Sweet Hatred
Chapter 105: KAEL ROMAN - V

Chapter 105: KAEL ROMAN - V

They picked some old estate outside the city—private, gilded, surrounded by trees like it was trying to hide its sins in the foliage. I let them think I was walking into their territory.

I’d made him think he still had control.

The car slowed. Niko glanced at me once through the rearview, silent. He knew. Clan knew. Everyone in the car knew. This wasn’t a conversation—it was a crucifixion.

I stepped out.

Gravel crunched under my shoes as I approached the doors. Two of Luca’s men stood outside, puffed up and twitchy. I didn’t spare them a glance. They moved aside without being told.

Inside, it was all velvet curtains, polished wood, and chandeliers too gaudy for taste. The kind of place that thought money could imitate power. It reeked of Bellandi ego—like he needed the walls to remind me who he thought he was.

But I’d already peeled the skin off that illusion.

I walked through the hallway like I’d built it myself. Every guard, every watchful eye, every camera—I counted them all. Weak men hiding behind gold always looked the same to me.

By the time I entered the room, Luca was already present. Waiting this time. He stood at the far end of the table, clinging to what little power he thought he had left. The suit hanging off him used to scream money and control. Now, it just looked tired. Like him. Still, he plastered on that desperate little smile. The kind you wear when you’re one breath away from drowning and pretending the water feels fine.

"You think I don’t see what this is?" he said, voice rough, cracking like old stone. "You’ve been bleeding me dry. Every call, every deal—gone. You want to talk betrayal? You’re the one who crossed a line, Kael."

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. He needed my reaction like a drowning man needs air.

So I gave him nothing.

He kept talking. I could see it—the way the panic curled just behind his eyes. He was sweating. He was spiraling. Perfect.

"You forget who built your first pipeline? Who made introductions when you were still just your father’s shadow? I kept your name out of the dirt—"

Still nothing from me. My silence was a scalpel, cutting deeper than any threat.

His voice spiked again. "You think you’re untouchable, huh? I still have friends. Alliances. I could make a call—"

Could you?

I saw it hit him then. The stillness in the room. The way Niko hadn’t moved an inch by the door. The way no one had said a word but him. The realization bloomed across his face like a slow bruise.

"You’re gonna regret this." His last swing, a pathetic one. "Say something. Be a man Kael—fucking—Roman."

I was just about to speak when my phone buzzed again, sharp, insistent. Luca cocked a brow, already irritated by the delay. I didn’t owe him shit, but I glanced down anyway.

Aria.

The name alone made the noise around me blur for half a second. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

I knew if I heard her voice live, something in me would soften. Couldn’t afford that. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him.

But then a voicemail alert blinked at me like it was daring me. I should have ignored it. But I didn’t, I couldn’t even resist not hearing her voice in the silent chaos. I turned away from Luca, just slightly, and tapped play.

"Hi, uhm... okay, I’m not calling because I’m worried or anything. Obviously. I just—I mean, you’ve been suspiciously quiet this week and the last, and I’m starting to wonder if you’ve finally died in a ditch somewhere, which, you know... not ideal. Anyway, I’m not worried. I just need to know who’ll be paying my salary now. Preferably someone hotter. Or with less emotional constipation. Okay, that’s it. Bye."

Her voice trailed off awkwardly, and for a moment, It was like warmth crept in through a crack I didn’t know existed. I smiled. A real one. Laughed under my breath.

God, I missed her. Missed that mouth. Missed her smartass little barbs that always hit closer to home than she realized.

But I wasn’t alone.

I turned back around, slipping the phone into my pocket, and with it, any softness I’d almost let out. My gaze sharpened. Smile gone. Voice steel.

"Now... where were we?"

Luca started unraveling right in front of me. His voice rose, panic bleeding through every sharp word.

"You’re a fucking coward, Kael. Hiding behind men, behind money, behind your father’s name—"

I tilted my head slowly, watching him like a dog trying to bite with a broken jaw. He was desperate now. He could taste the fall, feel the floor cracking beneath him. I smiled.

"Kael, listen. I didn’t mean— Look, we can work something out. I have people. You have people. We can—"

I raised a hand and he flinched. The room stilled like it knew something was about to end. I spoke in a low and cold tone.

"I gave you mercy once."

He froze. Eyes wide. I nodded once.

A simple signal, like dropping a guillotine.

The doors burst open. Heavy boots on tile. Guns cocked.

And it wasn’t mine. It wasn’t Niko nor Clan or his men. It was the D’Amicos.

Their second-in-command stepped into the room like a quiet shadow trailing blood. Luca’s mouth parted, stunned.

Recognition hit. And then came horror. He turned to me slowly, realizing. I hadn’t come to finish him. I’d delivered him. To the family that wanted revenge.

And the silence he heard? That was me walking away.

I turned away, steps calm, deliberate. I didn’t need to look back.

"You’re just like your old man," Luca rasped with a slight chuckle. "No... you’re worse. At least he doesn’t pretend to have a soul."

I didn’t stop. Didn’t flinch. I kept walking, the floor cold beneath my feet, my shadow long and detached under the pale lights.

Then the shot cracked through the air—sharp, final. I exhaled, slow and steady. I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath.

The door shut behind me with a soft click, sealing the room and everything in it. Whatever was left of mercy... it died in there too.

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