Chapter 98: The Justice He Delivered in My Name-2
Clair
She turned slowly, meeting his eyes. “Do you remember that night,” she began softly, “when I told you I just need you to be honest with me?” She paused, letting the words sink in. “Even if the truth… is ugly.”
Damien’s chest tightened. He swallowed hard, jaw clenching as he tried to steady the storm inside. He stepped closer, the space between them charged with unspoken tension.
“I do,” he said, voice low, deliberate, “and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
His eyes bore into hers, fierce yet vulnerable. “But you need to understand… once I start, there’s no turning back. You’ll see the other side of the world I live in, the choices I’ve made… the darkness I’ve carried. And there’s no undoing it.”
Maya met his gaze steadily. “I’m ready, Damien. I don’t want half-truths. I want all of you-the good, the bad… everything.”
A long pause stretched between them. Damien’s shoulders tensed, then slowly relaxed, the weight of his secret pressing heavily. Yet, for the first time, he felt the fragile hope of trust bridging the gap between them.
He nodded slowly. “Okay… what do you want to know?”
Maya’s voice was calm but firm. “What really happened to Dr. Beckett? Is he… dead?”
Damien’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening as the memory resurfaced. “No… he’s not dead. But he’s worse than dead.”
Maya’s breath caught, a shiver running down her spine. Her hands gripped the backrest of the armchair as she struggled to process his words. “Worse than… dead?” she whispered. “How… how is that even possible?”
Her eyes locked on his, searching for answers, needing him to bridge the gap between fear and understanding.
Damien inhaled sharply, eyes dark and unflinching. “He took you, scared you, hurt you… held you captive for twelve hours. So I did the same-but for every hour he made you suffer, it became days for him. Twelve days of torture, each one worse than the last. I also told James to send men to his home-to burn it. I wanted everything he had gone. Nothing left to return to. On the twelfth day… we released him. Sent him to the place he should have gone in the first place… before his ego swallowed his brain and he did what he did.”
―
Maya’s brow furrowed as she pieced it together. “I… I remember him saying something about
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being reassigned to a humanitarian mission. The hospital director told him he’d offended someone, and ‘they’ wanted him gone before sunrise. He even claimed he paid someone to take his flight using his identity… and he insisted that ‘they’ meant you.”
Damien’s jaw tightened. He spoke slowly, deliberate, edged with quiet fury. “He wasn’t wrong. I was the one behind the ‘transfer.”
Maya’s eyes widened. “Why?”
His gaze snapped to hers. “Because he was a threat to you. After I dropped you off at the hospital… after what Jaime said that day, I had James check on him. He’s not a good man. Manipulative. Dangerous. He’s done terrible things-to women, nurses, patients, even their families. I couldn’t risk him being near you.”
Maya exhaled, a mixture of relief and lingering tension washing over her. She nodded slowly, the knowledge that he’d acted to protect her settling in her chest. “I… I get it. You did what you did to protect me.” Her gaze sharpened slightly. “Where is he now?”
Damien’s gaze flicked to James, who gave a subtle nod of understanding. He retrieved his tablet, unlocking it with a few swift motions before handing it to Maya.
Maya’s fingers trembled slightly as she took it. The screen illuminated a single image.
A man lay on the ground outside a dilapidated house-one arm gone, one leg missing, the remaining limbs thin and frail as if made of paper. A long scar ran across his face, slicing through his remaining eye, leaving him with a hollow, haunted expression.
Maya looked up, voice barely above a whisper. “What… is this?”
Damien’s tone was cold, unflinching. “That’s Beckett.”
Maya’s eyes widened in shock. She stared at the screen again, blinking repeatedly, struggling to reconcile the man she knew with the broken figure before her. He was almost unrecognizable.
Maya’s breath hitched. She swallowed hard, unable to look away, the weight of what Damien had done settling like a stone in her chest.
Ashcroft stood and sauntered over, leaning slightly to glance at the tablet. His voice cut through the tension with an unsettling casualness. “Oh, I’ll take credit for that,” he said, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Maya’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” she whispered, horrified.
Ashcroft’s smirk widened, his tone chillingly matter-of-fact. “Damien wanted to… extract his own brand of justice,” Ashcroft said casually. “But the guy’s too noisy-it annoyed the hell out
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of me. So I had his tongue removed, and instructed my men to take one piece of anything he has each day. One eye, one arm, one leg, one kidney… you get the picture.”
Maya’s breath caught, and the tablet slipped, clattering to the floor. The image seared itself into her mind.
Harper scooped it up quickly, eyes widening. “Oh… shit!” she exclaimed, then turned to Ashcroft, grinning. “I thought you were just a pretty face. Didn’t think you had it in you. You did well.”
Everyone froze. Nobody anticipated that the jolly, playful, purple-haired girl-usually all laughter and teasing-would see this horrifying image and show not a flicker of fear, only pur e pride.
Maya was the first to voice what everyone else was thinking. “Harper!” she gasped. “How… how can you be so.. so casual about this?”
Harper shrugged, flashing a mischievous grin at Maya. “What?! Oh, come on! It’s a work of art! That piece of shit deserved it!” She then turned to Damien, giving him a cheeky thumbs-up. “Nice one, boss!”
A flicker of surprise passed through Damien’s eyes at Harper’s boldness. He leaned back slightly, tilting his head. “You… really have no filter, do you?”
“Nope!” Harper replied, tossing the tablet back to James and settling into her seat.
Maya looked at Damien, searching for something-anything-that could make sense of the chaos. Her breath hitched again, torn between fear, awe, and the gnawing realization of just how deep this world-and his devotion-ran.
Then the truth became clear in her mind: he had delivered the justice in her name.
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Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.