Chapter 65: Die trying
Santiago sat on the edge of his hotel bed, staring at the cracked phone screen in his trembling hands. The folder from Silas lay open on the floor, pages scattered like accusations.
His eyes were bloodshot, face gaunt, skin pale and drawn tight over his bones. He looked like a man who had aged ten years in a single night — a dried-up husk, a walking corpse haunted by the worst mistake of his life.
Leon.
The innocent soul who had trusted him with his fears and dreams. The lover he had spent years searching for across continents, sacrificing everything just for a chance to find him again.
And he had helped them kidnap him.
Santiago’s shoulders shook as another wave of guilt crashed over him. His chest felt like it was being crushed. He rocked slightly, whispering brokenly to the empty room.
"Leon... how could I not see it? Your smile... your voice when you talked about stories... it was you all along. The one I’ve been dying to find. And I handed you over to monsters. What kind of man am I?"
Tears slipped down his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily, but more came. The pain was unbearable. He had betrayed the only person who ever made his cold, dark world feel warm.
With shaking fingers, he dialed Silas’s number. The phone rang twice before the cold, familiar voice answered. "Yes?"
Santiago’s voice cracked immediately. "Silas... we need to meet right now. Please, it’s about Leon. I... I know where he is. I can help you save him. But you have to come alone first."
There was a long, heavy pause on the other end. Silas’s tone was sharp and deeply suspicious. "Why should I trust you? After everything you’ve done? After you were part of taking him? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t hang up and hunt you down myself."
Santiago let out a broken sound, almost a sob. "Because I have nothing left to lose. I swear on my life — on everything I am — this isn’t a trap. I made a terrible mistake. I didn’t know who Leon really was. I thought he was just a pawn. But he’s... he’s everything to me. The one I’ve been searching for. Please, Silas. Just meet me at the rooftop bar of the Grand Regency in thirty minutes. I’ll be waiting. I’ll explain everything. I’ll give you the location. Just come."
Another pause. Silas’s voice was cold. "If this is a setup, Santiago, I will make sure your death lasts days. Understand?"
"I understand," Santiago whispered. "Thank you. I’ll be there."
He ended the call before Silas could respond, then buried his face in his hands, letting out a low, pained sound that echoed through the suite.
"What have I done... Leon... my heart... I didn’t know it was you. All this time... I was looking for you, and I helped them take you away. How do I live with this guilt?"
Thirty minutes later, Silas arrived at the rooftop bar. The place was dimly lit, almost empty except for a few scattered patrons enjoying the night view.
Santiago sat alone at a corner table, looking like death warmed over — eyes sunken deep into his skull, skin ashen and lifeless, shoulders slumped forward as if the weight of the world was crushing him. He barely resembled the composed, dangerous man Silas had confronted before.
Silas approached slowly and sat opposite him, studying the broken figure in front of him.
"You look like hell," Silas said flatly.
Santiago let out a weak, bitter laugh that turned into a cough. "I feel worse. Much worse." He lifted his gaze, eyes red-rimmed and haunted. "I know where Leon is being held. I can take you there. I can help you get him out. But you have to promise me one thing — I must come along with you. No matter how dangerous it is going to be. Promise me you will take me along. I need to see him. I need to tell him I’m sorry."
Silas leaned back in his chair, studying him carefully, suspicion clear in his eyes. "Why should I listen to you? What game are you playing now, Santiago? After helping them take him, you suddenly want to play hero?"
Santiago’s hands shook as he gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white. "No game. Not anymore. I... I made a terrible mistake. I didn’t know who Leon really was to me. I thought I was doing the right thing for my mission, but I betrayed the one person I’ve been searching for my entire life. He’s my breath, Silas. The one I left everything for. The one whose disappearance destroyed me. And I helped them take him. I can’t live with this. Help me save him. I’ll give you anything. Information. Resources. Even my own life if you want it after this is over. Just take me with you."
Silas was silent for a long moment, eyes narrowing as he weighed every word. "You expect me to believe this sudden change of heart? After you were involved in his kidnapping? After you sat across from me and lied through your teeth?"
Santiago’s eyes filled with fresh tears. He leaned forward desperately. "I swear on my life. On my family’s name. On everything I hold sacred. I didn’t know. The files you gave me... they showed me everything. The photos. The timeline. He’s the one I’ve been looking for. I can’t breathe knowing he’s suffering because of me. Please, Silas. I’m begging you. Take me with you. I’ll give you the location. I’ll help you storm the place. Just let me see him. Let me tell him how sorry I am. His forgiveness is all I want now."
Silas watched him carefully, calculating every twitch, every tear. Finally, he nodded once, slowly. "Fine. I’ll come with you. But if this is a trap, I will make your death slow and painful. You will regret the day you were born."
"It’s not a trap," Santiago said quickly, relief flooding his broken features. "I swear it. The location is an underground chamber beneath the old industrial district. Coordinates are in this drive." He slid a small USB drive across the table with shaking hands. "There are multiple entrances. My contact gave me the full layout. I’ll show you everything."
Silas took the drive and inserted it into his phone, a coordinate showed on his screen which he immediately sent to his hidden team leader via encrypted message. "My men will surround the place. If you try anything — anything at all — I will end you myself."
Santiago nodded eagerly, tears still falling. "Thank you. I mean it, Silas. From the bottom of what’s left of my soul. I don’t care what happens to me after this. I just need to get him out. Alive and safe. Even if he hates me forever... at least he’ll be free."
Silas stood up, his expression cold but determined. "Then let’s go. My car is waiting downstairs."
As they walked toward the elevator together, Santiago’s voice was barely above a whisper, thick with guilt. "He must be so scared, Silas. They’ve been hurting him. Because of me. How do I live with that? How do I look him in the eyes knowing I helped put him there?"
Silas didn’t answer immediately. He pressed the button for the ground floor, mind already planning the assault. "You don’t. You just fix it. Or you die trying."
The elevator doors closed, carrying two enemies — one broken by love, the other driven by possession toward a rescue that could change everything.
