Chapter 621: Ashes to Ashes

The cold wind cut through the broken walls of the abandoned church.

Matilda sat against a column, hugging her knees to her chest.

Jayden paced nearby, his mind a storm of broken promises and dangerous calculations.

They couldn't keep running.

Not from Gloria.

Not from the city falling into chaos.

Not from the truth.

> "We need allies," Jayden said suddenly, his voice sharp.

"Ones that don't care about loyalty. Ones who care about blood and revenge."

Matilda looked up, her heart sinking.

She knew exactly who he meant.

The underground.

The same ruthless families Jayden's late father once controlled with an iron fist.

Now, Jayden would have to kneel to them — or worse, become one of them.

---

By nightfall, they reached the Neon District.

Where the streets pulsed like veins under a dying sky.

Where names were traded like currency, and betrayal was just part of the handshake.

Jayden and Matilda stood in front of a grim nightclub, neon lights spelling "Wolf's Den".

Inside, the air was thick with smoke, laughter, and danger.

At a corner table sat Viktor Kane, a king without a crown, flanked by scarred men and venomous women.

Jayden approached, every step echoing his surrender.

Viktor looked up with a grin that could split mountains.

> "Well, well," Viktor drawled. "The lost prince returns."

Jayden said nothing.

He only pulled out a bloodstained photograph — Gloria's photograph — and placed it on the table.

> "I need your army, Viktor."

"And why," Viktor chuckled darkly, "should I bleed for you?"

Jayden leaned down, his voice like a blade:

> "Because if you don't, she'll come for you next. And you won't even see her coming."

The laughter around them died.

For a long second, Viktor said nothing.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he poured two glasses of whiskey.

One for Jayden.

One for the ghosts.

> "Welcome back to the war, little prince," Viktor said, clinking his glass.

---

Outside, Matilda leaned against the cold brick wall, staring at the rain cascading from the heavens.

She hated this.

She hated dragging Jayden back into the world he had fought so hard to escape.

But fate was cruel.

And love even crueler.

A shadow approached — a figure in a red coat, face hidden beneath an umbrella.

Matilda stiffened.

The woman lifted her head.

It was Bella.

Jayden's first love before Gloria.

The girl who had disappeared years ago without a word.

Now standing in front of Matilda with a smile full of sorrow.

> "Tell him... I never wanted this," Bella whispered, her voice trembling.

Before Matilda could speak, Bella pressed a small silver key into her hand.

> "When the time comes... he'll know what to do."

And then Bella melted into the rain, as if she had never been there at all.

---

That night, Jayden sat on the rooftop of a crumbling building, staring out over the city that was once his home.

Matilda joined him silently, sitting down beside him.

For a long time, neither spoke.

Only the sound of the rain and the heartbeat of the city filled the air.

Finally, Jayden spoke:

> "Do you think we can ever go back?"

"Back to who we were?"

Matilda's heart broke a little more.

> "I don't think we ever can, Jayden," she said softly.

"But maybe... we can become someone stronger. Someone who deserves to survive this."

He turned to her, his eyes full of pain and gratitude and something more — something he dared not name.

Because survival had a price.

And in this war, love might be the first casualty.

---