Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Santiago frowned the second everything finally began falling into place because he now understood that Seraphine had been working with Voren from the very beginning, and the realization hit him harder than any punch ever could.

Even then, he refused to believe he had already lost because this fortress belonged to him, every room inside it had been built for his protection, and there were still loyal men hidden throughout the property.

If he managed to get rid of Voren, then he could still stop the bomb, protect what remained of his operation, and disappear before the authorities could reach him. If that failed, then he would escape to one of his other fortresses farther away, where he could rebuild everything all over again.

"You talk just like her," Santiago said while forcing himself to stand straighter despite the pain running through his body. "But I do not think this is the end for me. Guards!"

His voice echoed through the room, but nobody came.

Voren let out a low chuckle, and somehow that sound felt more insulting than if he had laughed in Santiago’s face.

"Seriously?" Voren asked while looking at him with cold amusement. "You still do not understand what is happening here? Most of your men are already dead, the few still alive are either being arrested or dragged away for questioning, and every hostage you kept locked up has already been rescued."

For the first time since this nightmare started, Santiago felt something dangerously close to fear crawl into his chest.

All of this had happened because of one woman. Seraphine.

She walked into his fortress, tore his empire apart from the inside, destroyed the system he spent years building, and turned everything he owned into ashes.

Voren stepped closer, his voice calm, but every word landed like a knife.

"The woman you underestimated hacked into your system, stole every file you were hiding, and collected all the evidence anyone could ever need against you. She got the videos, the casino transactions, the recordings, the money trails, and probably everything connected to your other locations too. Your remaining fortresses will be shut down soon enough, and with the amount of evidence against you, life in prison is the best outcome you can hope for."

Even while he was speaking, Voren found himself hoping Seraphine’s daughter had been among the hostages rescued from the tunnels because he knew that had been the reason Seraphine took this risk in the first place.

She had nearly died tonight because she wanted her daughter back, and the thought of her sacrificing so much only made the rage inside him burn hotter.

Santiago’s face twisted with fury as the pain in his body mixed with humiliation.

"How dare you?" he roared before lunging toward Voren. "I will kill you, find that bitch, and harvest her organs with my own hands."

The second he made the move and aimed for Voren, Voren met him head-on.

Their foreheads slammed together with enough force to make Santiago stumble backward, but he felt the impact far more than Voren did because the pain exploded through his skull instantly.

Voren recovered first. The moment Santiago tried to get up, Voren kicked him hard enough to send him crashing back to the floor.

"I have wanted to do this for a long time," Voren said, his breathing heavy with anger.

Santiago caught Voren’s leg before he could strike again, yanking hard enough to pull him off balance, and for a second both of them crashed to the floor together.

Santiago tried to climb on top of him, but Voren rolled first, pinning him down before driving his fist into Santiago’s face over and over again.

There was no control left in the way Voren had him pinned, and the way he delivered every blow.

Every punch carried weeks of anger, frustration, helplessness, and rage that had been building since the moment Seraphine first became tangled in Santiago’s world.

Blood covered Santiago’s face, his bones cracked beneath Voren’s fists.

At some point, Voren stopped seeing him as a man and started seeing him as every horrible thing Seraphine had suffered because of him.

He could not even remember the last time he had beaten someone this badly because by the time he was finished, Santiago’s body looked broken enough that he might never fully recover.

Voren would have killed him but let him live for only one reason. For Santiago to answer for all the lives he had taken, and all the organs he illegally harvested.

Suddenly, the watch on Voren’s wrist began beeping loudly, warning him that there was less than a minute left before the bomb exploded.

His head snapped toward the window. There was no time to use the stairs, no time to think.

As he looked around the room, his gaze landed on one of Seraphine’s stilettos lying on the floor.

The sight of it gave him an idea immediately. He grabbed the shoe and threw it toward the French window, making sure the sharp heel struck the glass first.

The glass cracked, and that was all he needed.

Without wasting another second, Voren grabbed Santiago’s unconscious body, hauled him up, and jumped through the window at the exact same moment the bomb exploded.

The force of the blast followed them instantly. For one terrifying second, it felt like the world disappeared beneath him.

Then both of them crashed onto the hood of a car parked below before rolling violently onto the ground.

Behind them, the fortress that had stood tall only moments earlier collapsed into itself.

Smoke rose into the night sky in thick black clouds while flames spread through the remains of the building.

Sirens filled the air from every direction, police vehicles surrounded the property.

Firefighters rushed toward the flames, and ambulances lined the road.

FBI agents flooded the area while emergency workers moved in every direction, trying to treat the injured and control the chaos.

By the time Stanley reached him, Voren was already trying to push himself back onto his feet.

Santiago, now unconscious and barely recognizable, was handcuffed before being shoved into an ambulance under heavy security.

Stanley helped Voren stand, and there was admiration in his eyes when he looked at him.

"I’ve been telling you my friend, you should join the FBI," Stanley said with a faint smile. "There is still an opening with your name on it."

Voren’s response almost knocked the air out of his lungs.