Inheritance ✔

Chapter 19 - Splinter

Laurier Ashford's POV

The first sign something was wrong was Renzo's silence.

He didn't answer my call. Or the next one. Or the third. By the fourth, I was no longer annoyed—I was alarmed.

He never ignored me.

Even in the worst moments, even during the chaos of Clara's betrayal, or the night I snapped at him in front of the board, Renzo had always picked up. Always responded. Always been there.

Now?

Nothing.

I stood in his apartment at 1:36 in the morning, barefoot in a silk robe, phone gripped in my hand like a weapon. The city lights bled through the floor-to-ceiling windows. But his place—always so obsessively neat—was quiet.

Too quiet.

His gun holster was missing.

His favorite coat was gone.

His phone was still on the nightstand.

That's what made my chest go tight.

Renzo never left without his phone.

By 3 a.m., I'd turned his location data over to Iris and his secondary tech contact. Mateo triangulated his last signal to an alley behind a hotel in Makati—ironically, just three blocks away from where we'd taken down Mahoney.

His phone had gone dark exactly twenty-two minutes after that.

No CCTV.

No eyewitnesses.

No trail.

"Could be a jammed signal," Mateo offered, but the look in his eyes said otherwise.

I nodded, jaw locked. "Start scrubbing backdoor networks. If this is Dagon, he'll brag somewhere. Even if it's coded."

"And you?" Iris asked.

"I'm going to get answers," I said coldly.

"From who?"

I didn't respond.

Because I already knew.

He lived in a penthouse I wasn't supposed to know about.

My father's old partner. The one no one mentioned in public. Not since the day the Ashford family was cleansed of underground ties and rebranded as corporate saints.

His name was Silas Caelum.

And if anyone still had ties to the darker part of Manila's underworld—especially to Dagon—it was him.

I buzzed the private elevator at 4:10 a.m.

No answer.

I entered the override code I shouldn't have remembered after all these years.

The elevator responded.

Silas hadn't aged.

Still tall. Still unnervingly handsome in that polished, old-money way that made people forget just how much blood he'd washed off his hands. He was wearing a robe and holding a glass of bourbon when he opened the door and saw me.

"Well," he said, voice warm. "You finally came."

"I need answers," I said.

He stepped aside.

"I know."

He didn't play dumb.

Didn't pretend he didn't know who Dagon was or what Midas had triggered.

"I warned your father that keeping secrets in this world comes with interest," Silas said, lounging into his chair. "Eventually someone collects."

"Then tell me where Renzo is."

Silas's expression flickered—subtle but visible.

"You're not here for strategy," he said, more curious now. "You're here for him."

I said nothing.

But silence is its own answer.

Silas smiled slightly. "You know he was trained by me, don't you?"

My eyes narrowed. "No."

"Of course you don't. Your father planted him beside you when you were nineteen. Told me to make him loyal. Dangerous. Silent. I did."

My breath caught.

I had no idea.

He continued. "But what your father didn't expect was for the boy to fall in love with his daughter."

The words punched the air out of my lungs.

"I don't—" I tried.

Silas tilted his head. "You think I don't see it? You think I don't recognize the look in your eyes right now? You're not here because you're worried about losing a soldier. You're here because you can't breathe without him."

I didn't deny it.

Because for the first time in years—maybe ever—I wasn't sure I could.

Silas leaned forward. "You want my help?"

"Yes."

"Then listen carefully: Dagon didn't take him to kill him. Not yet. He took him to make you break."

My stomach twisted.

"What do you mean?"

"He knows Renzo is your weakness. He's going to use him. As a pawn. As a message. As bait."

I steadied myself on the table.

"I need to know where they took him."

Silas's smile faded.

"I'll make some calls."

He stood.

Then paused.

"But Laurier..."

I looked up.

"Don't take this lightly," he said, eyes dark now. "You go after him... you'll burn the rest of your name to the ground."

I stared back at him.

Then whispered, "Then light the fucking match."

Back in the car, I didn't cry.

I couldn't.

But something inside me had splintered.

Like glass just beneath the skin—small fractures spreading deeper with every breath.

Renzo was more than a bodyguard. More than a secretary. More than the man who had cleaned up every mess I made.

He was the only person I'd ever trusted without condition.

And now he was gone.

Because of me.

Because of the legacy I inherited and the fire I refused to put out.

I clutched his gun holster in my lap.

Tightened my grip.

And for the first time since this all began—I wasn't afraid.

I was furious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note:

Hello guys! "Paradox" is not ending yet, nor the "Inheritance", but "Chasing You, Finding Me" will end soon. I just want to take this opportunity to announce that I have another trilogy you can explore. It's a tragedy-romance-thriller trilogy.

I hope you support it as much as you supported the Architects of Ruin Trilogy.

It's called, A Lua Series. I'll be posting the book 1 called, "Moonrise" With it's Abstract and continue it after ending one of the on-going story.
https://www.wattpad.com/940326980?utm_source=android&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_published&wp_page=create_on_publish&wp_uname=JAEMperatriz

Lovelots!