A/N: only a few chapters left. Hope you all ready for it to end. And thanks so much for +20k reads. You're amazing.

My hand slipped out of the ropes and was pushing Blake's gun in a split second.

The bullet shot up the ceiling and hit one of the metal scaffoldings with a gut wrenching 'pang' then ricocheted somewhere towards the door.

Luna fell down with a sickly thud.

After that, everything was chaos.

I ducked down to the harsh ground and crawled toward Aiden to set him free.

Thomas's dad fired at Blake, and Amanda fired at him. If the basement hadn't been a bit bigger than regular basements, we would've been all dead.

Alfred left Harken's side and told Thomas to take care of his brother. The thought still was fresh in my head.

When Aiden untied, he went to help Harken and told Thomas to tend for Luna, whose blood was mixing with the similar colour of her dress.

I ran to the door to check on her with Thomas, when his eyes widened in shock as he seemed to be looking behind me.

"Raiden get down!" he screamed but it was too late.

My waist felt a foreign warmth, but soon enough I became all too familiar with it.

The last thing I heard was the echo of gunshots and a few hitched screams of my name.

----------------------------
Thomas's P.O.V.

Stupid.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I was really starting to hate this damn car because all I did with it is drive a bloody Raiden to hospitals.

And there I was, like all the other stories of Rivertown, crying silently in a hospital room.

"I was stupid, Raiden," I sighed, clutching his hand tight. He wasn't in a dangerous situation but he wasn't stable either.

No one was allowed here, but Dr. Grayson knows me too well to not let me in.

"I thought I was giving you a great night. A magical night. I had everything planned out for us to have the night of our lives. My garden was all prepped up for you. Everything was in place, just waiting for you. I wanted us to ditch the big party and have a small one of our own. But I was stupid."

I wiped a stray tear and closed my eyes. All I could hear was the beeping of monitors.

"I wanted us to be something. I still do. I'll buy stupid things that remind me of you. I'll be purposely late to see if you'll miss me. I'll take you on random outings to the most random places. I'll plant you the most beautiful flowers just so you'd have something to draw when you're bored. Just be okay Raiden. Please be okay. I love you, so much Raiden."

Why was I destined to find Raiden here every time? Has he not had enough pain?

The image of Blake holding the gun up with wounded arms, adamant on shooting Raiden made my nerves crackle in anger.

I had to exit the room as I wasn't officially allowed in there.

I walked through the empty hospital halls, lit with fluorescent white, and smelling of sanitation.

Hospitals held so much horror in the middle of the night with how silent they are.

Raiden.

Aiden.

Luna.

Blake.

Harken.

They all required different levels of medical attention.

Aiden was being treated for his wounds which were caused by Harken, my own brother that since I was alive thought was my cousin.

Luna was in a critical condition, and it was just a matter of time before pronouncing her dead.

Blake only had bullet wounds, nothing fatal, sadly enough.

Harken. My own damn brother. He needed to a few months in rehab. As it turned out he was under enforced drug intake and required immediate attention.

And Raiden.

Raiden, whose emotional and mental trauma would require years of treatment to stitch the massive rips in what we call sanity.

My father was outside the hospital doors. Probably there for the same reason I went: to get some natural air.

"Before you ask me anything," dad spoke without turning to see who it was, as if already knowing it was me. "I'm proud of you. You handled it well."

Was I supposed to feel flattered?

"I don't care how I dealt with it." I said. "here." I gave dad the gun back. "Keep this away from me, and please keep me out of this whole damn business."

"I talked with Major Alder, he'll take care of the situation." dad huffed his cigar; the smell annoyed me despite the wind.

"What do you mean 'take care of it'? He's committed unlawful acts. Kidnap. Murder attempts. Torture. Name it, he done it." there was a certain edge to my voice that even dad knew not to cross.

"He'll be prosecuted and I'll make sure he ends up in jail."

"It's not enough."

"We can't push it." Dad insisted. I wanted Blake to suffer for the harm he had caused.

"What is it that you keep being reluctant about?" frustration was getting the best of me and he sensed it.

Dad motioned towards a nearby bench.

He started talking after we sat. "There's a lot that you don't know of, Thomas-"

"And a lot that I don't care about."

"But some things you need to understand-"

"like how you didn't let me know I had a brother? Why would you hide such thing? Where was he all that time?"

"Amanda and I- do not interrupt me" dad threatened. "when she had Scarlet"

"SHE WHAT?" I jumped out of the seat, my voice echoing through the night. "What do you mean she had Scarlet?"

"I told you to let me finish" dad scolded. To be honest, he scared me a lot. "we switched Harken and Scarlet at birth, because we thought it would be safer for Scarlet to live outside the devil's alley."

"But why switch them? Couldn't she just live with us? I don't understand why you would give Harken away. How could you even do it?" my whole life was a lie. I was beyond confused and fury was boiling in my veins.

"It's mafia wars. No one understands it. But it was either switch them or get them both killed. I always choose the best decision and that time was no different."

Dad saw my horrified expression. His face softened with sympathy. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you need to trust me, always. Amanda never plays fair, she never did. But I doubt she'll do anything now that I actually had proof to get the police involved."

"So you're saying you had it all planned?"

"There were detectives in the masquerade. I knew what 'the red devils' were planning all along. I just needed to remain undercover long enough to catch them."

"So you used Raiden as bait." I deduced.

"Exactly.'' Dad said with pride.

"He could've died!" I chided.

"I had all the intel I needed from an undercover local, Jessy. We just needed the trap to snap, and it was game over for them." he continued and I wished he didn't. I was better off not knowing anything.

"Raiden will be fine?" I asked hopelessly in the end. I hated to show weakness in front of dad, but I was breaking to my core. Raiden was my whole weakness.

"Your lovebird will be alright. No one is gonna touch him, that's what we wanted all along, you and I, right?" he made a fist and expected me to bump it. It was such a dad move despite my father being not so dad-like.

I surrendered to it and bumped my fist in his. "right."

I stood to go back inside as it was getting really chilly. I couldn't understand how dad was unbothered.

"Oh, and Thomas." dad called after me. "By saying no one will touch him, I meant you too." I didn't not know if he was joking or not, but then he broke into a smile, and I knew everything was going to be okay.

The next day, nothing was okay.

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