Page 147 of Santiago's Conquest (Four Dark Horsemen 1)

Because then guilt with overwhelm me.

“Where is she?” I hear more gunshots, and something blows up in the distance, rattling the house a little, and Andreas informs me.

“You didn't think I wouldn’t bring backup, did you? This land has so many guards your three friends are gonna be dead by the time we’re done.” He winks at me. “They can have fun while I use my helicopter to fly away. If you survive, we might even continue our game.”

“I’ll kill you if you make a move. Where is she?”

“So impatient.” He grabs the tablet from the table next to him and clicks on it, a smile widening his mouth before he flips the screen to me, showing Briseis lying inside something. “She’s in a coffin. Slowly waking up.” Fear rushes through my veins, halting all my sense as my heartbeat speeds up. “The grave is ready, and just now, they’ve started lowering it. For now, she gets the oxygen from the little holes on the bottom. Created it specifically for torture.” I see Briseis opening her eyes, slightly disoriented before she screams. “But the minute the surface touches the ground, her oxygen supply will cut off. Which means you have roughly five to seven minutes to save her before she has permanent brain damage. It’s within the perimeter, inside the garden.”

No.

No, no, no.

I fire the gun at him, and it’s empty, which only makes him laugh harder. “No bullets? I wouldn't waste your time on them, Santiago, if you plan to save my daughter. Or let me put it this way.” He splays his hands up. “You can either kill me or save my daughter. What will it be?” he asks.

Since the minute I ended up in my captivity, I dreamed about punishing Andreas.

Every new bruise, every pain, every scar reminded me of him, my hate toward him growing more and more, where I imagined destroying him with various tortures.

Killing him has always been my life’s mission, the reason I survived and became a serial killer.

Hate filled my heart, and nothing existed there.

Nothing until Briseis.

And despite the agony and everything else I’ve experienced by his hand, my love for her is greater than any fucking revenge in the world.

The boy didn't survive to hate.

He survived to love.

However, there are countless other kids who probably experienced the same fate, and I vow to myself to find him later and kill him so he won’t ever destroy anyone else.

Throwing the gun away, I’m ready to tell him my choice and race to the garden to save my woman, when a voice from behind me freezes me. “My son doesn't have to choose. I’ll kill you for him.”

My father comes into view wearing all black, and in this attire, everything clicks, his past and the aura I’ve detected around him for years, never finding a good explanation for why he gave me such vibes.

The serial killer in the mask who never spoke and taught me everything was my father.

Oh, God.

“Lucian,” Andreas says in shock and stands up. “How did you find this place?”

“You shouldn't have sent the video to me.”

What the fuck?

“Dad.”

“Go,” he orders, pushing me away. “Go and save your wife. My kids will never be yours, Andreas.”

And I finally do as he says, leaving my father to battle with the monster from my childhood.

He finally showed up when I least expected him.

Chaos greets me when I dart outside, countless bodies falling one after another in the onslaught of bullets, and I see the property burning around us as the smell of gasoline fills the air.

Several men scream as they burn alive, the fire rapidly swallowing them, and I see a gun pointed at me, only for Remi to block me, catching the bullet himself. “Fuck,” he mutters, his chest soaking in blood as he falls to his knees. “Go find her,” he orders, already knowing I’m on the run.

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