Episode 5- Then they die
1291 Words
The silence after his words felt criminally loud.
Strategically guided.
I slowly lifted my head from my hands and stared at Kai across the table.
He stared back with the calmness of a man who absolutely belonged on several government watchlists.
“You know what?” I said finally. “I think prison would’ve been less emotionally damaging.”
Kai ignored that.
Dimitri, however, looked suspiciously close to smiling again.
Zar remained motionless beside the wall, looking like violence carved into human form.
I pointed at Kai. “You cannot manipulate someone’s entire existence and then phrase it like a business presentation.”
Kai folded his hands calmly. “It was necessary.”
“For who?!”
“For me.”
The answer came instantly.
No hesitation.
No shame.
Something about that made my chest tighten in a way I didn’t appreciate.
I looked away first.
Bad decision.
Because now I was suddenly aware of the massive dining room around us again. The towering windows. The suffocating luxury. The armed men standing outside the doors.
This wasn’t a house.
It was a fortress pretending to be elegant.
“You’re insane,” I muttered.
Kai’s gaze stayed on me. “That observation has been made before.”
“Oh, good. So we agree.”
“You mistake awareness for concern.”
My eye twitched.
I turned toward Dimitri desperately. “Do you hear this?”
Dimitri adjusted his gloves smoothly. “Constantly.”
“And nobody thought to stop him?”
“That would imply a death wish.”
Kai took another sip of coffee.
I stared at all three of them.
One emotionally unavailable mafia psychopath.
One sarcastic strategist.
One silent assassin who looked like he sharpened knives recreationally.
And apparently this was my family now.
Absolutely horrifying.
“I’m leaving,” I announced suddenly, pushing back my chair.
Nobody moved.
Which somehow felt worse.
I narrowed my eyes. “Why is nobody reacting?”
Kai set his cup down carefully.
“Because,” he said calmly, “you are not leaving.”
“See?!” I pointed at him accusingly. “That! That right there is kidnapping language!”
“You are free to walk out the front door whenever you wish.”
Relief hit me instantly.
“Oh.”
A pause.
Then Kai added smoothly—
“You simply will not survive long enough outside for it to matter.”
The relief vanished.
“You cannot say things like that casually!”
“It is not casual. It is factual.”
I turned toward Dimitri again. “How are you people real?”
“We ask ourselves that often,” he admitted.
I pressed my palms against my temples.
“This cannot be happening.”
Kai stood then.
The movement alone changed the entire atmosphere.
The room seemed smaller once he was on his feet.
More dangerous.
He walked toward me slowly, suit immaculate, expression unreadable.
Every instinct I had screamed to step backward.
Unfortunately my legs had apparently resigned from service.
Kai stopped directly in front of me.
Too close.
Way too close.
“You are overwhelmed,” he said.
“No, really? Was it the secret bloodline, forced marriage, fake assault, staged accident, or mafia imprisonment that gave it away?”
His mouth twitched faintly.
That terrified me more than anything else so far.
Was that almost a smile?
Dear God.
Kai lifted one hand slowly.
I flinched before I could stop myself.
The movement froze the air instantly.
Dimitri’s expression disappeared.
Even Zar’s gaze sharpened slightly.
Kai himself went completely still.
I realized what I’d done a second too late.
Because suddenly the most dangerous man in the room was staring at me like I had stabbed him.
“I wasn’t going to hurt you,” he said quietly.
The softness in his voice felt more unsettling than anger.
I swallowed hard.
“I know.”
But the truth was—
I didn’t know.
Not really.
How could I?
This man arranged my life before I even understood what freedom was.
Kai’s eyes stayed locked onto mine for a long moment.
Then, unexpectedly—
He stepped back.
The tension in the room loosened slightly.
“You are afraid of me,” he said flatly.
I let out a short laugh. “Kai, you literally admitted to orchestrating my existence over breakfast.”
“Lunch,” Dimitri corrected automatically.
I pointed at him. “You’re part of the problem.”
A dangerous silence settled again.
Then Kai spoke.
“You should fear what exists outside this estate more.”
Something in his tone made my stomach twist.
Not threatening.
Certain.
I crossed my arms tightly. “And what exactly is outside this estate?”
Kai looked at Dimitri once.
That single glance passed some silent communication between them.
I immediately hated it.
Finally Kai answered.
“People who have been searching for you since the day your parents died.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“What?”
Kai’s voice remained calm.
“The Rossi murders were not random. Your parents were killed because of what they possessed.”
I frowned. “Money?”
“No.”
“Power?”
“Partially.”
I stared at him.
“Then what?”
For the first time since this conversation started—
Kai hesitated.
Only briefly.
But I noticed.
And apparently Dimitri did too because his posture shifted almost imperceptibly.
Kai’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Something people are still willing to kill for.”
My heartbeat slowed.
“What kind of something?”
Kai looked directly at me.
Then said the absolute last thing I expected.
“A list.”
Silence.
I blinked once.
“A list,” I repeated carefully.
“Yes.”
“…Like groceries?”
Dimitri choked.
Actually choked.
Zar closed his eyes briefly like he was reconsidering his loyalty to humanity.
Kai simply stared at me.
“It is not a grocery list, Kiara.”
“Well forgive me for not immediately assuming murderous secret documents!”
Kai moved closer again, lowering his voice.
“Your father kept records. Names. Transactions. Politicians, syndicates, officials, families.”
A chill crawled slowly down my spine.
“The list contains enough information to destroy governments,” he said quietly.
I stared at him.
Then laughed nervously.
“Nope.”
Kai’s expression didn’t change.
“Nope,” I repeated, stepping backward. “Absolutely not. I reject this entire storyline.”
“You do not have that luxury.”
“I was supposed to get a tiny apartment and cry over utility bills, not become part of an international conspiracy!”
Kai’s gaze sharpened.
“You were always part of it.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Always.
Not suddenly.
Not accidentally.
Always.
My throat tightened slightly.
Kai noticed.
Of course he noticed.
He noticed everything.
“The people who killed your parents never stopped searching for the list,” he continued. “And eventually… they realized something.”
I hated the pause before he spoke again.
“They realized your parents died before revealing where it was hidden.”
A horrible realization crept into my chest.
Slow.
Heavy.
“They think I know where it is,” I whispered.
Kai’s silence confirmed everything.
Fear finally arrived properly then.
Not confusion.
Not shock.
Fear.
Real fear.
And Kai saw it happen in real time.
His entire expression darkened instantly.
Like the fear itself offended him.
“You will not be touched,” he said coldly.
The promise sounded less protective—
and more like a threat aimed at the entire world.
I looked up at him slowly.
“And if they come for me anyway?”
Kai’s eyes became something terrifyingly calm.
“Then they die.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD