How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 31: They Won't Stop at a Scratch

It was past midnight. Kai twisted in his bed, unable to sleep. He was a lot more prepared this time around, cocooned in his blanket, yet he shivered.

His palms were sticky with sweat. He knew he shouldn't have thought about his parents, about his time under Black Dranzer's influence, but it was rather inevitable the moment he saw Mr. Ivanov.

The flashback showed him his father's death this time. The feeling was surreal, like unearthing something deep in his mind. The moment it was out, he remembered it vividly.

It was an autumn afternoon. He was in the garden with his family, enjoying a picnic. The warm glow of the setting sun made everything feel perfect—until the black SUV rolled into the driveway.

Kai stood behind his father as his grandfather stepped out of the car, dressed impeccably as always. Even before that day, Kai never liked his grandfather. There was something about his eyes, cold and calculating, that made the air feel heavier whenever he was near.

"I need to speak with you both," his grandfather said, his voice curt. His parents exchanged uneasy glances before ushering Kai and his sister into the living room. They told him to look after her and stay put.

He tried. He really did. But the muffled voices from the study room only grew louder and Kai's curiosity was relentless. Quietly, he tiptoed into the hallway and peered through the small gap between the door and the wall.

No one looked at ease. His father's face was tight with frustration, his mother's eyes sharp and defiant. His grandfather sat at the study table, calm but seething beneath the surface. The voices grew louder at once, overlapping one another until his grandfather's voice cut through, sharp and final.

"I've had enough. I will not have you poisoning my own son against me," he warned his mother.

That was when Kai saw it—the glint of metal in his grandfather's hand.

The room seemed to freeze as his grandfather raised the gun, pointing it at his mother. Kai's breath caught in his throat. He didn't even blink when he pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was deafening. Somewhere between the trigger being pulled and the bullet hitting its intended target, his father intervened.

Kai didn't think—he ran into the room. Blood spilled quickly from his chest, pooling beneath him. "Dad!" he cried, falling to his knees beside him. He didn't remember the blood soaking into his clothes as he held him.

His father gasped, choking on his own blood. His eyes met Kai's, looking desperate. Then he went still, as though all the fight left him.

His father's glassy eyes stared at him, unseeing.

The room erupted into chaos. Two guards grabbed his mother, pinning her arms behind her back as she fought, screaming. Another seized Kai, wrenching him away from his father's lifeless body.

His grandfather stood in the middle of the chaos, his expression unreadable. For the first time in Kai's life, the man looked pale. Regret flickered in his eyes—but only for a moment.

"One of you, get the girl," he ordered, his voice rigid. "The rest of you, open the cylinders and light the house up."

"No! Please, no!" his mother begged, her voice breaking. "Gag her," his grandfather said flatly. The guards obeyed, silencing her with a rough cloth. Her muffled cries filled the room, haunting and desperate.

His grandfather then knelt before Kai, his cold eyes locking onto his. It took him a moment more to tear his eyes off his father's body.

"Repeat after me," his grandfather said, his tone low and dangerous. "There was a gas leak. The house caught on fire. My father died in the fire."