6000 days waiting for Melina

chapter 002

MELINA’S POV

The moment the word left his mouth, another gunshot echoed through the building. Then several more followed.

Screams erupted louder outside the corridor while people began running frantically through the gala ballroom.

For a second, I stood frozen. They found me faster than I expected. No. Not just found me. They were hunting me openly now.

Don Ken’s expression turned colder instantly, every trace of calm sharpening into something dangerous.

He stepped toward the hallway entrance slightly and spoke into the small device in his ear. “Get the exits secured.”

His voice remained calm. That somehow made everything more terrifying. I grabbed his arm again before he could move farther away. “My uncle is still out there.”

His eyes flicked toward me briefly. “My men will handle it.”

“You don’t understand—”

“I understand enough.”

Before I could argue again, four men in black suits appeared at the end of the hallway almost immediately.

Not bodyguards. Soldiers. The difference was obvious in the way they moved. Efficient. Silent. Deadly. “Boss,” one of them said quickly. “The east side is compromised.”

Don Ken nodded once. “Get the car ready.”

Then he looked at me. “Stay close to me.” I hated how immediately my body obeyed. We stepped back into the ballroom together, and the scene had already become chaotic.

People were screaming while security tried desperately to move guests toward the exits. Broken glass glittered across the marble floors beneath flashing emergency lights.

And then I saw them. Masked men. Three near the northern entrance. Two more moving through the crowd. My blood turned to ice instantly.

Club Seven assassins.

Even through the masks, I recognized the way they operated. They were precise and clean. No hesitation. One of them spotted me.

The moment our eyes met, he reached for his weapon. “Down!” someone shouted. Gunfire exploded through the ballroom. The sound nearly deafened me.

Don Ken grabbed my arm hard and pulled me against his chest just as bullets shattered the glass wall behind us.

People dropped to the floor screaming. His men moved immediately, weapons already drawn while shielding us from every direction.

This wasn’t protection. This was military coordination.

One of the masked men rushed forward through the chaos, but before he could fire again, Don Ken calmly pulled a gun from beneath his jacket and shot him directly in the head.

My breath caught violently. The assassin collapsed instantly. No hesitation. No emotion. Like killing meant absolutely nothing to him.

Another gunshot rang out. Then another. The entire ballroom became a war zone. “Move,” Ken ordered sharply.

His men formed around us immediately while leading us through the side exit corridor. I stumbled slightly in my heels as more bullets slammed into the walls nearby.

My pulse was completely out of control now.

“They weren’t supposed to find me here,” I whispered shakily.

Ken glanced at me once. “Then someone told them.”

Fear twisted harder inside my chest at the implication. No. No, my uncle would never…Another crash sounded somewhere behind us.

One of the assassins had followed. Ken shoved me behind him immediately before firing twice without even looking nervous.

The masked man dropped hard onto the floor. I stared at him in shock. The stories about Don Ken suddenly felt far too real. We finally reached the underground parking structure moments later.

Several black vehicles were already waiting. One of his men opened the back door quickly. “Boss.”

I immediately shook my head. “Wait.” Ken looked at me impatiently. “My uncle,” I said again desperately. “I’m not leaving without him.”

For the first time, irritation flickered across his face. “He’ll be handled.”

“You don’t know that!”

“He walked into this gala under my protection,” Ken said coldly. “Nobody touches him tonight.”

The certainty in his voice should have reassured me. Instead, it terrified me more. Because men only spoke like that when they were used to being obeyed without question.

Another round of gunshots echoed from upstairs.

Ken’s expression hardened instantly. “We’re leaving.”

Before I could protest again, he pushed me into the back seat beside him while his men entered the surrounding vehicles.

The engines roared to life immediately. And seconds later, we sped out of the underground garage.

I twisted around quickly, staring back at the gala building disappearing behind us. Everything inside me still screamed to go back.

My uncle raised me after my parents died. He trained me. Protected me. Prepared me for the empire my father left behind. Without him, I would have died years ago.

“He’ll be fine,” Ken said suddenly beside me. I looked toward him sharply.

“How can you sound so sure?”

His gaze remained fixed ahead calmly. “Because I already have men securing the building.”

The answer should have comforted me. Instead, exhaustion finally started settling heavily into my bones.

Adrenaline was fading now. Leaving behind fear.

Silence filled the car briefly while Los Angeles lights blurred outside the windows.

Then finally, Ken spoke again. “How did you get involved with men like that?”

I looked down at my trembling hands for a moment before answering quietly. “I know something they don’t want exposed.”

“What?”

“A secret.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “That secret is worth assassins storming a gala?”

“You don’t understand how powerful they are.”

“Try me.” I hesitated. For years, even speaking the name aloud felt dangerous. But I already crossed too many lines tonight.

“There’s a group,” I said carefully. “Seven men.” Ken remained silent, watching me now. “They call themselves Club Seven.”

The reaction was immediate. His entire body was still beside me. Slowly, he turned toward me fully.

For the first time since meeting him, genuine emotion crossed his face.

Not curiosity. Shock. “What did you say?”

My throat tightened slightly. “Club Seven.”

His stare darkened instantly. “How do you know that name?”

Years of buried memories twisted painfully inside me. Blood. Secrets. My father’s death. The lies that followed after. I forced myself to meet his gaze anyway.

“Because,” I whispered quietly, “my father was the seventh member.”

Silence crashed heavily inside the car. Then I delivered the final blow. “And now he’s dead.”