24:13What did you do?
24:14He gave a faint, broken smile.
24:16What I always do.
24:17I ended it.
24:19I didn't understand until I saw the blood on his other hand.
24:22His knuckles were raw, his eyes distant.
24:25They won't stop, I said.
24:27They will, he murmured.
24:29Because I gave them everything left to take.
24:32I stepped closer, Eli clinging to me.
24:35You don't have to do this.
24:38His gaze shifted to the boy, then back to me.
24:41He's safe now.
24:42Because of you.
24:43Damien.
24:45He reached out, brushing his thumb against my cheek.
24:48You were right.
24:50Fear isn't power.
24:51It's chains.
24:52And I'm tired of wearing them.
24:54The wind whipped around us.
24:55The ocean roared below.
24:57He took a step back, eyes locked on mine.
25:00Take care of him.
25:01I lunged forward.
25:02Don't you dare.
25:03But before I could finish, he whispered,
25:07You'll remember me.
25:10And then he was gone.
25:12The weeks after blurred into a haze of silence and grief.
25:15The authorities called it a disappearance.
25:17His men scattered.
25:19The mansion was sealed.
25:20But some nights, when Eli wakes crying,
25:23I still hear Damien's voice in my head.
25:26Low.
25:26Rough.
25:27Unrelenting.
25:29I tell the boy stories now.
25:31About a man who taught me that safety and control aren't the same.
25:34About a house filled with ghosts.
25:36About how love can destroy and still feel like truth.
25:38Sometimes I wonder if he planned at all.
25:41To break me open.
25:42To make me see the parts of myself I'd buried.
25:45He didn't save me.
25:46He unmade me.
25:48And in the ruin, I learned who I was.
25:50If this story gripped you,
25:52listen to the full audiobook version on our channel
25:55for more dark mafia love confessions
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