My voice cracked with rage, the words spilling out before I could stop them.
"You mother‑fucking bastard! Who do you think you are?"
Darius's chuckle was low, husky, dripping with menace.
"Woah, woah, woah… relax, girl. Take it slow. You know what? At this point, you have to understand—I'm the villain here. And I've scored my final shot. I have the upper hand."
His tone shifted, colder now.
"This phone? It's coded to only call and receive from me. Even if you were a genius hacker, it can't be decoded. You're mine."
I grinned through the suffocating dark, my voice sharp as a blade.
"I promise you one thing, Darius. When I get out of here, I will disintegrate you and your whole legacy. You will have no one left to carry your name."
For a moment, silence hung heavy. Then Darius laughed, deep and cruel.
"That's the fire I like. But fire burns out when there's no air. And you, Avery… you're running out of air."
The line crackled, his voice fading into static, leaving me alone with the suffocating earth pressing in. Yet even in the darkness, my vow burned brighter than his threats.
The night air was thick with tension, headlights cutting across the compound as Axel's convoy rolled in. Engines idled, men stood in formation, weapons gleaming under the floodlights.
One of the guards rushed to Darius, whispering urgently.
"Sir… Mr. Axel is here. He seems angry."
Andrey smirked, his voice dripping with anticipation.
"I hope everything is set in motion."
Darius nodded, his dragon tattoo shifting as he adjusted his coat. Together, the brothers stepped outside. Their men lined up behind them, rifles raised, eyes cold.
Across the yard, Axel emerged from his car, fury etched into every line of his face. His men fanned out, heavily armed, their silence louder than any threat.
The two forces stood opposite each other—two armies, two kings, one battlefield.
Darius's voice rang out, mocking, theatrical.
"Well, if it isn't the mightiest mafia king in all the land."
Axel's jaw tightened, his eyes burning with vengeance. He stepped forward, his voice low but sharp enough to cut through the night.
"You've crossed a line, Darius. Tonight, you pay for it."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Fingers hovered near triggers. The air itself seemed to wait for the first shot.
Axel smirked, his voice calm but edged with menace.
"Well, I didn't plan for us to meet like this after so long. But let's get to the chase—you know what I'm capable of."
Andrey chuckled, stepping forward with theatrical flair.
"Show us what you've got. After all, man shall not survive by bread alone… but by the fire in his veins. Money and connections don't matter here. A life is at stake."
I clenched my fists, the tension rippling through the air. Instantly, both sides sensed the danger. Guns were raised, barrels gleaming under the floodlights. Men stood rigid, calculating every move, every breath. Only Axel, Darius, and Andrey remained still—three predators circling with words instead of bullets.
Suddenly, a runner rushed in, whispering urgently into Andrey's ear before darting away.
Andrey smirked.
"Probably one of your henchmen tipping you off about some deals."
Axel's eyes narrowed, his tone sharp.
"Actually… I just found out where Avery is. And I'm impressed. You buried her alive, didn't you? Is that all you've got?"
Darius's laughter erupted, loud and mocking, the kind of laugh that echoed across borders—an international "I got you" laugh.
Axel's jaw tightened. In that moment, he realized the brothers weren't just taunting him—they were stalling. Killing time. And Avery… Avery had only a limited amount of oxygen left in that coffin.
The air grew thicker, the silence heavier. Every second wasted here was another second closer to Avery's last breath.
Axel's car roared away, his convoy disappearing into the night. Guns had been raised, fingers itching on triggers, but Andrey's sharp signal froze them in place. One by one, weapons lowered, the tension dissolving into uneasy silence.
Darius turned sharply, frustration etched across his face.
"Why didn't you shoot him? We had him right there."
Andrey's smirk faded into a glare. He stepped closer, his voice low but cutting.
"Oh, are you that dumb? Didn't you hear him? The money, the connections—he's the highest mafia in the western world. Do you want the whole world attacking us for killing him?"
Darius clenched his jaw, but Andrey pressed on, his tone almost desperate.
"Spare me a chance to have kids, brother. My life can't end here because of your arrogance."
The words hung heavy, a rare crack in Andrey's bravado. He turned, his coat sweeping behind him, and walked away into the shadows, leaving Darius standing alone, his dragon tattoo glistening under the floodlights.
Axel's car tore through the night, rain hammering against the windshield. His phone rang, shrill and insistent. His guard leaned forward nervously.
"Boss, the phone—"
Axel snapped, his voice sharp.
"Don't you think I can hear it ringing?"
The guard trembled, silence swallowing the car. Axel answered, agitation in his tone.
A woman's voice flowed through the line, calm yet commanding.
"Axel… I'm coming back in a few weeks. Put everything in order before I arrive."
The line cut. Axel's jaw tightened—he knew exactly who it was. But there was no time to dwell. He pressed harder on the accelerator, the car slicing through the storm.
At the graveyard, his men fanned out, flashlights cutting through sheets of rain. Mud clung to their boots, the storm making every step heavier. Somewhere beneath the earth, Avery was fighting for her life.
Inside the coffin, Avery's breath grew shallow. The timer glowed cruelly: 30 minutes of oxygen left. Panic clawed at her chest. She kicked relentlessly, her muffled thuds echoing faintly into the night.
Axel froze. His ears caught it—the faint rhythm of desperation.
"There! Dig! Now!"
Shovels tore into the earth, mud flying as the men clawed toward the sound. Avery gasped faintly as the soil shifted, a whisper of air reaching her. But the timer ticked mercilessly: 2 minutes left.
The lock on the coffin resisted every attempt. Axel's men cursed, their hands slick with rain and mud.
1 minute.
Avery's eyes fluttered, her strength fading.
5… 4… 3… 2… 1.
Her eyes closed. Silence.
With a roar, Axel cracked the lock, ripping the coffin open. He pulled Avery into his arms, her body pale, faint, drenched in sweat and rain.
Her lips trembled, her voice barely a whisper.
"You… came to save me."
And then she collapsed, unconscious in his arms.
The aisle stretched before me, white petals scattered across the floor. Axel stood at the end, regal in his blue tuxedo, his eyes soft yet piercing. My gown flowed elegantly, the bouquet trembling slightly in my hands as I walked toward him.
He reached out, holding my hands firmly, grounding me in the moment. The pope's voice rose, solemn and steady.
Pope:
"Axel, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, until death do you part?"
Axel:
"I do. With every breath, I vow to protect her, cherish her, and never let her walk alone."
The pope turned to me.
"Do you, Avery, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, until death do you part?"
Me (Avery):
"I do. I vow to stand by him, to fight with him, to love him even when the world turns against us."
We gazed into each other's eyes, the weight of the vows binding us together.
Pope:
"You may now kiss the bride."
Axel leaned closer, his lips inches from mine. I tilted forward, heart racing.
And then—suddenly—a splash of cold water drenched my body. I jolted awake, gasping, the dream shattering into reality.
I heard his voice clearly:
"After everything I taught you, and whatever the CIA drilled into you , you still had the guts to fail such an important mission? Are you kidding me? I'm guessing you deliberately bet your life on this. You had everything, but you decided to let them know you had a mission—and that was the only way out. So what if you didn't make it out alive?"
For a moment, I felt as though Axel cared about me. I woke up from the bed, trying to hug him and thank him, but to my disappointment he pushed me aside and dragged me to the floor. He beat me and said,
"I hope no one touched you while you were there."
I couldn't move. I wasn't obliged to answer him—my body failed to respond. He thought I had slept with someone. He kicked me in the stomach and told me to prepare myself for tonight. Oh, how I forgot what a living hell it was to be here.
I took a shower and wore sexy lingerie. A few hours later Axel came in. He acted like a hungry tiger that hadn't eaten for a year. He abused me in every way possible, leaving me lying on the bed helpless. There was no turning back from getting revenge. But I don't know… it's like I have feelings for him, and they are growing stronger. Tonight, it was as if I also longed for his body.
This time, something that had been stirring inside me suddenly stopped. It was fixed. I didn't cry or break down after what Axel had done to me.
The next day, I woke up, took a shower, and headed to his office—that's where I knew I would find him this early. The maids greeted me as I passed.
I entered his office and said,
"What you don't know is that I found out a lot of things. I had no other way to get out of there without suspicion. I know it was drastic, but it was worth it."
He looked at me as if studying me, then replied,
"Well, what is it that you found? And I'm sure by now you've figured out that what I said when sending you on the mission—'find out if Darius is planning anything against me'—was all a cover. I didn't want you to make mistakes when investigating your past."
I interrupted softly,
"Our past… isn't it?"
Avery said, "The dragon tattoo was my first clue. I paced in the room and noticed Darius had it as well. I would have suspected him, but at that time he was just a teenager. Andrey too, though I never saw him with it. It turns out only the firstborns of their clan have that tattoo—including their right‑hand man."
She continued, her voice steady but tense. "So I did some digging, and it led me to the CIA. That was the front."
The office was dim, shadows stretching across the walls. The smell of cigar smoke lingered, heavy and suffocating. Axel leaned back in his chair, studying her like a predator watching prey.
"Yeah," he said calmly. "The CIA is a gambling front. Our parents, as you know, were the co‑founders of the CIA. It was governed by our family. But because they made a lot of enemies, they were killed. That was Darius's clan that was involved. The current CEO of the CIA is their right‑hand man. I was rescued by my parents' relatives who were in the mafia."
Avery's voice trembled. "I also found that out. But what's killing me is that we are siblings… but—"
She paused, her heart pounding.
Axel's tone turned cold. "Oh, you were adopted. Your real parents abandoned you at birth after you were diagnosed with a serious condition."
He handed her some papers and added, "Well, you did your job well."
Her hands shook as she took the documents. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Maybe they aren't my real parents, but I did consider them family. You have all the power, but you didn't confront your enemies. They made me join the CIA so they could keep me close. And then you came up. You know, since you've cleared things here, I'm getting justice for my parents. I don't care what power you hold. I know the law can't help me—so I'll do it myself."
Axel handed her more documents. When she saw them, her eyes widened in shock. Her heart stopped—the faces staring back at her were ghosts she thought she'd buried. They were the people involved in the car crash.
Axel's voice was calm, almost detached. "I'm past everything. I don't keep unnecessary grudges."
Avery's anger flared. "Are you sure I'm the adopted one—or is it you?"
She turned and stormed out of the office, her footsteps echoing against the marble floor.
Axel smirked, whispering to himself, "One more step… and the pawn is kicked out of the chessboard. And pawns… are always expendable."