UntitledChapter 14 – Bloodlines and Betrayal
1639 Words
Cold night air rushed through the hospital entrance.
Rain had begun to fall again, the droplets glistening under the streetlights like tiny shards of glass.
Ametrine’s heart pounded as she stood beside Zyair and Leon near the hospital stairwell exit.
Across the parking lot, black vehicles surrounded them.
Armed men stepped out slowly.
And in the center of them all stood Marco Orsini.
Elegant.
Calm.
Deadly.
He looked exactly the way powerful men always did in stories—perfectly dressed, completely composed, as if violence were simply another part of business.
Marco’s gaze fixed on Ametrine.
“Doctor Ambrose.”
His voice was smooth.
Almost polite.
“We finally meet.”
Zyair stepped slightly in front of her, raising the pistol Leon had given him.
“Take another step and I shoot.”
Marco smiled faintly.
“You’ve just survived surgery, Mr. Sterling.”
His eyes flicked toward the bandage visible beneath Zyair’s shirt.
“I doubt your aim is steady tonight.”
Zyair didn’t lower the weapon.
“Try me.”
The tension in the air was suffocating.
Rain pattered against the asphalt.
The men around Marco lifted their weapons slowly.
Leon muttered under his breath.
“This isn’t good.”
Marco lifted a hand slightly.
His men paused.
Then he looked back at Ametrine.
“You’ve been difficult to find.”
“I wasn’t hiding very well if you’re here,” she replied coldly.
Marco chuckled softly.
“Oh, you hid beautifully.”
He tilted his head.
“Which makes this moment all the more satisfying.”
Zyair’s voice hardened.
“State your business.”
Marco ignored him.
His eyes never left Ametrine.
“Your parents were remarkable people.”
Her heart skipped.
Zyair noticed immediately.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
Marco took a slow step forward.
“Do you know who you really are, Ametrine?”
Her stomach twisted.
“I know enough.”
“No,” Marco said softly.
“You know the lie.”
The rain grew heavier.
Ametrine’s chest tightened.
“Stop talking in riddles.”
Marco smiled again.
“Very well.”
He folded his hands behind his back.
“Your mother wasn’t just a doctor.”
Ametrine’s pulse roared in her ears.
“She was part of something much bigger.”
Zyair glanced at her.
“You never told me that.”
“I didn’t know,” she whispered.
Marco nodded.
“That’s because your parents tried very hard to protect you.”
He paused deliberately.
“Your family once controlled something extremely valuable.”
Zyair frowned.
“What kind of value?”
Marco’s smile darkened.
“Influence.”
The rain dripped slowly from his hair as he continued.
“Your mother belonged to one of the oldest bloodlines connected to the Kensington Medical Foundation.”
Ametrine’s eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.”
“Oh?”
Marco tilted his head.
“You’ve heard the name.”
“Of course I have.”
The Kensington Foundation was legendary.
It funded research hospitals across the world.
Its founders were considered medical pioneers.
Marco spread his hands slightly.
“Your grandmother was one of them.”
The ground seemed to vanish beneath Ametrine’s feet.
“No…”
“Yes.”
Zyair stared at her.
“You’re connected to the Kensingtons?”
Marco answered before she could.
“Not connected.”
His voice lowered.
“She’s the last surviving heir.”
Silence fell across the parking lot.
Even the rain seemed to quiet.
Ametrine’s mind spun.
“My grandmother… she lived in a small countryside house.”
Marco smiled knowingly.
“Yes.”
“Because she was hiding.”
The truth hit like lightning.
All those years.
The quiet life.
The isolation.
Her grandmother had never been poor.
She had been protecting her.
Zyair’s voice turned sharp.
“And the Orsini family wanted control of that inheritance.”
Marco’s smile widened slightly.
“You’re catching on.”
Ametrine felt her hands clench.
“So you killed my parents.”
Marco shrugged lightly.
“They refused cooperation.”
Rage exploded inside her chest.
“You murdered them.”
“They chose defiance.”
Before Zyair could stop her—
Ametrine stepped forward.
Marco’s men raised their weapons instantly.
Zyair grabbed her arm.
“Wait.”
But she didn’t stop.
Instead she walked directly toward Marco.
Rain soaked her hair and clothes.
“You’ve hunted me my entire life,” she said quietly.
“Yes.”
“And tonight you came to finish it.”
Marco smiled.
“Something like that.”
One of his men moved closer to grab her.
And that was when it happened.
In one swift motion—
Ametrine twisted her body sideways.
Her hand shot out, grabbing the man’s wrist.
She spun sharply, using his momentum to slam him hard against the car beside them.
The man collapsed instantly.
Everyone froze.
Even Zyair stared.
Ametrine stood calmly over the unconscious attacker.
Her breathing steady.
Marco raised an eyebrow.
“Well.”
“That’s new.”
Zyair blinked.
“You… fight?”
Ametrine glanced back at him.
“My grandmother insisted.”
Leon muttered softly.
“I like her already.”
Marco laughed quietly.
“So the hidden surgeon also knows how to break bones.”
Ametrine’s voice was ice cold.
“You should see what I can do with a scalpel.”
Marco seemed genuinely amused.
“You’re even more interesting than I expected.”
But suddenly—
A g*n clicked behind Zyair.
Leon turned slowly.
One of the men standing near them stepped forward.
Removing his mask.
Zyair’s eyes widened.
“Victor?”
Victor had been part of Zyair’s security team for years.
Trusted.
Reliable.
Until now.
Victor raised his weapon calmly.
“Sorry, boss.”
Leon cursed under his breath.
“You traitor.”
Victor shrugged.
“The Orsini family pays better.”
Zyair’s voice dropped dangerously.
“You sold us out.”
“Business is business.”
Marco chuckled.
“Betrayal is such a useful tool.”
Ametrine felt the tension snap.
Zyair was injured.
They were surrounded.
And now one of their own had turned.
Victor aimed his g*n directly at Zyair.
“Drop the weapon.”
Zyair didn’t move.
Victor sighed.
“I really didn’t want to shoot you tonight.”
Ametrine’s mind moved quickly.
Too quickly.
She stepped slightly closer to Zyair.
“Wait.”
Victor glanced at her.
“What?”
“You want me, don’t you?”
Marco answered.
“Very much.”
“Then let him go.”
Marco considered it.
Then shook his head.
“Unfortunately… I prefer leverage.”
Victor began pulling the trigger—
But he never finished.
Ametrine moved faster than anyone expected.
Her elbow struck Victor’s wrist.
The g*n fired into the air.
At the same moment she twisted his arm sharply behind his back.
Victor screamed as the joint snapped.
Zyair stared.
Leon burst out laughing.
“Remind me never to make her angry.”
Chaos erupted instantly.
Marco’s men opened fire.
Zyair grabbed Ametrine and pulled her behind the stairwell wall.
Bullets shattered glass and concrete.
Leon returned fire from behind a car.
Marco stepped back calmly into the rain.
“Enough.”
His voice cut through the gunfire.
His men stopped.
The sudden silence was eerie.
Marco studied Ametrine again.
“You truly are your mother’s daughter.”
Her chest heaved.
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“And she fought just like that.”
A strange sadness crossed his face briefly.
“Such a waste.”
Zyair glared at him.
“You killed her.”
Marco shrugged.
“Your father pulled the trigger.”
Ametrine froze.
“What?”
Zyair’s expression hardened.
“That’s impossible.”
Marco tilted his head.
“Is it?”
He stepped forward slowly.
“Your father worked for us once.”
The world tilted.
“He was ordered to bring your mother and you to us.”
Ametrine’s breath stopped.
“He refused.”
Marco nodded.
“And then?”
“Then someone else completed the job.”
The rain soaked through her clothes.
“My father…”
Marco’s voice softened slightly.
“Was executed for disobedience.”
The truth shattered the last pieces of her past.
Her parents had died protecting her.
All this time she had believed they were simply victims of circumstance.
But they had chosen defiance.
Zyair stepped closer to her.
“You okay?”
She nodded slowly.
Then looked at Marco again.
“You ruined my family.”
Marco sighed.
“Your family ruined themselves.”
“Why?”
“Because power must belong to those strong enough to control it.”
Ametrine’s eyes burned.
“You’ll never control me.”
Marco smiled faintly.
“Perhaps not tonight.”
He turned toward his men.
“But the game is far from over.”
He looked back once more.
“Next time, Doctor Ambrose… we won’t be so gentle.”
Then he stepped into the car.
The vehicles drove away slowly into the rain.
Leaving behind silence.
Broken glass.
And a wounded traitor groaning on the ground.
Zyair finally exhaled.
“Well…”
Leon kicked Victor’s weapon away.
“That escalated quickly.”
Zyair turned to Ametrine.
“You’re secretly a surgeon… a combat fighter… and the heir to a medical empire.”
She sighed.
“When you say it like that it sounds dramatic.”
Leon laughed.
“It is dramatic.”
Zyair looked at her quietly.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
But her eyes burned with something new.
Determination.
“The Orsini family started this war.”
Zyair’s voice darkened.
“Then we finish it.”
Ametrine looked toward the dark road where Marco had disappeared.
And for the first time since learning the truth—
She wasn’t afraid.
She was ready.
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