Cassius''s heart felt as if it were being sliced into ribbons. He couldn''t wait another second. "You want me toe find you? Cut the crap and give me the address! I''m on my way!"


    "The address will be sent to you shortly. But youe alone. No guns, no tricks."


    n-!" Before Cassius could finish, the line went dead.


    "Cassius, we''reing with you!"


    Evadne''s bloodshot eyes widened as she grabbed her brother''s trembling hands. "Don''t listen to his garbage. You have to carry a weapon, and you have to let us back you up! Going in alone means walking straight into his lethal trap!"


    Hans nodded firmly. "Evadne is right. We''ll follow you. We can set up a perimeter outside. He''ll never know we''re there."


    Thaddeus stepped up beside Evadne. "I''ll bring a sniper rifle. The moment I have a clear shot, I''ll put a bullet through his skull."


    "No. I''m going alone. This is between me andn."


    Cassius''s eyes were dark red as he shook his head with absolute certainty. "Evadne, you''re still unwell; let Thaddeus stay here and protect you. And Hubery just escaped with his life. He''s injured and needs rest. We can''t push him any further."


    No matter the crisis, he was always the eldest son of the Ashbourne family. The big brother.


    No matter how panicked or heartbroken he felt, his first priority was always his family''s safety.


    Evadne stared at him in horror, tears streaming down her face. "Cassius! No! You can''t go alone! Can''t you see" He''s using Chasel as bait to execute you! He has no intention of letting you walk out alive! If anything happens to you, what''s the point of me being here? I won''t survive it!"


    Hearing this, Thaddeus''s heart clenched. He instinctively grabbed her slender wrist,


    his fingers tightening.


    Cassius slowly closed his eyes, a tear catching on hisshes.


    ...


    The night sky pressed down heavily, ck and suffocating. The icy wind howled, whipping across the destendscape devoid of a single star.


    With a piercing screech of tires, a ck sports car executed a wless drift,ing to a dead stop in front of an abandoned factory in the northern outskirts.


    The door swung open, and Cassius stepped out. The biting wind caught his dark


    hair, his long ck coat billowing violently around him.


    He stood alone before the rusted gates, his posture straight as a de, utterly immovable.


    A momentter, the motorized iron gates groaned, slowly grinding open to reveal nothing but a cold, pitch-ck void waiting for him.


    "Lord, please grant me your grace just this once."


    Cassius closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to the silver cross in his hand as he prayed silently. "If you cannot grant me grace, please grant it to Chase! I will dly trade my life to guarantee his safety."