Chapter 7: No More Rules
1058 Words
The hospital room was too quiet.
Regal lay still, staring at the ceiling, her body heavy with exhaustion and pain. The steady beeping of the monitor beside her was the only reminder that she was still here.
Still alive.
Barely.
Her arm ached. Her side throbbed with every breath. Even blinking felt like effort.
But none of that compared to the anger slowly building inside her.
They didn’t just want to frame her.
They wanted her gone.
⸻
The door opened.
Regal didn’t turn her head.
She already knew who it was.
Sebastian Cole.
His presence filled the room before he even spoke.
“Everyone out.”
His voice was low.
Controlled.
But there was something beneath it—something dangerous.
The nurse hesitated.
“She just regained consciousness—”
“I said out.”
This time, there was no room for argument.
Within seconds, the room was empty.
Silence returned.
He stepped closer.
Regal could feel his eyes on her.
“You look worse than yesterday,” she muttered weakly.
A pause.
Then—
“That’s not funny.”
His tone was sharp.
She almost smiled.
Almost.
“At least I still have a sense of humor,” she said.
Sebastian didn’t respond.
Regal slowly turned her head.
And froze.
His expression wasn’t calm.
Not controlled.
Not distant.
It was anger.
Cold.
Focused.
Dangerous.
“Who did it?” he asked.
Straight to the point.
Regal swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
His jaw tightened.
“You were drugged,” he said. “Then attacked after lights out.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“You know all that?”
“I make it my business to know.”
A pause.
Regal looked away.
“I didn’t see their faces,” she said quietly.
Sebastian studied her.
Then—
“Someone paid for it.”
Not a question.
A fact.
Regal’s fingers tightened slightly against the sheets.
“I figured.”
Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
“I remember seeing him,” she said.
Sebastian’s gaze sharpened instantly.
“In the courtroom. Before… all this.”
She hesitated.
“He was watching me.”
Sebastian didn’t interrupt.
“He didn’t look like someone who just came to watch a case,” she added.
A beat.
Then—
“He wasn’t.”
Regal looked at him.
“You know who he is.”
Sebastian exhaled slowly.
“I do.”
Her heart skipped.
“And?”
Sebastian’s eyes darkened.
“He’s not someone you survive by accident.”
The words sent a chill through her.
Regal pushed herself slightly, ignoring the pain.
“Then stop talking in riddles and tell me what I’m dealing with.”
For a moment, Sebastian said nothing.
“He runs a network,” he said. “Illegal operations. Quiet. Efficient.”
Regal’s stomach dropped.
“A gang?”
“More than that.”
Silence.
“The man who died,” Sebastian continued, “was involved with his daughter.”
Regal froze.
“What?”
“The relationship ended badly.”
Pieces began to click.
Too fast.
Too dangerous.
“You think—”
“I don’t think,” Sebastian cut in. “I know.”
Her breath caught.
“He wanted him dead.”
“And I was just… there,” she whispered.
“At the wrong time,” Sebastian finished.
Silence filled the room again.
But this time, it felt different.
Clearer.
More terrifying.
“So what now?” Regal asked quietly.
Sebastian stepped closer, his expression unreadable again—but the anger hadn’t disappeared. It had only settled deeper.
“Now,” he said, “we stop reacting.”
Regal frowned slightly.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” Sebastian continued, “we go on the offensive.”
A pause.
Her heartbeat quickened.
“You’re talking about taking on a gang leader,” she said. “From a hospital room.”
“I’m talking about keeping you alive,” he corrected.
Silence.
“You’re not going back to detention.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Can you even do that?”
“Yes.”
The confidence in his voice wasn’t reassuring.
It was absolute.
“How?” she asked.
“I’ll file for emergency bail on medical and security grounds,” Sebastian replied. “And this time, they won’t be able to ignore it.”
Regal studied him.
“You sound very sure.”
“I am.”
A beat.
“And when I get out?” she asked.
Sebastian’s gaze held hers.
“You come with me.”
Her stomach tightened slightly.
“Your place?”
“My protection.”
There it was again.
That tone.
Not a suggestion.
A decision.
Regal let out a slow breath.
“You’re very used to being in control, aren’t you?”
Sebastian didn’t deny it.
“It keeps people alive.”
That shut her up.
For a moment.
⸻
“But this doesn’t make sense,” she said after a while. “Why are you doing all this for me?”
The question lingered.
This time, he didn’t dodge it completely.
“You analyze cases,” Sebastian said. “On your channel.”
She blinked.
“We’ve established that.”
“You notice things others miss.”
Her chest tightened slightly.
“And?”
“And I need that.”
A pause.
Then—
“And I don’t take cases I intend to lose.”
Regal held his gaze.
Something about that answer, felt incomplete.
But also honest.
In its own way.
⸻
A knock interrupted them.
Sebastian didn’t turn.
“Come in.”
A nurse stepped inside cautiously.
“Visiting time is almost over.”
Sebastian nodded once.
Then looked back at Regal.
“Get some rest.”
She almost laughed.
“After everything?”
“You’ll need your strength,” he said.
A beat.
“For what’s coming.”
⸻
As he turned to leave—
Regal spoke again.
“Sebastian.”
He stopped.
But didn’t turn.
“If I hadn’t met you…” she said quietly, “I’d probably be dead by now.”
Silence.
“That won’t happen,” he replied.
Calm.
Certain.
Final.
And then he walked out.
⸻
Regal lay back slowly, staring at the ceiling again.
But this time, her thoughts weren’t just filled with fear.
They were filled with something else.
War.
- Writer
