Chapter 111
The silence was deafening.
Beatrice stood frozen in the doorway, her hand still gripping the frame for support. Her legs trembled beneath her, weak from months of forced sedation, weak from childbirth, weak from everything Atlas had put her through.
But none of that mattered now.
Because Atlas was lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
The gun had clattered from his hand, skittering across the polished marble until it came to rest against the far wall. His body was motionless, sprawled at an unnatural angle, one arm flung out as if reaching for something—or someone—that would never come.
Blood.
So much blood.
It spread across the pristine white floor like spilled ink, dark and viscous, pooling beneath his head. The metallic scent filled the air, thick and suffocating, mixing with the acrid smell of gunpowder.
Beatrice's breath came in short, shallow gasps. Her vision blurred at the edges, the world tilting dangerously.
This isn't real. This can't be real.
But it was.
Atlas—the man who had manipulated her, drugged her, stolen her child, planned her death—was dying.
Or maybe already dead.
"Atlas..." The name fell from her lips, barely a whisper.
No response.
Her heart pounded so violently she thought it might burst from her chest. Every instinct screamed at her to move, to do something, but her body refused to obey.
And then—
"LET HIM DIE."
Blade's voice exploded in her mind, sharp and vicious, cutting through the shock like a blade through flesh.
Beatrice flinched, her hands flying to her temples.
"Let him die, Bea," Blade repeated, his tone colder now, more controlled but no less intense. "This is what he deserves. After everything he's done—to you, to me, to us—he deserves to bleed out on this floor like the dog he is."
Beatrice's throat tightened. Her vision swam with unshed tears.
"I..." She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
"Don't you dare," Blade snarled. "Don't you fucking dare try to save him. He tried to kill you, Bea. He drugged you. He took your son. He was going to let you die and raise our child as his own. And you want to save him?"
"I—" Beatrice's voice cracked. "I don't know..."
"You don't know?!" Blade's fury burned through her skull like fire. "Are you out of your goddamn mind? This man has done nothing but hurt you from the moment you met him! He doesn't deserve your compassion. He doesn't deserve your mercy!"
Beatrice's knees buckled. She sank to the floor, her hands pressing against the cold marble as she tried to steady herself.
Atlas's blood was inching closer, creeping toward her fingers like a living thing.
She jerked her hand back.
"Blade..." she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "He's... he's the father of my child."
A bitter laugh echoed in her mind.
"Father?" Blade spat the word like poison. "He's a monster. He doesn't get to be a father. He doesn't get to be anything."
Beatrice shook her head, her breath coming in ragged sobs. "But our son... what do I tell our son? That I let his father die? That I stood there and watched?"
"You tell him the truth," Blade said coldly. "That his father was a killer. A manipulator. A man who would have destroyed you both without a second thought."
Beatrice pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to block out the voice, the blood, the overwhelming sense of drowning. But she couldn't. Because Blade was right.
Atlas had done all of those things. He had hurt her, betrayed her, nearly killed her. And yet...
Her hand moved.
Slowly, trembling, her fingers reached for the phone in her pocket.
"Bea, NO!" Blade roared. "Don't you fucking do it! Don't you—"
Beatrice pulled out her phone, her vision blurred by tears, her hands shaking so badly she could barely hold it.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Blade, but I... I can't..."
"BEA!"
She dialed.
The line rang once. Twice.
"Emergency services, what's your location?"
Beatrice opened her mouth, but no sound came out at first. Her throat was too tight, her chest too constricted.
"Hello? Are you there?"
"I..." Beatrice forced the words out, each one like a knife twisting in her gut. "I need... an ambulance. There's been... a shooting."
Blade's scream tore through her mind, raw and agonized.
"YOU FOOL! YOU FUCKING FOOL!"
Beatrice squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face as she gave the operator the address.
"Please hurry," she choked out. "He's... he's losing a lot of blood."
The operator's voice was calm, professional. "Stay on the line. Help is on the way. Can you tell me if the victim is breathing?"
Beatrice's gaze snapped to Atlas. His chest rose and fell—barely. Shallow, labored breaths that rattled in his lungs.
"Yes," she whispered. "He's breathing."
