Blood & Betrayal

The Price of Survival

Marcello led Serena through the darkened hallways of the Callisto mansion, moving with the silent precision of a ghost. The guards stationed outside her door had been taken care of—whether unconscious or dead, she didn’t ask. Right now, all that mattered was finding Damian.

Her heart pounded as they slipped through the corridors, the grandeur of the estate doing little to mask the danger lurking in every corner. Chandeliers cast eerie glows on the polished floors, the faint hum of security systems a reminder that their escape was far from guaranteed.

Marcello stopped at a corner, peeking around before signaling for her to move. “They’ve got him in the lower levels,” he whispered. “Alessandro wants to break him first.”

Serena swallowed hard. She knew what that meant. Her father wasn’t a man of empty threats—if he said he was going to make Damian suffer, he meant every word.

Meanwhile, in the Interrogation Room…

Damian’s breathing was ragged, his wrists raw from the restraints. Blood trickled from a cut on his brow, but his expression remained unreadable, his cold blue eyes locked onto the man standing before him.

Alessandro Callisto.

The older man smirked, wiping his hands with a silk cloth. “You’re tougher than I expected,” he mused, tossing the bloodstained cloth aside. “Most men break by now.”

Damian spat blood onto the floor. “You’re going to have to do better than that, old man.”

Alessandro chuckled. “Oh, I intend to.” He stepped closer, his voice lowering. “You see, Damian, I know your kind. Ruthless. Unforgiving. Just like your father.” His smile turned cruel. “But everyone has a weakness. And I found yours.”

Damian’s jaw clenched. He already knew what was coming.

“Serena.”

Alessandro’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction at the way Damian’s fists tightened. “You care about her more than you admit, don’t you? I could see it in the way you looked at her.”

Damian forced his expression to remain blank. “She’s nothing to me.”

Alessandro’s smirk widened. “Liar.” He leaned in, his voice cold. “I could kill her right now, and there’s nothing you could do about it.”

A deadly silence stretched between them.

Then, for the first time, Alessandro saw something flicker in Damian’s icy gaze.

Rage.

Before he could react, Damian lunged. Despite the restraints, he managed to slam his forehead against Alessandro’s nose, sending the older man stumbling back with a curse. Blood gushed from the impact, but Alessandro’s fury quickly overtook his pain.

“Restrain him!” he barked, and his men rushed forward, striking Damian hard in the stomach. The air left his lungs, but he refused to groan, refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing him weak.

Alessandro wiped the blood from his face, his expression dark. “You’ll regret that.”

Back in the Mansion’s Hallways…

Serena and Marcello reached a reinforced door at the end of a dimly lit corridor. Marcello pulled out a silencer-equipped g*n, checking the corners before nodding.

“This is it,” he whispered.

Serena’s pulse thundered in her ears. If her father found her here, she would never get another chance.

She took a shaky breath. “Let’s end this.”

Marcello smirked. “That’s the spirit.”

With a swift motion, he shot the door’s lock.

The gunfire echoed through the halls.

The fight for Damian had begun.