The moment Cale stepped forward, the air in the warehouse grew heavy, like a storm waiting to break. His presence radiated danger, an unspoken command that forced everything around him into stillness. Celina's breath hitched in her throat as she stood frozen, unable to look away from his piercing gaze.
"I told you, Celina," Cale said, his voice smooth as velvet, "You cannot escape me."
Darius stood between her and Cale, his stance defensive, but there was a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes—a shadow Celina had never seen before.
Cale smirked, noting the hesitation. "Doesn't it bother you, Darius? That all of this—everything you've fought for—could collapse with just a whisper of truth?"
Darius's jaw clenched, his grip on his gun tightening. "Get out of our way."
"Ah, such determination," Cale mocked, his fingers lightly brushing the side of his jacket. "But determination won't save you."
Celina felt a chill creep down her spine as Cale's eyes turned toward her. The weight of his gaze was suffocating, like he was seeing through every mask she wore. Like he knew her better than she knew herself.
"You're not so different, Celina," Cale said, his tone low, almost coaxing. "You were born to be more than this life, more than a pawn in your father's game. You have the power to rewrite the rules. I can teach you to wield it. To become everything you were always meant to be."
Celina's heart raced as she glanced at Darius, but his eyes were focused solely on Cale, his entire body rigid. The silent tension between them spoke volumes. She could see the storm brewing in Darius's eyes—an anger, a desperation to protect her. But he couldn't stop Cale alone.
"What's your game, Cale?" Celina asked, her voice shaking, but she stood tall, refusing to show weakness. "What do you really want from me?"
"You, Celina," Cale said, taking a slow step forward, "are the key to my future. And once I have you, the Protocol will be mine. Your father's legacy will be mine. And the world will kneel before me."
Celina felt a pang of nausea. The Protocol. That damnable system her father had built, designed to control more than just information. It was more than a weapon; it was a way to bend the very fabric of power to one's will. Her father had tried to protect her from it. But now it seemed that Cale was determined to use it for his own purposes.
"No," Celina whispered, her heart pounding. "You won't control me."
Cale's smile widened. "You think you have a choice? You think Darius can protect you from everything? From me?"
Before Celina could respond, a gunshot rang out, echoing through the space like a thunderclap. The force of it reverberated in her chest. She whipped her head toward Darius, who was standing motionless, his eyes now locked on Cale with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine.
"I'm not trying to protect her from you, Cale," Darius said, his voice dangerously calm. "I'm protecting her from the man I used to be."
Celina's heart skipped a beat. The words hung in the air like a weight, a confession she wasn't sure she was ready to hear. There was more to Darius's past, more to his involvement with Cale than he had ever shared. And now, as they stood facing Cale, the truth seemed like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode.
"You think I don't know who you really are, Darius?" Cale said, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "You've always been weak. You've always been a coward. Hiding behind your loyalty to others while I… I never hesitated to take what I wanted."
"I'm done being your shadow," Darius growled, his fists clenched at his sides. "I'm done following you. And I'm done watching you destroy everything I care about."
Celina's mind spun as the words hit her with the force of a freight train. Darius had once been aligned with Cale? He had been a part of his world?
"No," she whispered, her voice cracking. "You… you were with him?"
Darius's eyes flickered to her, pain flashing across his features. "I didn't have a choice, Celina. I was one of his agents, one of his men. I thought I could make a difference, but I was wrong. I couldn't let him turn you into another one of his tools."
Cale's laughter filled the room, hollow and mocking. "Isn't it fitting, Darius? That after all this time, you still pretend to be the hero? You're nothing more than a broken man clinging to a past he can't escape."
"Enough!" Darius roared, his anger burning through his restraint. He turned to Celina, his gaze intense but filled with a kind of helplessness. "You need to leave. Now. Get out of here."
Celina's world tilted on its axis as she processed his words. Leave? How could she leave? Everything she had fought for was here, right in front of her, falling apart piece by piece.
But the look in Darius's eyes, the desperation in his voice, made her hesitate. She couldn't abandon him—not now, not when everything was on the line.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said, her voice firm despite the storm of emotions whirling inside her. "Not without you."
Darius's gaze softened, his hand reaching out to touch her arm, his fingers warm against her skin. "Celina, please. If you stay, you'll be dragged into this war. I can't let you—"
"I'm already in it," she interrupted, her heart pounding in her chest. "And I'm not going to hide. Not anymore."
Before Darius could respond, Cale stepped forward again, his face twisted with mock sympathy. "How touching. But you've made a grave mistake, Celina."
Celina stood her ground, meeting Cale's gaze with defiance in her eyes. "I don't care what you think. You won't control me. You won't control my destiny."
Cale's expression hardened, the smile slipping from his lips. "Then it's time to end this."
In an instant, Cale lunged forward, his movements swift and precise. Celina barely had time to react as Darius shoved her out of the way, taking the full brunt of Cale's attack.
A flash of silver. The glint of steel.
Darius's body slammed into the ground with a sickening thud.
"Darius!" Celina screamed, rushing to his side, her hands trembling as she tried to assess the damage. Blood stained his shirt, but his eyes were still focused, still sharp, though he looked pale.
"Get up!" Celina cried, her voice filled with panic. "Please, get up."
Cale's footsteps were slow, deliberate, as he circled around them. "You're too late, Celina. I always win. This is how it ends."
"No," Celina said, her voice trembling with a fury she hadn't known she possessed. "This isn't over. Not yet."
She turned to Darius, desperation rising in her chest. He had to get up. He had to. They had to stop Cale before it was too late.
And as she reached for the gun at her side, her heart steeled with a resolve she didn't fully understand. But she knew one thing for sure.
This fight wasn't over.