No more Running

The past doesn't haunt you. It hunts you.

Celeste....

My breath came in short bursts as Adrian and I navigated through the labyrinthine corridors of the black site. The gunfire had slowed, but I knew better than to think we were safe. William Carter never left loose ends.

And tonight, I was going to prove that I wasn't one either.

Adrian moved beside me, his body still tense from the fight. He was bleeding, but he hadn't said a word about it. That was just who he was—unbreakable, stubborn, relentless.

"Which way?" he asked, voice low.

I clenched my jaw. I knew where my father would go. He had always been a man of strategy, of premeditated steps. He wouldn't run without a plan. He would lead us straight into another trap.

But that didn't matter.

I was done running.

"This way."

I led us through a dimly lit hallway, my gun steady in my grip. The echoes of our footsteps bounced off the steel walls. Every turn felt like a descent into something deeper, darker.

And then I saw him.

William stood at the end of the corridor, his posture too calm for a man whose empire was crumbling. His expression was the same one I had grown up seeing—controlled, unreadable, powerful.

"Daughter," he greeted smoothly, hands in his pockets. "I was beginning to wonder if you would make it here before my associates finished cleaning up."

Adrian took a step forward, but I lifted a hand. This was mine.

I exhaled, my grip tightening around my gun. "No more games. No more manipulations. You don't get to control the board anymore."

He smirked, like I was a child throwing a tantrum. "You think you've won?"

I shook my head. "No. I think I'm done playing."

His eyes flickered with something unreadable before he sighed. "You always had fire, Celeste. But fire is dangerous when you don't know how to control it. You were supposed to finish Adrian but look at you. Do you really think this will be over just like this. No, Celeste Adrian has to die. He is meant to share the same destiny has his father."

Adrian tensed beside me, but I didn't move. I didn't flinch. "You killed his father," I said, my voice sharp. "You used me. You built this entire lie so that I would be your weapon."

William took a step forward, his expression darkening. "And it worked, didn't it? I gave you purpose. I made you strong."

A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat. "You didn't make me strong. You made me angry."

His gaze flicked between Adrian and me, his mind calculating, always calculating. Even now, he was planning something.

I lifted my gun, pointing it straight at his chest. "No more. I am gonna finish what you started but by finishing you."

He exhaled slowly, like he had already accepted this outcome. "Do it, then. You can't, you are too weak Celeste. If I had known you would be this weak and pathetic, I would have never taken you back in. You are such a disappointment."

I hesitated. He is just trying to get in your head.

For years, I had believed he was my savior. Then I had hated him for his lies. Now, standing before him, I felt neither. Just certainty.

I tightened my grip on the trigger.

But before I could fire, the room erupted in chaos.

A gunshot rang out—not from me.

Pain tore through my shoulder as a bullet grazed me, sending me stumbling back. More guards. My father had bought himself more time, slipping into the shadows as his men surged forward.

"Celeste!" Adrian's voice was sharp, his gun already raised as he fired at the oncoming threat. I gritted my teeth, pushing past the pain, forcing myself back into the fight.

The corridor became a war zone—bullets ricocheting, bodies dropping, the air thick with gunpowder and blood.

I barely noticed my father disappearing into the chaos.

But this wasn't over.

Not yet.

Adrian grabbed my arm, pulling me back toward cover. His expression was hard, his eyes burning into mine. "We have to get him. ' I said through the piercing pain in my shoulder.

"We will. But first we need to get out of here and treat your wound." He said his expressions dark.

"I'm fine Adrian. We don't have time." I said choking on my own voice.

"Look at me Celeste. I promise we will get him but first we need to treat you." He says while meeting my gaze.

I swallowed hard, nodding. I wasn't letting him slip away again.

I reloaded my gun, shaking off the pain.

"Let's end this togather."