Episode 54: The Final Test
987 Words
Lucas Aragon had fought his past for Celeste.
But now, the past was coming back for them.
🔥 He had spared a man when the old Lucas would have put a bullet in his skull.
🔥 He had chosen love over power.
🔥 And for the first time, he had believed that he could have both.
But peace?
🔥 Peace was a fking illusion.**
🔥 And the world wasn’t ready to let him walk away.
Because the moment Lucas thought he was free—
🔥 Someone betrayed him.
🔥 And this time, it might cost him everything.
🔥 Celeste Navarro had started to believe in something dangerous.
🔥 Hope.
🔥 She had watched Lucas walk away from revenge.
🔥 Watched him fight his demons for her.
🔥 Watched him try to be a man who could love without destroying.
🔥 And she had finally let herself believe that they had won.
🔥 That they had survived the fire.
🔥 But that was before the call.
🔥 Before everything came crashing down.
🔥 Before she realized that Lucas Aragon would never truly be free.
🔥 Lucas was standing at the balcony of their penthouse when his phone buzzed.
🔥 Unknown number.
🔥 He almost ignored it.
🔥 Until the message came through.
📲 Check the news.
🔥 Lucas frowned, pulling up the latest headlines.
📢 "MIGUEL RAMIREZ FOUND DEAD—EXECUTED WITH A SINGLE BULLET TO THE HEAD"
🔥 Lucas’s breath caught. His grip on the phone tightened.
🔥 Celeste stepped outside, wrapping her arms around herself. "What is it?"
🔥 Lucas exhaled sharply. "Miguel’s dead."
🔥 Celeste’s stomach twisted. "You… you didn’t—"
🔥 Lucas turned to her, jaw clenched. "No. But someone wants it to look like I did."
🔥 Silence.
🔥 Heavy. Dangerous. The beginning of something neither of them were ready for.
🔥 Because the moment that news hit?
🔥 The moment the city thought Lucas had gone back on his word?
🔥 It wasn’t just about power anymore.
🔥 It was about survival.
🔥 And this time, Celeste wasn’t sure if they would make it out alive.
🔥 Lucas didn’t wait. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t breathe.
🔥 Within the hour, he was in his private club, Rafael at his side, waiting for the one person who had the power to end him.
🔥 Senator Daniel Montoya.
🔥 The man who had always played the game from behind the scenes.
🔥 The man who controlled the city’s politics.
🔥 The man who had always backed Lucas—until now.
🔥 Montoya walked in with two guards, his expression unreadable.
🔥 Lucas didn’t stand. Didn’t acknowledge the tension. Just poured himself another drink.
🔥 "Miguel’s dead," Montoya said.
🔥 Lucas smirked. "So I’ve heard."
🔥 Montoya studied him. "Did you kill him?"
🔥 Lucas exhaled. "If I did, do you think we’d be having this conversation?"
🔥 Silence.
🔥 Then Montoya slid a folder across the table.
🔥 "Then explain this."
🔥 Lucas flipped it open—and his blood went cold.
🔥 Photos.
🔥 Security footage.
🔥 A masked figure entering Miguel’s building the night of the murder.
🔥 And the shape, the build… it looked exactly like Lucas.
🔥 A perfect fking setup.**
🔥 Lucas chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "You really think that’s me?"
🔥 Montoya’s gaze was sharp. "I think I have a room full of people who are ready to vote on whether you should be eliminated."
🔥 Lucas’s pulse pounded. "And what do you think?"
🔥 Montoya leaned forward. "I think you have a fking problem."**
🔥 And for the first time, Lucas realized—
🔥 This wasn’t about Miguel.
🔥 This was about something bigger.
🔥 And someone was trying to erase him from the board.
🔥 Celeste was pacing when Lucas walked through the door.
🔥 His face was unreadable, his body tense, his mind already five steps ahead.
🔥 "Tell me," she demanded.
🔥 Lucas exhaled. "Someone set me up."
🔥 Celeste’s stomach twisted. "Who?"
🔥 Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "I don’t know yet."
🔥 Celeste clenched her jaw. "Then we find them."
🔥 Lucas frowned. "Navarro—"
🔥 Celeste stepped closer, grabbing his collar, forcing him to look at her. "You gave up your need for revenge for me. Now let me fight for you."
🔥 Lucas’s breath hitched.
🔥 Because she meant it.
🔥 She wasn’t afraid.
🔥 She wasn’t asking him to handle it alone.
🔥 She was standing beside him.
🔥 And Lucas had never wanted her more than he did in that moment.
🔥 His grip tightened on her waist. "You really think you can play this game, Navarro?"
🔥 Celeste smirked. "Watch me."
🔥 And Lucas knew—
🔥 If they were going to war, they were going to war together.
🔥 By midnight, they had a name.
🔥 The person who had set Lucas up.
🔥 The person who had killed Miguel and made sure the city would turn against him.
🔥 And when Rafael dropped the file on the table, Lucas felt the floor fking disappear beneath him.**
🔥 Because the name?
🔥 It wasn’t an enemy.
🔥 It wasn’t an outsider.
🔥 It was someone he had trusted.
🔥 Someone he had let into his empire.
🔥 Someone who had been with him from the beginning.
🔥 Rafael exhaled sharply. "It was Montoya."
🔥 Lucas’s hands curled into fists.
🔥 Because the man who had once given him power—
🔥 Had just taken it all away.
🔥 And now, Lucas had a choice.
🔥 Go back to his old ways. Take revenge. Spill blood.
🔥 Or prove to Celeste that he really had changed.
🔥 And the question was—
🔥 Was love really stronger than power?
🔥 Or was Lucas Aragon about to remind the world why he was never meant to be tamed?
🔥 To Be Continued… 🔥
- Writer
