CHAPTER 59
CHRISTIAN'S POV
I was somewhere I couldn't identify.
A place suspended between life and death.
Neither here nor there.
It felt like I was trapped inside an endless nightmare—one without sight, feeling, or direction. Darkness stretched endlessly around me.
Voices drifted in and out of my consciousness.
Muffled.
Distant.
Almost unreachable.
Was I dead?
I couldn't tell.
A sharp hiss escaped me as my eyes suddenly flew open.
Pain exploded behind them.
The brightness of the room stabbed at my vision, forcing me to shut them immediately.
I took a slow breath.
Then another.
Bracing myself.
Carefully, I opened my eyes again.
This time, slowly.
The harsh light softened as my vision adjusted.
"About damn time."
The familiar voice pulled my attention to the corner of the room.
Reginald sat there with an open book resting against his chest, looking annoyingly smug as usual.
A foolish grin spread across his face.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, struggling to sit upright.
"Over a month now."
He shrugged as if he were discussing the weather.
A baby coo suddenly filled the room.
My heart stopped.
Or maybe skipped several beats.
My eyes snapped toward the crib positioned beside Reginald.
He stood immediately.
Without a word, he scooped Saint into his arms.
She wore a bright pink outfit so vibrant it looked like Barbie herself had designed it.
My chest tightened.
Reginald walked over and carefully placed her in my arms.
The moment she recognized me, her entire face lit up.
Tiny fingers reached for my chin.
My cheeks.
My nose.
Everywhere.
A broken laugh escaped my throat.
God, I missed her.
"So..." I smirked. "The Little Mermaid, huh?"
Reginald rolled his eyes.
"Well, I sort of acquired dad powers while you were unconscious."
He dropped back into his chair.
"Had to put all those Disney movies to use somehow."
I smiled faintly.
Then the memories hit.
The explosion.
The gunfire.
Brenda.
My smile vanished.
"Where's—"
I couldn't even finish her name.
The way Reginald's face fell told me everything.
Pain flashed through his eyes.
A terrible pain.
One he couldn't hide.
Something twisted violently inside my chest.
No.
No.
Not Brenda.
Anything but that.
"I'm sorry, Christian."
His voice softened.
"I haven't seen Brenda since the day you were shot."
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
"How many did we lose?"
I needed facts.
Numbers.
Anything to stop my mind from imagining Brenda dead.
Reginald looked down.
"All the guards stationed at the villa."
Silence.
Then—
"Lucinda too."
He said her name almost reverently.
The room suddenly felt colder.
"Their families?"
"Taken care of."
He nodded.
"Some were relocated to Eden. The rest chose to remain where they were."
The silence that followed felt endless.
Saint had fallen asleep in my arms.
I stared at her tiny face.
Then looked at Reginald.
"Brenda isn't dead."
My voice carried absolute certainty.
Reginald sighed.
"I wish that were true."
"It is."
My tone sharpened.
"When Saint was dropped at your door, her clothes were stained with Brenda's blood."
His eyes hardened.
"We tested it, Christian."
"It was hers."
"Exactly."
I leaned forward.
"Kai is obsessed with Brenda."
The word obsessed barely scratched the surface.
"He wouldn't kill her."
Reginald remained silent.
"He sent Saint back covered in Brenda's blood because he wanted us to believe she was dead."
The realization settled between us.
"He wanted us to stop looking."
Reginald's eyes narrowed.
I could practically see the gears turning.
I continued.
"Think about it."
More silence.
Long.
Heavy.
Then our eyes met.
No words were needed.
We understood each other perfectly.
Brenda was alive.
And if she was alive—
I was getting her back.
No matter who stood in my way.
---
The day finally arrived.
Thirty-two men stood before me.
Armed.
Ready.
Waiting.
Reginald and I made thirty-four.
Every man wore a bulletproof vest.
Every man carried enough ammunition for a war.
Because that's exactly what this might become.
Anything could go wrong.
And I wasn't taking chances.
I stepped forward.
The men immediately fell silent.
"Kill on sight."
My voice cut through the cold morning air.
"Women and children are off limits."
A sea of nods answered me.
Then I added the only thing that truly mattered.
"Let's bring Belair home."
The energy shifted instantly.
Every man understood what Brenda meant to me.
None of them would fail this mission willingly.
Tracking Kai had been a nightmare.
Greg and Eva spent weeks chasing ghosts.
Every trail led nowhere.
Every lead died.
Until Eva unleashed God's Eye.
Within minutes, we had a location.
A precise one.
Now we were headed straight for it.
I studied the compound through binoculars.
And frowned.
Because something wasn't right.
The bastard barely had security.
Four guards outside.
Six inside.
That was it.
I lowered the binoculars.
My instincts screamed.
This wasn't carelessness.
This was confidence.
The kind of confidence only a dangerous man possessed.
Or—
The confidence of someone who believed nobody was coming.
I slid the binoculars back into place.
Either way...
Daemonikai was about to find out just how wrong he was.
AUTHOR'S POV
As he emerged from the shadows, disbelief settled on Daemonikai's face. Shock and everything a guilty person would feel.
"There's no way in hell!" he trembled.
"Well, I found a way!" Christian answered darkly.
His gaze wandered to Brenda's face, and he managed to smile.
"Hey, love! Looking good!" he joked, trying to lighten up Brenda's mood.
She chuckled, forgetting about her current whereabouts and the silent danger that was brewing.
Brenda attempted to move from Kai until she felt a heavy metal poke at the back of her head.
"Move and I'll paint this place with your brains!"
Brenda stiffened and stilled. Fear gripped every cell in her body.
"Don't, Kai! We both know how much you love her! If you kill her, then what would have been the use of all the havoc you wreaked? Tell you what, let's make a deal!" Christian spoke.
"I'm taking out all my weapons..." He took out all the guns he had on him and tossed them aside.
"Take the knives out of your socks!" Kai instructed.
Christian grunted but did as told. The knives were his leverage. All he had to do, for the time being, was believe in the crazy love Kai had for Brenda.
"If you assassinate me, that gives you the right to take over my mafia. My connections instantly become yours! You'll have America under your thumb. Think about it! Let Belair go, and you can have me!" Christian proposed.
The wheels were turning in Daemonikai's head as he imagined the benefits he stood to gain when he presented Christian's head to each and every mafia there was in the world. He pictured himself swimming in milk and honey, being draped in the finest of silks. He'd live the life of an emperor.
It was tempting, and if handing Brenda over was the price, then so be it.
"Deal! If you try anything stupid, I'll kill both of you!" Kai threatened. "Take cautious steps towards me!"
Christian did as told, carefully taking calculated steps toward Kai.
In two minutes, the gun Kai held to Brenda's head was now pressed against Christian's head.
"Let her go. You have me now!"
"Go!" Kai instructed Brenda.
She didn't move. She stared at Christian with tears in her eyes. A gaze so intense it spoke volumes of how hurt she was. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words got stuck on her tongue.
"Go! Saint is waiting for you!" Christian smiled sadly at Brenda, giving her a slight nod.
Brenda walked away slowly, constantly looking back. Her motherly instinct told her that her child needed her, while her love for Christian screamed the same.
It was a difficult decision to make, but she had to do it.
If she refused, that would leave Saint an orphan because there was no certainty they'd make it out alive.
She looked back one more time.
"I love you," she whispered, just for herself to hear.
Just as she took the next step, a deafening gunshot shattered the silence.
Christian's scream tore through the chapel.
Brenda stumbled.
Confusion flickered across her face.
She looked down.
Red.
Her white dress was turning red.
For a brief second, her mind couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.
Then came the pain.
A searing agony exploded through her spine.
Another shot followed.
Then another.
Her body jerked violently.
The bouquet slipped from her fingers and scattered across the floor.
She fell to her knees.
Blood spilled from her lips.
The world tilted.
Everything became distant.
Muted.
Far away.
"BELAIR!"
Christian broke free before anyone could react.
He dropped to his knees beside her and caught her before she hit the floor completely.
His hands pressed desperately against her wounds.
There was too much blood.
Far too much.
"No... no, no, no..." His voice broke.
Brenda's vision blurred.
She could barely make out his face.
Yet somehow, she still recognized the terror in his eyes.
The terror of a man watching his entire world slip away.
"Hey... hey..." Christian cradled her face. "Stay with me. Do you hear me? Stay with me."
A weak smile touched Brenda's lips.
Her trembling hand lifted.
Christian grabbed it immediately and pressed it against his cheek.
Warm tears fell onto her fingers.
"I... found you..." she whispered.
"You did." His voice cracked. "And you're not leaving me."
A painful cough wracked her body.
Blood stained her lips.
Her eyes searched for him.
For the man she loved.
For the father of her child.
"Saint..."
Christian nodded frantically.
"She's safe. She's waiting for us."
Another tear rolled down Brenda's cheek.
"Tell her..." She struggled for breath. "Tell her I loved her every second."
"You'll tell her yourself."
Brenda's smile widened slightly.
Both of them knew he was lying.
Both of them knew the truth.
Her fingers tightened weakly around his.
"I love you, Christian."
The words shattered whatever composure he had left.
A sob escaped him.
"I love you too."
Brenda looked at him one last time.
Memorizing him.
The man who had given her a home.
A family.
A future.
The man she had wanted to grow old with.
Slowly, her eyes drifted shut.
The smile remained.
And then...
Nothing.
Christian felt her hand go limp.
The warmth began leaving her body.
The realization hit him like a freight train.
"No."
Silence.
"No!"
He shook her gently.
Then harder.
"Brenda!"
Nothing.
"PLEASE!"
His voice echoed through the chapel.
Still nothing.
The woman he loved was gone.
Christian folded over her body and let out a sound so raw, so broken, that every man present looked away.
It wasn't the cry of a feared mafia leader.
It wasn't the roar of a powerful man.
It was the sound of a grieving lover whose heart had just been ripped from his chest.
Tears streamed down his face as he clung to her lifeless body.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
He never let go.
Even when Daemonikai's body lay cooling on the floor.
Even when Reginald and the others secured the building.
Even when darkness settled outside.
Christian remained exactly where he was.
Holding her.
Loving her.
Unable to accept that she was gone.
It took nearly four hours before anyone managed to separate him from Brenda's body.
And even then, he fought them.