"Go to the rooftop."
The command echoed through the room.
My breath caught.
Alessio stood in the center of the office, his expression carved from stone. Every trace of warmth had vanished from his face.
Only cold fury remained.
His father slowly looked up from his chair.
Then he chuckled.
A dark, amused sound.
"You think you can order me around?"
Alessio took a step forward.
The movement was small.
Yet somehow it felt threatening.
Dangerous.
"I wasn't asking."
Silence followed.
The older man's eyes narrowed.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Neither of them blinked.
Neither of them looked away.
Two kings.
One empire.
One inevitable war.
Then, surprisingly, Alessio's father stood.
A smile played on his lips.
"Fine."
His gaze shifted toward me.
"Let's settle this."
A chill crawled down my spine.
Because that smile wasn't normal.
It was the smile of a man who had already accepted bloodshed.
We walked through the building in silence.
No guards followed.
No soldiers.
No witnesses.
That had been Alessio's condition.
And his father had accepted.
The rooftop door slammed shut behind us.
The city stretched endlessly around us.
Lights glittered beneath the dark sky.
Cold wind whipped through my hair.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Alessio finally broke the silence.
"Why?"
His voice was low.
Dangerously low.
The older man tilted his head.
"Why what?"
"Why betray me?"
His father's smile faded.
"I built everything."
He spread his arms.
"The empire."
"The power."
"The fear."
His eyes hardened.
"And then you threw it away."
"I made it stronger."
"You made it weak."
Alessio laughed.
The sound held absolutely no humor.
"No."
His jaw clenched.
"I made it human."
The older man scoffed.
"Humanity is weakness."
His gaze suddenly landed on me.
"She's weakness."
My stomach dropped.
Alessio immediately stepped between us.
The movement was instinctive.
Protective.
Possessive.
His father noticed.
And smiled.
"There."
He pointed at me.
"Exactly there."
His eyes returned to Alessio.
"That is why you'll lose."
Something dangerous flashed through Alessio's expression.
"Careful."
The warning came out cold.
Sharp.
Deadly.
His father ignored it.
"Before her, you would've killed anyone who stood in your way."
The older man stepped closer.
"Now look at you."
His smile widened.
"You love something."
I saw Alessio's hands curl into fists.
"Say one more word."
"Why?"
His father laughed.
"Because the truth hurts?"
The wind howled across the rooftop.
Dark clouds rolled above us.
The first distant rumble of thunder echoed through the sky.
But neither man cared.
Years of resentment stood between them.
Years of anger.
Years of disappointment.
Years of hatred.
"I gave you everything," his father growled.
"And you tried to take everything from me."
Alessio's voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that came right before destruction.
"You were willing to sacrifice innocent people."
"I was protecting our empire."
"You were protecting yourself."
The older man's eyes darkened.
The accusation hit its target.
For a second, neither spoke.
Then—
Everything happened at once.
His father moved.
A flash of metal appeared.
A gun.
My breath stopped.
Before I could react, a strong arm wrapped around me.
The cold barrel pressed against my temple.
I froze.
The rooftop seemed to disappear beneath my feet.
Alessio went completely still.
Deadly still.
The kind of stillness that terrified me more than shouting ever could.
Rain began falling.
One drop.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
The storm finally arrived.
But none of us noticed.
Because the gun remained pressed against my head.
And Alessio's eyes had become pure darkness.
"Let her go."
The words were barely audible.
His father laughed.
"No."
Every muscle in Alessio's body tightened.
The rain soaked his black shirt.
Water dripped down his face.
Yet he didn't blink.
Didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
"Touch her," he said quietly, "and die."
"Touch her and die."
The words echoed across the rooftop.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Rain began to fall.
Slow.
Cold.
Relentless.
Alessio's father laughed.
"You've become weak."
The barrel remained pressed against my head.
But Alessio didn't look afraid.
He looked furious.
Deadly.
"Let her go."
"No."
The older man smirked.
"What are you going to do about it?"
Something dark flashed in Alessio's eyes.
Then he moved.
Fast.
So fast I barely saw it.
One second he stood several feet away.
The next, he was in front of us.
His hand slammed into his father's wrist.
The gun fired.
BANG!
The bullet disappeared into the night sky.
I screamed.
The weapon flew from the older man's hand.
Alessio shoved me backward.
"Move, Adriana!"
I stumbled away.
My heart hammered violently.
Then the two men collided.
A brutal punch landed across his father's jaw.
The older man answered with one of his own.
Blood.
Rain.
Violence.
Everything exploded at once.
Years of resentment.
Years of hatred.
Years of betrayal.
Finally unleashed.
Father and son.
Neither willing to back down.
Neither willing to lose.
Thunder roared overhead.
And the storm truly began.
For the first time all night—
His father hesitated.
Rain crashed against the rooftop.
The storm had completely swallowed the city.
Thunder roared overhead.
Water soaked my clothes.
My hair.
My skin.
But I couldn't feel any of it.
Because Alessio was losing.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"No!"
The scream tore from my throat.
Alessio's father drove his elbow into Alessio's ribs.
Alessio grunted.
Then another punch landed across his jaw.
Blood mixed with the rain.
The sight made my stomach twist.
For a moment, Alessio managed to gain the upper hand.
He grabbed his father's wrist.
Twisted.
The gun slipped free.
Clattering across the wet concrete.
Hope exploded inside me.
But then—
His foot slipped.
Only slightly.
Only for a second.
Yet that second changed everything.
The rain had turned the rooftop into a death trap.
Alessio lost his balance.
His father saw the opportunity instantly.
The older man slammed into him.
Both crashed onto the rooftop floor.
A violent struggle followed.
Fists.
Grunts.
Blood.
Rain.
Everything blurred together.
Then suddenly—
Alessio's father wrapped an arm around his neck from behind.
A chokehold.
A brutal one.
Alessio immediately fought against it.
His muscles strained.
His jaw clenched.
His hands clawed at the arm crushing his throat.
But the older man refused to let go.
Years of hatred burned in his eyes.
Years of resentment.
Years of jealousy.
"You should have listened to me," he hissed
Alessio's breathing became ragged.
Yet he still managed a laugh.
A dark laugh.
"You already lost."
The older man's expression twisted with fury
He tightened his grip.
Harder.
Alessio winced.
A horrible sound escaped my throat.
"No!"
Neither man listened.
The fight had become personal.
Primal.
Father against son.
Nothing else mattered.
Then the older man's gaze shifted.
Toward the gun.
Alessio's gun.
Lying several feet away.
A cruel smile appeared on his face.
Before I understood what he intended, he lunged forward.
Still keeping Alessio trapped.
Still choking him.
He grabbed the weapon.
My blood ran cold.
Slowly—
Deliberately—
He pressed the barrel against Alessio's head.
Everything stopped.
Even the storm seemed to fall silent.
Alessio froze.
Not from fear.
From realization.
The position was impossible.
One wrong movement.
One pull of the trigger.
And he was dead.
I couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't move.
The gun trembled slightly in the older man's hand.
Rain streamed down his face.
"You were never worthy of this empire."
His voice was filled with hatred.
"Everything should have been mine."
Alessio stared at him.
Despite everything.
Despite the gun.
Despite the chokehold.
He refused to look away.
"You sound pathetic."
The older man's eyes flashed.
The barrel dug harder into Alessio's temple.
I flinched.
"Stop!" I cried.
Neither of them looked at me.
My chest tightened.
Fear consumed me.
I couldn't lose him.
Not like this.
Not here.
Not after everything.
Then I saw it.
Another gun.
Half-hidden beneath the rainwater.
The weapon Alessio had dropped earlier.
My pulse stopped.
Slowly—
Carefully—
I moved toward it.
Neither man noticed.
Their attention remained fixed on each other.
My fingers closed around the cold metal.
The gun felt impossibly heavy.
My hands shook.
I had never wanted this.
Never wanted blood.
Never wanted violence.
But Alessio's breathing was growing weaker.
And his father was smiling.
Smiling.
As if he had already won.
I raised the weapon.
My entire body trembled.
"Let him go."
My voice cracked.
The older man looked at me.