​"To... Toby?"

​Ren’s voice failed him. He couldn’t breathe. He took one shaking step forward, his trembling hand reaching out for the boy.

​Bang! Bang! Bang!

​Suddenly, the silence was gone. Gunfire filled the air. The glass dome began to shatter, falling like sharp rain.

​Before Ren could scream, a heavyweight slammed into him. Cilian grabbed his waist and pulled him back hard. Cilian used his own body to shield Ren as bullets hit the doorframe they had just been standing in.

​"Get down, Ren!" Cilian commanded, his voice smooth with lack of urgency given what was going on.

​He threw Ren into the hallway and kicked the heavy doors shut, locking them. Outside, the sound of the playground being destroyed by bullets continued. Some bullets hit the door, but it was reinforced, so the bullets couldn’t get through.

Cilian’s men had already begun to shoot back from the outside, fighting the invaders.

​Ren stayed on his knees, staring at the closed doors. His brain kept replaying the scene: the flash of silver, the splash of red, and the way Toby just... stopped talking and fell back.

​"Toby," Ren whispered. He was breathing fast and shallow. "He’s still out there. Cilian, he fell... we have to help him..."

​Cilian clicked his tongue. He pulled a gun from his suit and checked it. He didn’t look upset at all. He looked at the security screens on the wall. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

​"It seems we were followed, Ren," Cilian said calmly. It was like he was talking about the weather. "The Mordecais are more impatient than I thought. They must have tracked our car."

"Toby," Ren muttered. His voice got louder and shakier. He grabbed Cilian’s arm with a grip that left marks. "Cilian, they shot him. He’s just a kid! We have to... we have to get him."

"It’s too late," Cilian said, his expression light. "He’s already dead."

​Ren couldn’t believe it. His mind refused to accept the image of the small body in the sand.

Toby was his last family. Every other person who shared his blood was dead, and now, even the smallest one... the one who was safely hidden away, was gone. Taken away in a second.

​Cilian finally looked at him. There was no sadness in his eyes. He didn’t even look shocked. He reached out and wiped a drop of Toby’s blood off Ren’s cheek, his touch as cold as ice.

​"I told you the world was dangerous, Ren," Cilian said coldly. "I told you that without me, you aren’t safe. It’s a shame. He was a smart kid."

​Ren looked at him with dark, hollow eyes. The ’submissive wife’ act shattered instantly. How could Cilian be so heartless? A child had just died right in front of them, and he was talking about safety and lessons.

He wasn’t just a man; he was a monster without a soul. No, he was worse than a monster.

​"Cilian, you... This is all your fault," Ren said suddenly. His voice was thick with a breakdown. "If you had just taken down the Mordecais after we came back... if you hadn’t waited... we wouldn’t have been followed! Toby wouldn’t have—"

​Ren broke off, his breath coming in gasps. He began to scratch at his own face, his nails digging into his skin as angry, pained tears streamed down.

No, it’s my fault too.

"My fault..." he muttered.

If he hadn’t asked to see Toby today, the boy would still be alive. The boy would be playing with his blocks. This was all a trap of fate, and Cilian was the one who set the stage.

​"Yes, it’s my fault," Cilian said. He took the blame easily, watching Ren fall apart as if he were watching a performance. "So I’ll make sure to fix it."

​"How?!" Ren yelled. His voice was so loud it almost drowned out the gunshots still echoing outside. "What can you do?! Toby is DEAD! You can’t fix death!"

​Ren was shaking, his vision blurred by tears of pure rage. But Cilian didn’t flinch. Instead, he reached out and placed his hand firmly over Ren’s belly.

​"That’s fine," Cilian purred, his eyes locked onto Ren’s. "If you liked the child so much, you don’t need to be sad. Because we’ll be having ours soon. This one will stay in the Manor where it’s safe."

​A wave of intense disgust swept over Ren. He smacked Cilian’s hand away as if it were a poisonous snake.

​What was this psycho saying? How could he even think like that? Toby was his brother’s child, the last piece of the family he actually loved. To Cilian, children were just replacements—pieces of a game to keep the ’family’ act alive.

​Ren backed away, his chest heaving. He looked at Cilian and felt a hatred so deep it made everything else disappear. Cilian wasn’t mourning even a little bit, no remorse at all, as if he was already moving on to the next ’project’.

​"You’re insane," Ren whispered, his voice trembling with horror. "You’re actually insane."

"It’s not the first time you’ve called me insane, Ren," Cilian said, his voice as smooth as silk. He didn’t seem offended. He didn’t even seem to care that Ren had just smacked his hand away.

Ren stared at him, his breath hitching in his chest. Everything was gone.

The fragile hope he had carried all this while, the secret plan to help Toby flee before he could exact his revenge on Cilian, the tiny bit of humanity he had tried to keep—it was all lying in the sand outside.

Toby was the only thing that had kept Ren from simply ending it all from the start.

Now, there was nothing left to lose.

Ren’s eyes fixed on the holster at Cilian’s hip. His fingers twitched. He was going to kill him. He was going to take that gun and empty it into Cilian’s heart, even if it meant he died a second later.

The gunshots outside stopped, and the silence that followed was heavy and ringing. It made him cautious, but he did not have a change of plan. This time... he would definitely kill Cilian.

He didn’t care for the uncles he had asked to be brought in anymore. He just... wanted it all to end.