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Whispers of Vengeance

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Episode 17: A DANGEROUS CHOICE

Evelina’s POV--

The door clicked shut behind Cassian, but the silence he left behind was deafening.

I stood there, my pulse a frantic rhythm in my ears, his words echoing in my mind.

"Now, you decide whose side you’re really on."

How was I supposed to decide something like that?

Blood or truth?

Loyalty or justice?

My father had been my protector, my constant. The man who kissed my forehead before bed, who warned me away from dangerous people—people like Cassian.

But now I knew.

He hadn’t just been aware of the attack on the Morettis. He had let it happen.

Could I live with that?

I pressed my palms against the cool surface of the counter, my breaths shaky.

I needed answers.

And there was only one way to get them.

---

It was nearly three in the morning when I arrived at my father’s estate.

The guards let me through without question, their expressions neutral. If they were surprised to see me this late, they didn’t show it.

Inside, the house was eerily quiet.

I found my father in his office, seated behind his massive mahogany desk. His silver hair was slightly disheveled, like he had just woken up, but his sharp eyes locked onto me immediately.

“Evelina.” His voice was calm, but there was a flicker of something in his gaze. Something cautious. “It’s late.”

I closed the door behind me.

“We need to talk.”

His brow furrowed. “About what?”

I hesitated, my throat tightening.

He would lie. I knew that. He would twist the truth, manipulate me.

So I didn’t give him the chance.

“I know about the Moretti massacre.”

His expression didn’t change.

But the air in the room shifted.

His fingers tapped once against the desk. A controlled, measured movement. “Where did you hear that?”

I ignored the question. “You knew, didn’t you?” My voice was steadier than I expected. “You knew they were going to be killed.”

He exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair. “Evelina—”

“Don’t,” I cut him off. “Just tell me the truth.”

A long silence stretched between us.

Then, finally—

“I knew.”

The confession was quiet, but it shattered something inside me.

I had braced myself for a lie, for some half-hearted excuse.

But hearing him admit it—so easily, so emotionlessly—made my stomach turn.

“Why?” My voice was barely a whisper. “Why didn’t you warn them?”

His eyes darkened. “Because it wasn’t my fight.”

I took a shaky step back.

“Not your fight?” I repeated, disbelief lacing my tone. “You let an entire family die because it wasn’t your fight?”

His jaw clenched. “You don’t understand, Evelina. That world—it’s not as simple as you think. If I had interfered, it would have started a war. A war I wasn’t willing to risk for a family that was already doomed.”

I swallowed hard, my vision blurring.

I had spent my entire life thinking my father was different from men like Cassian. That he was better.

But in the end, he was just as ruthless.

Just as cold.

“You knew they had a child,” I whispered.

For the first time, something flickered in his expression.

A hesitation.

“You knew Cassian survived,” I continued, my voice breaking. “And you knew he’d come for revenge.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Yes.”

A sharp, hollow laugh escaped me. “And you still didn’t tell me?”

“What good would it have done?” His voice was sharp now, edged with frustration. “You think knowing would’ve changed anything? You think you can fix this?”

I shook my head, my hands trembling.

“This isn’t about fixing it,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “This is about knowing who you really are.”

His eyes hardened. “I did what I had to do.”

“No,” I whispered, stepping back toward the door. “You did what was easiest.”

And with that, I turned and walked away—

Leaving behind the only family I had ever known.

---

Cassian’s POV

I was waiting for her.

I knew she would come.

The moment I heard the soft knock on my door, I smirked.

Right on time.