Gunfire exploded somewhere below the mansion.
Not distant this time.
Inside.
The sharp sound echoed violently through the walls while alarms screamed across every floor. Red emergency lights flickered overhead, staining the room in flashes of crimson.
The atmosphere turned instantly suffocating.
One of the guards checked his weapon quickly.
"They breached the lower east corridor."
"How many men do we still have?"
"Enough."
The dangerous calmness in his voice unsettled even the guard.
Because everyone in the room knew what that tone meant.
Violence was coming.
Severe violence.
The guard hesitated before speaking again.
"We can still evacuate her through the forest route."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Coldly.
The guard looked stunned.
"Boss, with respect—"
"She stays with me."
Her heartbeat stumbled slightly.
The possessiveness behind the words wasn't controlling.
It was fear.
Raw fear hidden beneath brutality.
Because he no longer trusted distance to keep her safe.
The guard clearly realized it too.
Another burst of gunfire thundered downstairs.
Closer.
Someone screamed.
Then silence.
The mansion felt alive now.
Breathing danger through every hallway.
He looked toward her again.
"You stay behind me no matter what happens."
"You already said that before."
"And you ignored me before."
"Because you were walking into bullets!"
A faint shadow of frustration crossed his face.
"And you jumping in front of one solved that?"
She opened her mouth—
then stopped.
Because honestly?
No.
It hadn't solved anything.
It had only terrified him.
The memory still haunted his eyes even now.
He stepped closer suddenly.
Close enough that she could see exhaustion beneath the rage building inside him.
"If you get hurt again…"
His voice faltered briefly.
Rare.
Dangerously rare.
Then quieter—
"I won't survive it properly."
The confession hit harder than shouting ever could.
Not survive physically.
Emotionally.
Mentally.
Spiritually.
The devil could survive bullets.
But losing her?
Maybe not.
Before she could answer, another guard rushed inside.
"Boss! West hallway compromised!"
His entire expression hardened instantly.
"Take positions upstairs."
"What about you?"
"I'll handle the lower floor."
The guard hesitated.
"Alone?"
A cold smile appeared on his lips.
"They came for me."
The terrifying part?
He sounded almost pleased about it.
Like fury itself had sharpened him into something lethal.
The guards quickly left to secure the upper levels.
Then silence returned briefly.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
She looked at him carefully.
"You're angry."
"Yes."
"Because they came after you?"
His gaze locked onto hers.
"No."
The answer sent chills through her.
"They came after you."
A loud crash echoed downstairs.
Glass shattered.
More gunfire.
The attackers were moving fast.
He grabbed another weapon from the cabinet before turning toward her.
"If I tell you to run this time—"
"I know."
"No." His eyes darkened intensely. "You don't."
The room became still.
"Running from me and running for your life are different things."
Emotion tightened painfully inside her chest.
Because beneath all the violence—
he sounded terrified again.
Terrified she'd die because she stayed.
"You really think I'd leave you behind?"
"Yes."
The answer shocked her.
He looked away briefly.
"Because you still have humanity left."
A faint bitterness touched his expression.
"And people with humanity make sacrifices."
Silence.
Then softly—
"So would you."
His eyes shifted back instantly.
"No."
"You literally would."
"That's different."
"How?"
"Because I'm already damned."
The quiet certainty behind the words shattered her.
"You actually believe that."
"I know what I've done."
"So you think pain is all you deserve now?"
His jaw tightened sharply.
"You don't get to survive my life without becoming ugly."
Another explosion rocked the mansion.
Dust drifted lightly from the ceiling.
Somewhere downstairs, men shouted orders.
The attack was spreading.
Fast.
She moved closer despite the pain in her shoulder.
"You're not only the worst thing you've done."
The words hit him visibly.
A brief crack in the armor.
"You say things like that so easily."
"Because they're true."
"No," he murmured quietly. "They're hopeful."
Before she could respond, the office lights suddenly cut out.
Darkness swallowed the room instantly.
Only emergency red lights remained glowing faintly through the hall outside.
His body reacted immediately.
One arm wrapped around her waist while the other raised the weapon toward the door.
Protective instinct.
Automatic.
A distant scream echoed downstairs.
Then—
footsteps.
Fast.
Approaching.
The atmosphere snapped tight.
He moved silently toward the side wall, pulling her with him behind cover.
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
Then suddenly—
the office door burst open.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Deafening.
He fired twice without hesitation.
Two bodies dropped hard against the doorway.
Smoke filled the room immediately.
Her pulse slammed violently against her ribs as he kept her pinned safely behind him.
More footsteps.
More enemies.
One attacker rushed through the doorway with another weapon raised—
and collapsed before pulling the trigger.
Blood spread rapidly across the floor beneath him.
The entire fight lasted seconds.
Only seconds.
But when silence returned—
three bodies lay motionless inside the office.
Her breathing became uneven.
He stayed perfectly calm.
Checking the hallway.
Calculating angles.
Ready for more.
"How many people came here?" she whispered shakily.
"Too many."
Then suddenly—
a voice echoed through the hallway speakers.
Slow.
Mocking.
"Still protecting her personally?"
His expression darkened instantly.
The voice continued.
"That's disappointing."
Her stomach tightened.
He knew that voice.
"Who is that?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
he looked furious.
Not ordinary anger.
Personal anger.
Finally he spoke quietly.
"An old friend."
The voice laughed through the speakers.
"Friend feels generous after what you did to me."
"You deserved worse."
A dangerous silence followed.
Then—
"You killed my brother."
"And he tried killing me first."
"Details."
The mocking amusement in the voice made the room colder.
She looked between the speakers and him carefully.
"This person knows you well."
"Yes."
"How dangerous?"
His eyes remained fixed on the hallway.
"Enough to get this far."
That answer alone was terrifying.
The voice returned again.
"You know what's funny?" A pause. "For years I couldn't find a weakness."
Another pause.
"Then suddenly you fall in love."
His jaw tightened sharply.
"Careful."
"Oh, I am." The voice sounded amused now. "Very careful."
The mansion lights flickered briefly.
Then stabilised.
Somewhere downstairs more gunfire erupted again.
The attackers were still fighting through the lower floors.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance," the voice continued.
A cold smile appeared on his lips.
"You should've stayed buried."
Silence.
Then suddenly—
the speaker system shut off.
Dead quiet returned.
She looked toward him.
"This is personal too?"
"All wars are personal eventually."
He moved toward the fallen attackers quickly, taking extra ammunition from one of them.
Even now—
efficient.
Controlled.
Dangerously composed.
"How many enemies do you actually have?"
His faint smirk returned briefly.
"You asking for a number or a category?"
Despite everything, she almost laughed.
Almost.
Another loud burst of gunfire echoed much closer this time.
Too close.
One of his guards shouted from outside the office.
"Boss!"
The guard stumbled into view bleeding heavily from the arm.
"They're pushing toward the north wing!"
"How many left on our side?"
"Not enough."
The room went silent.
Not enough.
Even she understood what that meant.
The guard looked toward her briefly.
"They came prepared for war."
"They got one," he answered coldly.
The guard swallowed hard.
"We need fallback positioning now."
He stayed silent for several seconds.
Thinking.
Then finally—
"Activate basement lockdown."
The guard blinked.
"Boss, if we seal the lower level—"
"They won't leave alive."
The terrifying calmness in his voice made the wounded guard visibly uneasy.
Because basement lockdown clearly meant one thing.
No mercy.
No escape.
The guard nodded quickly and disappeared back into the hallway.
She stared at him carefully.
"What does basement lockdown mean?"
His eyes met hers.
"It means they made a mistake coming here."
A chill ran through her.
Then suddenly—
the entire mansion shook violently.
The lights flickered again before emergency steel doors began slamming shut throughout the hallways automatically.
Heavy metallic echoes thundered through the building.
The atmosphere transformed instantly.
No longer a home.
Now a fortress.
Or maybe a trap.
She looked toward him slowly.
"You planned for attacks like this."
"I planned for betrayal."
The answer came too naturally.
Her chest tightened again.
Because paranoia had become survival for him long ago.
A loud voice suddenly shouted from somewhere downstairs.
"MOVE!"
Then rapid gunfire followed.
Screams.
Explosions.
The mansion had become a battlefield again.
He checked the weapon calmly before stepping toward the door.
She grabbed his wrist instinctively.
"Wait."
He stopped immediately.
Turned toward her.
And suddenly the rage faded slightly from his eyes.
Only for her.
Always only for her.
"You don't have to face everything alone."
A shadow crossed his expression.
"I do."
"No."
"Yes."
"You're allowed to let people stand beside you."
His gaze softened painfully.
"You still think standing beside me ends well?"
"I think loving you means standing beside you anyway."
Silence crashed heavily between them.
Because she meant it.
And deep down—
that terrified him more than enemies ever could.
Slowly, he lifted his hand to her face.
His thumb brushed lightly across her cheek.
Gentle.
Always so strangely gentle with her.
"You say dangerous things so calmly."
"Maybe because I'm tired of pretending I'm afraid."
Something shifted in his expression instantly.
Emotion.
Raw and intense.
Then quietly—
"I am."
Her heartbeat slowed.
"You're afraid?"
"Yes."
The honesty stunned her.
"Of what?"
His eyes searched hers painfully.
"Losing the only thing that still makes me feel human."
Emotion hit her hard enough to ache.
Before she could respond—
footsteps exploded down the hallway.
Fast.
Multiple people.
He instantly pulled her behind him again.
Weapons raised.
The footsteps stopped just outside the office.
Silence.
Then—
a familiar voice.
"Boss—it's us!"
One of his guards.
Alive.
The door opened carefully.
Three remaining guards entered covered in blood and smoke.
One looked barely able to stand.
"They're retreating," the guard said quickly.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why?"
"We don't know."
Another guard stepped forward.
"We intercepted communication. Someone called them off."
The room became still.
That didn't make sense.
Attackers didn't retreat mid-victory unless—
His expression changed instantly.
Realization.
"What is it?" she asked.
His eyes darkened dangerously.
"This wasn't the real attack."
The guards froze.
Then suddenly—
every phone in the room buzzed simultaneously.
He checked his screen first.
And for the first time that night—
actual shock crossed his face.
Her stomach dropped.
"What happened?"
Slowly, he lowered the phone.
His voice became terrifyingly quiet.
"They hit the eastern compound."
One of the guards cursed softly.
"That's impossible."
"No," he answered coldly. "It's strategic."
She looked between them anxiously.
"What's at the eastern compound?"
Silence.
Then—
"My financial network."
Understanding hit instantly.
This entire attack—
the mansion—
the bounty—
all distractions.
Someone had dragged him emotionally into chaos while targeting his empire elsewhere.
The voice from earlier suddenly made sense.
They wanted him distracted.
Unstable.
Protective.
Human.
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on his lips.
And somehow—
that was worse than rage.
"They think they're clever," he murmured.
The guards looked uneasy immediately.
Because they recognized that expression.
War was no longer defensive now.
It had become personal.
Again.
He looked toward the guards.
"Prepare the cars."
One nodded quickly.
"What about the surviving attackers?"
His eyes turned ice cold.
"Leave one alive."
The room chilled instantly.
"And the rest?"
A pause.
Then softly—
"Remind them what happens when people come for what's mine."