Chapter 37: A Monster’s Reckoning

The fight was brutal. Blood painted the cold marble floors of his father's hidden empire, the air thick with the scent of sweat, iron, and death. His father was stronger than he remembered, his movements calculated, his hits deliberate. Age had not dulled him; it had only refined him into a different kind of monster.

But Alexander wasn't that scared boy anymore.

A knee to the ribs. A fist to the face. They exchanged blows like two wolves fighting for dominance. His father grunted, staggering back for a breath, but Alexander didn't let up. He pressed forward, relentless, each hit forcing the old man further to his knees.

His father spat blood, laughing through cracked teeth. "You think this ends with me? This world doesn't let men like us just walk away."

Alexander wiped blood from his own mouth, heart pounding. He knew the truth in those words, but he also knew something his father never understood—some chains were meant to be broken.

His father reached for a hidden knife, a final act of defiance. Alexander was faster. He pinned the man down, the tip of the blade hovering just over his throat.

The moment of reckoning had come.

"Some men deserve mercy. You are not one of them."