Chapter Twelve -- Begging the devil
1101 Words
He arched a brow. “Who are we talking about now?”
“Hana.” The name slipped out like venom. “My best friend. At least, she used to be.”
He said nothing, only watched me — silent, unreadable, waiting.
“She was like a sister to me. She knew everything — my habits, my father’s weakness, the company’s blind spots. And then things got complicated, she used all of it against me.” My voice cracked. “She turned my father against me. Now she’s hidden him away somewhere and is taking control of everything he owns. The house, the business, his life.”
Kai’s expression didn’t change, but I saw the faint flicker of interest behind his eyes. “And you think I care because…?”
“Because you know what power does to people. You know how dangerous someone like her becomes when no one dares to stop her.”
He gave a quiet, humourless laugh. “You talk like you’re still part of that world. But you’re not. You’re here ...standing in a borrowed room, begging a man you barely know to save you from your own mistakes.”
His words sliced, but I held my ground. “I know where I stand. That’s exactly why I need help.”
He studied me for a long, unbearable moment — eyes moving over my face, searching for the weakness I’d tried to bury under my voice. “You’re asking me to get involved in a family war that isn’t mine.”
“I’m asking you to listen,” I said, quieter now. “Please.”
Something about that word, maybe the way it broke out of me, raw and unpolished made him still.
I went on, voice trembling. “She made sure everyone who ever worked for us turned their backs on me. She’s frozen every account, called in every debt, and even took over my father’s lawyers. I can’t reach him, can’t even confirm where he is. Every time I try, there’s silence or a polite message saying he’s too busy to speak to me. That’s not him, Kai. That’s her.”
His gaze dropped to the cigarette he’d set down earlier, thumb brushing the filter. “You’re certain she’s hiding him?”
“Yes.” I nodded, desperate for him to understand. “He loved me too much to just disappear. And now Hana walks around in my home, attends board meetings under our family name, smiling like she earned it. She’s stolen everything I was meant to inherit.”
He looked up again, eyes darker now. “So what do you want from me?”
“I need access. Influence. Connections. You have all three.”
He laughed under his breath, low and cold. “You think my network is a charity?”
“No,” I said quickly. “But you also don’t like being controlled. And Hana—she’s dangerous in ways even you can’t ignore. She’s building alliances with people who used to owe your family. She’s expanding, quietly. Sooner or later, she’ll use that power against you, too.”
For the first time, something sharp flickered in his expression — calculation.
“Careful,” he murmured, stepping closer. “You’re starting to sound like a strategist.”
“Maybe desperation teaches strategy.”
He gave a faint smirk, but his tone stayed edged. “You think if I step in, I’ll help you get your father back? Get your life back?”
“I think,” I whispered, “that you’re the only person she can’t manipulate.”
He stared at me, unblinking. The silence stretched, dense and heavy, until I could hear my own heartbeat.
Then he exhaled slowly and shook his head. “You’re dangerous when you talk like that.”
“Because I’m right?”
“Because you believe you are.”
He turned away, picking up his jacket. The movement was clean, controlled — like someone slipping a mask back on.
“Whatever this feud is,” he said, voice cool again, “it’s not my concern. Don’t make it mine.”
“I’m not leaving until you listen,” I said, my voice low, breaking against itself.
He stopped, his back still to me. “Then stand there and talk to the wall. I’ve heard enough.”
I stepped forward, anger flashing under the surface of my fear. “You think you can just walk away? You think I’ll stop?”
He turned then, and the room seemed smaller. “You should,” he said softly. “For your own good.”
But I couldn’t stop. The words poured out, trembling and fierce. “She’s taken everything from me, Kai. And if you don’t help, she’ll win completely. You’re just like her — you hide behind your power and pretend not to care, but deep down, you hate people like her as much as I do. You feel something, even if you won’t admit it.”
He stepped closer — one slow step, then another. “You think you can read me?”
“No.” I swallowed hard. “But I know when someone’s pretending not to feel.”
He studied me again, eyes narrowing slightly — not in anger, but as if he were seeing something he hadn’t expected.
“Tell me something, Naya,” he said, voice quiet, dangerous. “If you had her on her knees tomorrow, would you show mercy?”
“No.” The word came out like steel. “I’d burn her world the way she burned mine.”
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then the faintest smirk tugged at his mouth. “At least you’re honest about it.”
He brushed past me, reaching for the door.
“Kai,” I called after him, voice softer now, almost pleading. “Please. Just… think about it.”
He paused, hand on the knob, and turned his head slightly — not enough to see his expression, just enough for his words to find me.
“Don’t beg,” he said. “It doesn’t suit you.”
And then he left.
The click of the door was final — a sound that sliced through the silence and left me standing in the middle of the room, breath uneven, eyes burning.
He hadn’t agreed. He hadn’t promised anything. But he’d listened.
And for now, that was enough.
Because people like Kai Hadez didn’t say yes — they acted.
And if I knew him even a little, that hesitation at the door wasn’t indifference.
It was the first crack.
- Writer
