CHAPTER NINE: Blood Has a Price
991 Words
The warehouse smelled of rust, oil, and damp concrete.
Doran Avelin was dragged through the entrance like something already discarded.
His hands were bound.
His clothes were torn.
But his eyes—
His eyes were still loud.
“Let me go!” he shouted, struggling against the guards. “You don’t understand who I am!”
Cassian walked behind them calmly.
“You’re exactly the kind of man who thinks shouting changes consequences.”
Doran spat in his direction.
“I made an agreement with Vercelli! You cannot treat me like this!”
The moment Dante stepped into the warehouse, everything stopped.
Not because he shouted.
Not because he moved quickly.
But because he simply arrived.
Silence followed him like a shadow.
Doran froze.
For the first time, real fear flickered in his expression.
Dante walked slowly.
Each step echoing against the concrete floor.
His coat barely moved.
His eyes never left Doran.
When he finally stopped, he tilted his head slightly.
“So this is the man who thinks my name is negotiable.”
Doran swallowed hard.
“This is a misunderstanding—”
Dante’s gaze sharpened.
“It’s not.”
One word.
Final.
The warehouse felt smaller instantly.
Dante turned slightly.
Cassian stepped forward and forced Doran into a chair.
Chains secured him.
Not tight enough to kill.
Tight enough to remind him he wasn’t in control anymore.
Dante circled him slowly.
Like a predator studying something already broken.
“You used my agreement,” Dante said quietly, “to offload a problem you couldn’t handle.”
Doran forced a laugh.
“I was saving my family! You think I had a choice?”
Dante stopped behind him.
For a moment, silence stretched.
Then—
“Everyone has a choice.”
A pause.
“And you made yours.”
Doran’s breathing grew uneven.
“You don’t understand—Haru is my son.”
At the sound of that name, something in Dante shifted.
Not visible.
But the air changed.
Cassian felt it immediately.
The wolf inside Dante stirred.
Not violently.
Not blindly.
Focus.
Dante leaned slightly closer.
“You will not say that name like it belongs to you.”
Doran flinched.
Footsteps echoed at the entrance.
Cassian turned.
“Boss.”
A pause.
“Haru is here.”
The warehouse went still.
Dante didn’t move immediately.
Then slowly, he turned.
And Haru stepped inside.
He looked smaller here.
Out of place.
The light from above caught his face, pale and tense.
His eyes immediately landed on the man in the chair.
His father.
Doran’s expression changed instantly.
“Haru!”
Haru froze.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Years of silence.
Years of fear.
Years of absence—all collapsing into a single moment.
Dante watched both of them carefully.
Then he stepped aside slightly.
Not blocking.
Not guiding.
Just allowing.
Haru took one slow step forward.
Then another.
His breathing was uneven.
Doran strained against the chains.
“I didn’t want this for you,” he said quickly. “I was protecting you. You have to believe me—”
“Stop.”
Haru’s voice was quiet.
But it broke something in the room.
Doran paused.
Haru’s hands trembled at his sides.
“You sold me.”
The words were simple.
But they carried everything.
Doran shook his head.
“No—no, I was desperate—”
Haru’s voice rose slightly.
“You sold me.”
Silence.
Dante watched without interrupting.
For once, he said nothing.
Haru’s eyes burned, but he didn’t cry.
Not yet.
“I thought I would die,” Haru said softly. “I thought you would at least be there when it happened.”
Doran’s face tightened.
“I did what I had to—”
“No.”
Haru stepped back.
“You did what was easier for you.”
That truth landed heavier than anything else.
Doran went silent.
For the first time, he had nothing to say.
Haru’s breath shook.
Then slowly, he turned his head.
And looked at Dante.
Dante met his gaze immediately.
No hesitation.
No softness.
Just attention.
Haru’s voice came out weaker now.
“What… are you going to do to him?”
A pause.
Dante studied him.
Then Doran.
Then Haru again.
The warehouse felt like it was holding its breath.
Finally, Dante spoke.
“I could end him here.”
Doran stiffened violently.
Cassian didn’t react.
Haru flinched slightly.
Dante continued calmly.
“I could erase him, and no one would question it.”
A pause.
Then he stepped closer to Haru.
His voice lowered.
“But I won’t decide alone.”
Silence.
Haru blinked.
“What?”
Dante’s silver eyes held his.
“You will.”
The word hit harder than anything else.
Haru’s breath caught.
“I… I don’t understand.”
Dante turned slightly, gesturing toward Doran.
“Look at him.”
Haru did.
His father.
Broken.
Fearful.
Real.
Dante’s voice was steady.
“He belongs to you now.”
Haru’s lips parted slightly.
“No… I don’t want that.”
Dante’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“Everyone wants power until they’re given it.”
A pause.
Then softer—
“Decide.”
The word hung in the air like a blade placed in someone’s hand.
Haru’s hands trembled.
Doran started speaking again quickly.
“Haru, please—he’ll kill me—tell him you forgive me—”
Haru flinched.
Tears finally formed in his eyes, but he didn’t let them fall.
He looked at Dante again.
His voice barely a whisper.
“What do you want me to say?”
Dante didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“Not what I want.”
A pause.
“What you choose.”
Silence swallowed the warehouse whole.
Haru stood between two men.
One who destroyed his life.
One who now held the power to end it.
And for the first time in his life—
He had to decide what justice meant.
- Writer
