Betrayal's Throne

CHAPTER EIGHT

I kept pacing back and forth in front of her hospital room. It's been over an hour, and yet we've heard nothing. That silence was driving me insane. I was a killer. I kill people for messing with me, for fun, for business, every single day. And yet the memory of her bleeding out helplessly on her bed kept flashing through my head. How could she do this? How could she do something so f*****g selfish?!

She was the one who was in the wrong. She cheated. She broke our family apart. She betrayed me. And yet she thought that she could just kill herself and find a quick way out of this? Never. I don't care if I have to hook her up to bloody machines just to keep her alive long enough until I killed Alex, and gifted her his heart.

Just then, the doors opened and two doctors came out. It took all of me to remain frozen in my position. Some of my men were still here, and them seeing me being moved by emotions was the last thing I wanted. Everyone knew about Summer. She humiliated me.

"How is she?" Viktor said as he moved to stand beside me.

"She's fine actually. All it needed was some stitches, and blood transfusion. The only reason why it took time was that we had to pull out all the tiny shards of glass in her arm to prevent it from causing any damage."

"When is she going to wake up?" I asked.

"We've eased her of the anaesthesia, so probably after a couple of hours." He replied. "I have to go now."

Viktor nodded at him slightly. "Thank you."

"Tell me you have a lead on Alex. I want that bastard dead." I gritted thrgh my teeth.

"No one has actually heard or seen of him lately. It's like he has gone back into hiding."

"That bastard isn't hiding, he's plotting."

"Well–"

"Viktor, I don't want excuses. I want a body bag. Find him." With that, I walked into the room Summer was placed in.

I let out a breath as I stared at what laid before me. What used to be the love of my life. Pale, skinny, lifeless. The only sound in the room were the sounds of the machines, and her ragged breathing.

"Oh, Amore. What have you done?" I whispered, but didn't make any move to get closer.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. Being betrayed by my own family, people I have done nothing but sacrifice for. Alex and I might not have been on peferct talking terms before, but I would have taken a bullet for him any day, any time. And as for Summer, Thanasis, I would have died for them. No hesitation. I have cared about very few people in my lifetime, and yet that had never been enough. I have never been enough.

I cleared out my throat the moment I started to feel it tighten. This wasn't the time or place to let what I have burried over the years find light. First order of business was finding Alex. In the meantime, there will be guards watching all of Summer's move. I can't change the past, but what I can change is letting anybody betray me this bad again.

***

Viktor wasn't wrong. Alex was a ghost, and I was getting more impatient each day. I was always angry, and everyone seemed to have noticed it, because they were being very careful.

"What this?" I said as I scanned through the documents that one of my men handed to me.

"It's the reports of the gun shipments you asked for. This is for the ones that were sent off to Los Angeles."

"Why is there a gap?" I asked, my jaw tightening.

"Sir?"

I glared at the document, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the rows of numbers and dates. "There's a gap in the shipments, a whole week where nothing was sent. Why?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I-I'm not sure, sir. Maybe it was just a pause in the shipments?"

I raised an eyebrow. "A pause? Without any notification? Without any explanation?" I tossed the document into the desk, my eyes never leaving his face. "Find what happened during that week. I want to know every detail, every transaction, every movement. Do you understand?"

He nodded hastily. "Yes, sir. I'll handle it."

"You better handle it. If you don't, just dig up your own grave."

As he scurried away, I turned to Viktor who was standing by me, his expression stoic.

"Spit it out." I said, not bothering to look at him as I pulled out my phone.

"News of Alex's stunt is spreading through the factions. People are talking."

"Then let them talk. It's not like anyone has the balls to say it to my face."

"Adonis--"

"Tell me you have news on Alex."

"He's still like a ghost." He moved closer to me, his hands at his back. "You need to talk to Summer."

My eyes narrowed, but I refused to look at him. "She's still unconscious."

"The doctors say she's slowly gaining consciousness. This morning she was up for about 30 minutes."

I shot a glare at him. "Why am I just hearing this now?"

"Because you refused to have anything to do with her, and I'm the one whose contact got left behind." He let out a sigh. "Adonis, you need to talk to her. Beat her at her own game."

"What game do you think she's playing?"

"Chess?"

I turned to look at him fully. "What are you trying to say?"

"She's trying to stir you up. I examined the cut on her wrist, and even talked to the doctors about it. I assure you, if she wanted to kill herself, that cut would have gone a whole lot deeper. It was precise."

It was all slowly dawning on me. "She's trying to use it to get attention."

"To get out of the house. Honestly, I don't know what she's planning. But I do know one thing, Summer is a whole lot smarter than we are giving her credit for. She's cunning, and if we're too focused on just Alex, she might just be waiting behind to dig another knife through your back."

I leaned back into my chair with a sigh. Never would I thought this would happen to me. If this had happened to someone else, I would have told them to kill Summer without hesitation. But here I am, I couldn't even face the woman.

"You never did like her, did you?" I muttered, staring at the ceilings. "I should have listened to your guts."

"When it comes to matters of love, I suppose one is blind."

I chuckled. "You talk like you've been in love."

He shrugged, his expression giving nothing anyway.

"Go bring the car around." I said. "We're visiting the hospital."

He nodded and walked out of the room, leaving me with my thoughts. I had to do this. It is important I do this.