Submitting to my Ex Uncle-Chapter 247

Celeste heard footsteps coming. The footsteps were slow, heavy, and measured. Each one got closer than the last.

She didn’t know how long she had been here. It could’ve been hours, or days. She had no idea. Time had blurred in with shapelessness. Endless silence gnawed at her from the inside.

However, she was sure about one thing. It had been about three hours since Landon last showed himself. Three hours since he left her in this concrete room with her wrists burning, and her stomach twisting with the thought of her babies.

She swallowed, feeling the dryness in her throat burn all the way down.

Tears slipped down her cheeks before she even realized it. They fell soundlessly, tracing the edges of her jaw, and soaking the cloth that gagged her.

Her babies.

She could barely breathe. The air was thick. Her chest hurt every time she tried to draw in a breath.

She couldn’t breathe properly, how much more them? They weren’t even four months old yet. She hadn’t had enough time. Not nearly enough.

She couldn’t lose them again.

Her fingers twitched against the rope for the hundredth time, struggling. She needed to breathe.

The sound of the door unlocking snapped her attention forward.

She straightened instinctively. Her spine turned stiff against the cold metal chair. Her heart stuttered.

The door opened.

Carlos walked in first. He was in a sharp suit. His suit was as sharp as his eyes. He looked like the kind of man who smiled only when he was certain it would hurt someone.

Behind him came five more men. They were armed, and expressionless.

Celeste’s gaze flicked past them, one after the other, and then, she froze.

Elias.

He was the sixth man who walked in behind Carlos.

Her eyes widened, then narrowed instantly. The air left her chest in a single sharp exhale.

Hate burned fast through her veins.

She stumped her feet against the concrete, the sound echoing through the room. The chair rattled, with the metal scraping hard against the floor. Her whole body shook with rage.

She cursed through the gag, her words were muffled but filled with venom. Every man in the room could see the hate in her.

Elias didn’t look at her.

That made it worse. He just stood there, tall, cold, and unreadable. He stood there like she was a stranger.

Her eyes filled with tears again, this time from anger. How could he? How could he of all people stand beside Carlos like a shadow that obeyed?

She knew who he was, but somehow, she decided to be optimistic about him.

She kicked the floor again, harder this time, and the sound that left her throat was almost a scream.

The door opened again.

This time, she stopped moving.

Dominic walked in.

Her heart leapt. She felt a rush of disbelief and fear all tangled together.

Someone walked beside him. A man in black, pressing a gun behind his head, keeping him close enough that she could see the tension in Dominic’s jaw, and the vein that pulsed in his neck.

He swallowed hard the moment his eyes landed on her.

For a second, he didn’t breathe.

Celeste saw it. She saw the way his expression flickered from relief to fury, all in one heartbeat.

Carlos had told him she was fine.

Liar.

There was blood at the corner of her lip. It wasn’t much, but for Dominic, it was enough. It was enough to feel the rage crawl up his spine and settle behind his eyes.

He started walking toward her.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t do that," Carlos said lazily. "You don’t know—"

However, Dominic didn’t stop.

He ignored him completely, moving through the men like the air had parted for him. His stride was deliberate and cold, with focused control towards Celeste.

He stopped right in front of her.

Celeste shook her head, her eyes wide, and desperate. She tried to speak through the gag, but the sound came out strangled. She kept shaking her head, over and over.

Dominic dropped to one knee before her.

"Don’t—" Carlos started again, but Dominic was already untying the knot at the back of her head. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The cloth fell away, and Celeste gasped for air, her lips trembling.

He reached up, brushing a thumb across the blood on her mouth. "Are you okay?"

Celeste nodded quickly, her voice cracking. "I’m fine. I’m fine, Dominic.... listen to him."

Her voice broke. "Please, listen to him."

He frowned, not moving. He didn’t even answer. He simply moved the strands of her hair falling over her face aside.

She looked around him. She looked at Carlos and the others, with fear flickering in her eyes. "He’ll hurt you. Please, don’t do anything. Just listen—"

Carlos smiled faintly. He interrupted them, his voice smooth. "What a beautiful reunion."

"Don’t talk," Dominic said sharply without looking at him. His focus was still on her.

Celeste’s chest rose and fell rapidly. "Dominic, I’m fine."

Carlos snapped his fingers.

Celeste’s words died instantly.

The sound of a gun cocking sliced through the room. The same man who had escorted Dominic in now pointed the weapon at her head.

The cold barrel pressed lightly against her temple.

Dominic froze.

Every muscle in his body locked at once. His jaw clenched, with his hands tightening into fists.

Carlos’s smirk deepened. "Now we’re all paying attention."

Dominic turned his head slightly, his tone deadly calm. "Take it off her."

The man didn’t move.

"Take. It. Off."

Still, nothing was done, or said.

Instead, the man adjusted his grip with the metallic sound of the gun cocking louder now, and sharper.

Celeste flinched, tears spilling freely down her cheeks. She looked at Dominic, her breath breaking apart in her chest.

"Please," she whispered. "Please, don’t do anything."

Dominic’s nostrils flared. His eyes flicked between her and the gun. He wanted to tear the man apart, to rip the gun from his hand and put a bullet between Carlos’s eyes.

But he couldn’t. Not with that gun against her head that way. Slowly, and painfully, he lifted both hands above his head.

The gesture was steady, and deliberate. He forced his voice to be even. "You’ve got what you want."

Carlos raised a brow, pretending to be impressed. "Do I?"

Dominic stood to his full height. The muscles in his shoulders were tight beneath his shirt. His eyes, however, stayed locked on Celeste. "Take the gun off her first."

Carlos chuckled. "You’re in no position to negotiate, Dominic."

Dominic ignored him, his tone low but dangerous. "If you want to talk, we’ll talk. But take the gun off her."

Carlos didn’t answer right away. He looked between them, enjoying the way the air thickened, feeding off their fear like it was oxygen.

Celeste’s chest was heaving now. Every second that passed felt like a knife twisting deeper into her.

The gun pressed harder into her skin.

Dominic took a single step back. His jaw was tight enough to hurt, but he forced his voice to stay level. "Take it off her," he said again. "You don’t need her for this."

Carlos smirked. "On the contrary... she’s the only reason you’re here."

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. "If you hurt her, I swear—"

Carlos raised a finger, silencing him. "Right now, you’ll do nothing unless I say so."

The man beside Celeste pulled back the hammer slightly. The click was louder this time.

Celeste stopped breathing.

Dominic’s whole body stilled. His chest rose, fell, and then rose again.

He slowly turned his back on her. This was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He finally faced Carlos fully.

"All right," he said, his voice steel. "You wanted me. I’m here."

Carlos’s grin widened. "Now we can talk."

Behind him, Celeste’s eyes filled with tears she couldn’t hide anymore. Her lips moved soundlessly.

Dominic didn’t see it, but he felt it.

The weight of her fear pressed against his spine, crawling under his skin like a heartbeat that wouldn’t stop.

He took another step toward Carlos, his hands still raised, and his jaw clenched, waiting.

The man behind her didn’t lower the gun.

He just smiled, crooked the gun again, and whispered low enough for only her to hear. "Don’t move."

The metallic sound echoed one last time.

The world held its breath.