Chapter 7: A Father's Choice
Chapter 7: A Father's Choice
"Daddy..."
Lily's frightened voice echoed through the collapsing chapel.
Declan looked up.
Dust drifted through shafts of moonlight as pieces of stone crashed around them.
Celeste stood on the broken staircase, one hand gripping Lily's shoulder, the other pressing a pistol against the little girl's head.
The Black Ravens surrounded her.
Victor slowly raised his rifle.
Celeste smiled.
"Try."
"If anyone fires..."
"...she dies first."
Victor lowered the weapon.
Declan didn't hesitate.
He gently placed Amelia's folder, the silver key, and every piece of evidence onto the stone floor.
"You win."
Victor stared at him.
"Boss—"
Declan silenced him with a glance.
"There is no empire worth my daughter's life."
Celeste nodded with quiet satisfaction.
"I knew you'd finally understand."
"No."
Declan's voice was steady.
"I understand what my wife already knew."
"You never loved this family."
"You only loved controlling it."
Celeste ignored him.
"Adrian."
"Collect everything."
The mercenary leader descended carefully toward the vault.
He picked up the thick folder and flipped through the first pages.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Secret ledgers.
Signed assassination orders.
His expression slowly changed.
Then he opened the final envelope.
Inside was a single sheet.
He read it once.
Then again.
Finally, he looked at Celeste.
"You lied to me."
Celeste frowned.
"What?"
Adrian held up the document.
"My brother."
His voice trembled with restrained fury.
"You told me the Moretti family executed him for stealing."
He looked directly at Declan.
"But these records prove..."
"...you ordered his murder."
The clearing fell silent.
Celeste's calm mask cracked.
"I paid you."
"You were paid to retrieve the child."
Adrian's jaw clenched.
"You used me."
"My brother died protecting Amelia."
"He was helping her escape."
Celeste took one slow step backward.
"You don't want revenge."
"You want money."
Adrian slowly lowered his rifle.
"No."
"I wanted the truth."
Then he turned.
Facing his own mercenaries.
"Stand down."
One by one...
The Black Ravens lowered their weapons.
Celeste realized she was suddenly alone.
Her voice sharpened.
"Do you know who I am?"
Adrian answered quietly.
"A woman with no soldiers left."
Panicked, Celeste tightened her grip on Lily.
"If I fall..."
"...she falls with me."
Before anyone could react—
Lily did something no one expected.
She remembered what Clara had taught her months earlier.
"If a stranger grabs you..."
"Move."
She stomped hard on Celeste's foot.
The older woman cried out.
Lily twisted free.
The pistol fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Declan was already moving.
He sprinted up the staircase.
Wrapped Lily in his arms.
And threw both of them behind the stone altar just as another shot echoed.
Victor tackled Celeste.
The gun slid across the floor.
Everything ended in seconds.
The woman who had ruled the Moretti empire for decades lay pinned beneath the guard she had once tried to buy.
She looked at Declan.
Not with fear.
With disbelief.
"You chose..."
"...her."
May you like
Declan held Lily close.
"Every single time."
