Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

Font chữ: Palatino Linotype Bookerly Segoe UI Patrick Hand Times New Roman Verdana Tahoma Arial

Chiều cao dòng: 100 120 140 160 180 200

Kích cỡ chữ:

#DS7Unbalanced #InoCent #SMCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: IDALION

TIARA'S POV

"This is not right. We need to go back."

My gaze dropped to Damian's hands. He was clutching the steering wheel hard. Despite what he said, I know how difficult this is for him. But I'm just the sister he recently discovered. We're talking about his wife here. One that he fell in love with and married.

"It's not just your decision." I gave him a small smile, even if it was the last thing I wanted to do. "Don't think about anything else."

"Tiara—"

"My mother is with them. My assistant, who's not supposed to be involved with this, is with them. I can't just let them get hurt."

I know this is probably one of the stupidest decisions I have ever made. We left Jace, who was the only one who actually knew what to do in this kind of situation. And also the reason why he's the first one who's going to get killed. He's the first that they will want to get rid of.

This is stupid. I know that. Damian and I know that. But if I sit around and don't do anything while I know they're suffering, I will regret it more than anything else.

"Hindi tayo nakakasiguro kung makakasunod agad sila Domino." I could still see the pain that glazed over his eyes after he took the call. And fear. Fear that I feel as well. "Members of Obsidian will go down today, and they're going to pour all their focus on that—"

"They will come. Even if it isn't him, someone will come."

It was then his phone was connected to the Bluetooth system of his car. Damian's bodyguard's name appeared on the screen. Jace didn't beat around the bush. "I coordinated with Dagger. You're about to face the international Obsidian Legion, Damian. Turn the car around."

The white on Damian's knuckles could be seen because of how tight he's holding the wheel. "I know I should." He let out a strangled breath. "They have her, Jace."

The other end of the line became quiet. I looked out the window of the car. Everything is a blur from how fast we were going.

International Obsidian Legion. Are they here because they want to protect those behind this country's legion? Or there's another reason why they're here?

"I'll drop Tiara somewhere safe. You can get her, and I'll—"

"No," I said, cutting off Damian. "I'm coming with you."

"Please, Tiara. I need you to not fight me for this."

"And I need you to keep driving. My mother's with them!" Kinuyom ko ang nanginginig ko na mga kamay. "I know she's not the greatest mother. I know she's manipulative and scheming, and she could be a lot and hurtful. If it makes me a fool to still care, then maybe I really am one, but she's my mother." I felt a lone tear glide down my cheek. "I already lost my grandparents, and they meant the world to me. I'm not going to lose her too."

He couldn't say anything because he knew. We're in the same boat, and he knows that there's nothing that could stop him from going to his wife.

Jace's voice pierced the silence. "The international legion's involvement was an unforeseen development. Dagger has reached out to them, and they're demanding a trade."

"To stop the plan for the members of the local legion?" Damian asked.

"Dagger is still commencing the operation of capturing the members of the local legion right at this moment. It's not what the international legion is after. Domino has your father in a secure room." There was an unmistakable edge to his voice. "The president took a copy of the digital ledger of the international legion to cover his bases. What he did was just trigger the countries to take him down... and everything that is involved with him."

The force of Damian's grip on the wheel would have turned into powder if it were possible. "He's not going to give it up," Damian said through gritted teeth.

"Domino's in there to make sure that he would."

"That would be a waste of time."

"Dagger declared a full mobilization. They're searching the palace at this moment as well as your family's other properties. Emeric's out to help after his father was seized." Marahas na nagpakawala ng hininga si Jace. "The moment I found out you slipped by me, Dagger was already aware. I've talked with one of Domino's brothers. Domino is still in the secure room with your father. The nearest unit they have, who was watching the house, is currently following you. Marami pang parating."

I know Dagger has a lot of employees, but can they really handle all of this alone?

As if hearing my thoughts, Jace speaks again, "They reached out to other agencies for assistance. There's no reason for you both to go through this. Everyone has it covered. Turn the car around—"

Natabunan ang kung ano pa man na sasabihin ni Jace nang makarinig kami ng papalapit na ingay sa amin. Then the car lurches.

I looked at the rear view mirror, and I saw another car behind us that must have caused the car to jerk when they intentionally bumped into it. May isa pang sasakyakyan na sumulpot at nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita kong may naglabas ng baril sa bintana ng naunang sasakyan at pinapatukan ang pangalawa. They're firing at Dagger's vehicle.

"Push your seat back, Tiara, and lean down," Damian commanded. Tutok na tutok ang atensyon niya sa harapan namin at naramdaman kong mas bumilis pa ang takbo ng kinaroroonan namin na sasakyan.

I did as he told me to do. Saktong pagyuko ko ay nakarinig ako ng malakas na ingay na sobrang lapit sa kinaroroonan ko. I caught a glimpse of the side mirror hanging broken and loose.

"They're not waiting for the ledger." Damian cursed under his breath. "They believe the same thing that I do. Our father won't give the ledger up."

A scream involuntarily escaped my throat as the car jolted, narrowly avoiding the barricade that prevented us from plummeting off the cliff. I heard Damian and Jace exchanging harsh, loud words, the latter giving my brother instructions to evade the pursuing vehicles. Amidst the deafening sound, I barely heard Jace telling Damian that someone is currently bombing the vacation house. If we stayed there...

I caught sight of my phone, which must have fallen because of the car's sudden movement. I reached for it, and the lock screen blinked open, revealing the wallpaper that Domino set up himself. It was a picture we took what felt like a long time ago when we were wearing matching aprons; mine's pink while his was blue.

With shaking hands, I opened the phone to call him. It didn't take a long time before someone answered, but it wasn't Domino.

"Tiara," Coal said, his tone a mixture of tension and relief.

"I need to talk to him."

"Listen—"

"Please," I whispered, desperation laced in my tone. "Please let me speak to him."

Coal didn't say anything for a second, but at the next, I could hear him moving from the other end of the line. Narinig ko ang pagbukas sara ng pintuan. Despite being in the middle of chaos, a sense of calmness embraced me, and for some reason, I just know that he's now the one who has the phone.

Tears clouded my eyes. We don't deserve this. Damian, Emeric, and I don't deserve this. We didn't choose our parents. We didn't want to be born out of this mess. Hindi namin pinili na maging anak ni Thomas Salazar.

I know my life is at stake for a choice I willingly made, but it was so unfair to think that even if we stayed, it would have still been fatal for us. That we will not be given a choice, just like always. We were born by the decisions of our father, and we will die by the mistakes that he made.

"I love you," I found myself whispering.

He doesn't deserve this. To hear the words I just said once. Just this once. What I know he has been waiting for. And yet here we are... here we are with me telling him the words that I might not be able to say again.

"Tiara—"

What engulfed us was a terrifying sound of destruction. There was a succession of gunfire, followed by loud metallic clangs as bullets hit the car.

I know the moment Damian lost control of the car, and I braced myself into a position that reminded me so much of the plane crash. A plane crash that I survived because I was with Domino.

This one... the possibility is dire. I feel like I used up all my luck. I've been put in danger again and again, and I've survived. All of those times because he was there.

Please. Please give me one more chance. I can't leave him like this. I can't break his heart this way. Just one more time so that I can tell him that I love him again.

I don't know if there's a higher power out there. I don't believe in a lot of things. But I hope that there is. I hope that in this grand, colossal creation that is life, there's something good out there looking out for us.

Damian steered the wheel to the other side of the road, away from the cliff but closer to the center of the circular road. The car jolted violently as it collided with something, causing our speed to decrease a little. The vehicle spun wildly, tires screeching in protest. All I could do was hold on as, with a final jolt, the car finally came to a stop.

I felt Damian move and push something toward me that felt cold to the touch. "Hide it," he whispered with urgency. "Now, Tiara."

Sa kabila ng panginginig ng katawan ay sinunod ko ang utos niya. I realize that I have a foldable tactical knife in my hand. Itinago ko iyon sa loob ng suot ko na sweatshirt. I hit it under the band of the sports bra I'm wearing.

"Don't hesitate to use it." Damian's eyes held mine. "Don't think about anything else but yourself."

Hindi ko na siya nagawang sagutin nang bumukas ang pintuan sa tabi ko. I was forcefully dragged out of the car, and even without looking at Damian, I knew that he was being hauled out of the driver's side too.

When I straightened, I came face-to-face with a masked gunman. Walang salitang hinila niya ako papunta sa isa pang sasakyan. This one was bigger than the other two that were going head-to-head with Dagger moments ago. Where are they?

The fear I'm feeling intensified at the possibility that something happened to them. I may not have been given the chance to get to know all of them, but I do know how important everyone in Dagger is to each other.

My vision darkened when a blindfold was put on me to cover my eyes. The next was a gag to stop me from talking. Sigurado akong ganoon din ang ginawa nila kay Damian na hindi ko na naririnig.

I felt the car move, and I couldn't hear anything more but the sound of the vehicle and the loud thudding of my heart. I've survived a plane crash. I have survived different grave predicaments again and again. I will survive this one too. I need to.

I don't know how long it was, but suddenly the car stopped. There were movements, and then I was being pulled out of the car again. My feet could barely keep up with whomever I was with, but there was nothing I could do but follow him.

I heard a loud clanking sound, and then I was greeted by an overwhelming stench of something that is like a mixture of rust and something metallic. May marahas na humila sa nakatakip sa mga mata ko at sa busal na nasa bibig ko. It took a bit of time for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, the first thing I saw was the three people tied to chairs in the middle of what looked like an abandoned warehouse, all of them in an almost unconscious state.

As if my feet had a mind of their own, I found myself running towards them. I fell to my mother's feet, my eyes welling up, when I saw that she could barely open her eyes which were already starting to bruise.

I called out to her in my mother tongue, and she responded by forcing her eyes to open. For a moment, it was like she didn't recognize me. Like she couldn't believe what she was seeing was real. But when she did, awareness glazed over her eyes.

"Y-Your..."

"You don't need to speak," I whispered.

"Your.. your fucking father," she hissed, clearly in pain. "I hope he rots in hell."

It wasn't what I expected her to say. Given that she wanted to be in this country to be with him in the first place. But I guess being in captivity, for I don't know how long, has changed her mind. As it should.

"Dochka." She tried to move, but it wasn't easy for her. "I am far from perfect. I am in no way a good person. I can't say that I didn't want him for his wealth and power. I can't say that I didn't want him for a lot of other reasons. I... I wanted a lot of things."

"Maty," I said, calling her mother in Ukrainian.

"But I do love him."

I pressed my lips together. She's the kind of person who wouldn't care about hurting anyone as long as she got what she wanted. She always tells me that. That I need to look out for myself more than anyone else's. I agree with her point, but I don't agree that to do that, you have to hurt and step on other people the way she did when she decided to be involved with a married man.

"I-I was confident that everything would be okay once he came back to us. The... the one threatening you, the danger around you—they could all disappear. He's a... he's a powerful man."

"Mother—"

"But your fucking father—that good for nothing, son of a bitch, cause all this!" she spit out vehemently. "He's the reason why you almost died!"

"Save your strength." Hinawakan ko ang braso niya. "We will get out of here."

"I am a lot of things, but I am not a liar, dochka. I can't agree with you." She let out a pained breath. "Run the moment you have a chance. You... you shouldn't have come here."

Naglandas ang luha sa mga mata ko. "How can you say that?"

She pressed her eyes shut. "Too much heart. You're too selfless for your own good. I thought having me as your mother would make you tough, but you never change." She opened her eyes and gave me the softest look she has ever given me in my whole life. "But I guess if you did, you wouldn't be the daughter I knew. Too pure with a heart too beautiful for such a corrupt world."

Bumuka ang mga labi ko para magsalita pero naramdaman ko ang malamig na bagay na lumapat sa likod ng ulo ko. I was forced to my feet, and I came to face more masked men with their guns ready in their hands.

"They have it. They're ready to negotiate."

"Too bad we'll kill them all anyway."

The conversation I just heard was coming from the side of the warehouse, where two men were talking in French. I don't think they know that I can understand their language. If they did, they wouldn't have spoken carelessly in front of me.

Hinanap ng mga mata ko si Damian. I found him still kneeling at the side of his wife, who wasn't opening her eyes, unlike my mother. And Daria... Daria is in such a bad state that the only sign she's alive is her rapid breathing.

Hinila ako ng taong may hawak sa akin. Dahil sa marahas na paggalaw ng katawan ko ay naramdaman ko ang bahagyang pag-iba ng posisyon ng inipit ko na kutsilyo sa loob ng damit ko. The man's gaze dropped to it, and knowing that it would only be seconds before he took it away from me, I quickly slipped a hand inside to pull the metal out. I pressed something on the knife's body, and when it snapped open, I stabbed the man, targeting his chest.

Nagawa niyang iwasan ang pagkilos ko dahilan para sa balikat niya lang iyon na tumama. He roared in pain, and he raised his hand towards me. On the next second, I found myself on the floor, my cheeks burning and my ears ringing.

Napaigik ako nang hilahin niya ang buhok ko at pilit na pinaluhod niya ako. "This bitch!"

Another man stepped forward, and he stopped the man from doing anything else. Nilabas niya ang sarili niyang baril at tinutok iyon sa akin bago niya iginalaw ang ulo niya. "Go fix yourself. I'll take care of this one."

With one seething glare at me, the man moved away.

"Assume your positions," the new masked gunman barked in command.

Kumilos ang mga lalaki at lahat sila ay naghiwalay-hiwalay. The place was too big, and there's a lot of areas they could hide in. It will be difficult for anyone to anticipate where the threats could come from.

Hinigit ako ng lalaki habang nananatiling nakatutok sa ulo ko ang baril. Ilang sandali lang ay nasa tabi ko rin si Damian na pinapuwesto nila sa kapareha na posisyon.

Despite everything that is happening, I was glad that Emeric wasn't here. There's no reason that all of us should be in this situation just because of a father who doesn't even care if we're going to lose our lives because of his greed.

The warehouse fell into complete silence. Then the air shifted and the door cracked open, revealing familiar figures that were approaching us.

My breath caught when I caught sight of Domino, with Thorn and Gun flanking him. Their faces were set into hard stones, but their steps were confident, as if they were just entering their own homes. The only thing that gave Domino away was the rage behind his eyes when his gaze dropped to my face and to the floor, where there's a stain of blood from the man I just stabbed.

"I thought I made it clear that she must be unharmed." Domino looked at the man coldly. "I have what you want."

"It's not our fault that she attacked one of us."

Domino's jaw clenched. He looks like he wants to break the man's neck. "Let them go, and I'll give you the ledger."

"That's not what we agreed to."

"I will stay here in exchange for them."

"No," I heard myself whispering. "No! They will—"

The man holding me tightened his grip on me that I couldn't help but wince. Domino's eyes flashed, and the murderous intent that was radiating from him was unmistakable. "Let her go."

"Give us the ledger."

"I want her out of here, and I'll give it to you," Domino insisted.

"Give it—"

"They will kill you!" I screamed. "Get out! You need to get out! They're all over the place!"

Domino raised his hand, and he fired without a second thought. The man's hold on me loosened, and his body made a loud thump when he collapsed on the floor, a bullet in the middle of his forehead.

Damian dove on me at the same time that a hail of bullets filled the warehouse. Naramdaman kong inabot niya ang baril na hawak kanina ng lalaking ngayon ay walang buhay na nakahandusay sa sahig at itinutok niya iyon sa kung saan at nagpaputok siya.

Through all that, my eyes remained fixed on Domino. He didn't move an inch from where he was standing. He continued to fire as if he were invisible to the men that were popping out of their hiding places.

Nakaramdam ako ng pagyanig na nasundan ng malakas na pagsabog. I instinctively covered my head, but to my utter confusion, the men that were running in our direction started dispersing in different directions. They couldn't go far. Not when, one by one, they were dropping to the floor like flies.

"Find me who hurt her."

Domino's voice was eerily calm. I looked up, and I saw that he was walking in my direction. Damian helped me up, and I felt him push me forward a little toward Domino before he stepped back to go to his wife's side.

Naramdaman ko ang pamilyar na init na nagmumula kay Domino. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. Without looking at me, he watched as a man who seemed to be of Italian descent approached us while dragging the man who I stabbed moments ago.

"W-We just want the ledger," the masked gunman said. "The negotiation must be carried out, or there's a lot of us that would be coming."

Domino regarded him with a blank look. "I don't have the ledger."

"W-What—"

He tipped his chin to the Italian-looking man. "He has it."

Nakangiting nagbaba ng tingin ang lalaki. He moved a little so that the light of the warehouse could illuminate him better. The tension that radiated from the masked man once the face of the unknown man was made clear to him was so strong that I could almost feel it.

"Allessio Cascella," the man said to introduce himself. There's a hint of an accent in his tone. "Right at this moment, country after country will be cleaned out of Obsidian. Your reign ends here."

"Y-You're no better than us!"

"Idalion is not in the business of human trafficking. Especially with women and children. We hate unnecessary deaths. However, I doubt your situation falls into that category." Tinapik niya ang balikat ng lalaki. "The whole legion ends here."

"You... you have no business here. Obsidian won't ever forget about this."

"A friend gave us a tempting offer that we couldn't refuse. Obsidian Legion gone forever, how can Idalion refuse?" As if hearing the question on the man's mind, Allessio Cascella continued, "My father, Ezio Cascella, has a soft spot for this country's people. Since we want you all gone as well, this is a win-win situation for all of us."

"Nothing can stop the legion—"

"Even prison can't protect you." The Italian man's eyes flash, revealing an underlying thrill of anticipation. "Dagger had a choice. They'll give you the ledger and you go on your merry way out of this country, or they give it to us and we'll show the world what it contains and wipe you all out afterward until none of you breathe the same air that we do. They chose the latter knowing that you'll never keep the other end of the deal. Unlike the legion, they also know how to use their resources without needing to kidnap women and brutalize them. Hence, why we're here." He pulled the man's mask and tapped his cheek affectionately. "Don't worry. Your leaders will be with you soon. I just need to make them hurt a little more so that they can pay me back from the debt they owe me when they killed my wife."

Fear was created with this person in mind. He was by far the most dangerous man that I have ever seen, and yet, for some reason, I feel more at ease with him than I have ever been with the men that took me and Damian.

Allessio Cascella pushed the man in front of us until this time he was the one kneeling on the floor. Domino looked down at the gunman and stared right through his eyes. "You hurt her."

"S-She... she stabbed me! She—"

"You made her kneel."

"I—"

"The only time her cheeks should be red is not for a reason that she's been hurt." Domino raises his hand, which is holding a gun. "And one more thing..." Domino pulled me close, and he covered my eyes. A gun went off, vibrating through the air in a dangerous blast. "She only kneels for me."