Chapter 17 ( The sound echoed)
1067 Words
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Leo ended the call and turned around.
David stood there.
Smiling.
But it wasn’t the warm, brotherly smile Leo had heard for two weeks. This was the smile of a hunter who’d already caught his prey.
Leo’s voice trembled. “David, sir… it’s not what you think. This room is restricted. I didn’t mean to—”
“Little gardener,” David said, stepping inside. “Why do you always choose the hard way?”
Leo froze.
This wasn’t the man who’d brought him coffee. Who’d called him ‘kid’ like a joke. This voice was cold. Measured. Dangerous.
David closed the door.
_Click._
The sound echoed like a sentence.
---
*On the other side of the city…*
Zoya set the phone down.
She walked upstairs without speaking to the maid. Her mind spun. _How could this happen? How did they find him?_
She went to her room and sank onto the couch, clutching Brown Sugar.
“What do I do, Brown Sugar?” she whispered. “He’s in this mess because of me. It’s all my fault. All because of me.”
Brown Sugar’s button eyes stared back. Silent.
“He’s just eighteen,” Zoya said. “I have to help him.”
She talked to the bear until her voice gave out. Then she fell asleep on the couch, still holding it.
In the morning, a maid gently woke her. Zoya got ready on autopilot. She went downstairs for breakfast, but her thoughts never left the mountains.
_There has to be a way. There has to be._
As she sat at the dining table, a noise drifted in from the backyard.
A shout.
The maid tried to stop her. “Miss Zoya, you can’t—”
But Zoya was already on her feet.
She stepped outside.
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The scene in the garden hit her like ice.
Leo knelt on the stone path. His hands were bound behind his back. His clothes were torn. His face was bruised. His shoulders shook, but he was crying . He was badly beaten.
People stood around him in a circle. Silent. Watching.
And Ares stood in front of him.
Zoya’s breath caught. “Le—Leo?”
Her voice cracked. The name tore out of her chest.
She tried to run to him. One step. Two.
Ares moved. Fast.
His tall, broad frame blocked her view. His arm came around her waist, holding her in place.
Zoya struggled. “Let me go! Let me go to him!”
Her voice was sharp with panic. Her nails dug into his forearm. “You promised! You said he was safe!”
Ares didn’t answer. His jaw was tight.
“Leo!” Zoya screamed. “Leo, look at me!”
Leo lifted his head.
His eyes were red. His lip was split. But when he saw her, he tried to smile. Like he always did. Like he didn’t want her to worry.
“Zoya,” he whispered. “I’m okay. I’m—”
“Don’t lie to me!” she shouted. Tears burned her eyes. “You’re not okay!
Ares’s hold didn’t loosen. “Zoya, stop.”
“Stop?” She laughed, bitter and broken. “You’re letting them hurt him!
Ares’s eyes flickered. “I gave him a chance to walk away.”
She could hear him. Shaken. Raw.
Ares didn’t look at her. He kept his eyes on Leo. “I gave you a chance to walk away,” he repeated. “You didn’t want it.”
Zoya kept fighting. Her body trembled. “Stop! Please, stop!”
Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt. She could feel it in her throat. In her ears.
Ares raised his hand.
Zoya’s breath stopped.
A sound echoed across the garden. Sharp. Final.
Zoya froze.
Something hit the ground.
Her eyes welled up. She knew what it was. She didn’t want to think about it. Her mind refused to believe it.
Zoya twisted with all her strength, but Ares held her tight. His chest was like stone. Unmoving. Unyielding.
“Leo!” she screamed. “Leo, answer me!”
Ares turned her face into his chest. “Don’t look, Zoya.”
“Please,” Zoya begged. Her voice was raw now. “Save him. He’ll die. He’s just eighteen. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s like a little brother to me.”
She kept crying. Kept begging. But Ares didn’t move. He only held her tighter, one hand stroking her hair like he was trying to calm a storm.
“Please save him,” Zoya whispered. “He’ll die…”
Her voice broke.
Her legs gave out.
The world tilted.
“Leo,” she whispered.
Then the world went dark.
Zoya was unconscious.
Ares saw her looking so small and delicate, unconscious in his arms. He looked at her for a while then carry her in to the penthouse and then upstairs to her room .
Zoya was unconscious. He had carried her here, laid her on her bed, covered her with the blanket.
Ares walked out of her room. He went to his room and shut the door behind him.
The penthouse was quite. Too quiet.
He had seen her tears and gently wiped her face with his hand
He didn’t know why he did it.
Ares stood by the window in his room. Staring outside, at the distant buildings. His hands were still. His face was calm.
But inside, there was noise.
He had given Leo a choice. He had given Zoya a choice. And both of them had chosen each other.
That was the problem.
Ares closed his eyes for a moment. He had known this would happen. He had planned for it. Cause and effect. He always calculated it.
But he had not calculated how it would feel to watch her collapse in his arms. To hear her beg for someone else.
He opened his eyes.
Zoya was here with him. For now.
Ares walked to his desk and sat down. The drawer was still open. Inside, the box lay untouched.
A box of something.
He didn’t need it.
He already knew where she was. He already knew what she would do next.
He pushed the drawer closed.
Zoya was unaware of everything.
Let her rest.
Ares leaned back in his chair. His expression didn’t change.
But his grip on the armrest tightened.
*End of Chapter 17*
- Writer
