Top Assassins Call Me The Lady Boss-Chapter 197: "This conversation never happened."

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Seven

Daniel let out a sharp, bitter laugh.

"Save me?" he repeated. "Tell me, Cole... how exactly did anything you did save me?"

Something in Cole snapped.

"If only you had waited," he shot back, his voice shaking with restrained anger. "You made my sacrifice worthless. I... Daniel, you have no idea what I..."

"Spare me all that," Daniel cut in coldly. "Spare me the heroic speech, twin brother. You made no sacrifice. If I had waited for you, I would’ve died in that filthy hole. While you were eating fine food, wearing expensive clothes, and living in luxury. I was wondering if you were even alive. Imagine if Marco hadn’t found me."

"You think I was happy when he recruited me?" Cole demanded.

Daniel scoffed. "Look at you. Lying straight to my face."

"You don’t know what you’re talking about," Cole snapped. "What do you think a twelve-year-old boy thinks after watching..."

"No," Daniel cut in sharply. "You saw the flashy car, the promises, the power. You jumped in like a starving rat. I saw you. You didn’t even look back."

"Daniel," Cole said, his voice breaking despite himself, "I promised Mum and Dad I would protect you with my life."

"And I promised the same," Daniel shot back. "Look at us now. If I get the chance, you’ll be dead before you blink."

The threat didn’t scare Cole. What scared him was how easily Daniel said it. How easily he had turned his back on everything that once meant family.

It had broken something in Cole the day he realized the crimes Demir committed, knowing Daniel stood beside him.

"Marco kidnapped me," Cole said through clenched teeth. "It was me or both of us. I followed him because I thought you’d be safer if I did. I hate that man with everything in me."

Daniel’s eyes flashed.

"Tell me something," Cole continued, stepping closer. "Would it matter if I told you I would still die for you? Even now? Even when all you want is to kill me? I don’t break my promises. You’re my responsibility. Now give me the keys."

Daniel laughed again, but this time it sounded forced.

"What’s the rush?" he asked lightly. "Is your madam calling you to rescue her?"

"Why would she..." Cole stopped himself. "Daniel, listen to me. If you lay a hand on her..."

"If I did?" Daniel stepped forward. "What then? I thought you said you’d always save me. Maybe I should test that. Maybe I should kill her and see which promise you choose."

The words didn’t just land, they tore through him.

For a split second, Cole saw it. His twin wasn’t just threatening him. It was not a bluff.

Asli’s face flashed in his mind, the sound of her voice, the weight of responsibility he carried for her life settling hard in his chest.

His heart slammed violently, panic and rage colliding until he couldn’t tell them apart. Daniel wasn’t just talking anymore, he was touching something Cole would burn the world to protect.

His body moved before his mind could catch up. He grabbed him by the collar before he could stop himself.

Daniel didn’t flinch.

"See?" Daniel said quietly. "You feel it too."

"You don’t know how I feel," Cole growled. "Watching you work for them."

Daniel gave a humorless smile. "And you think you’re different because you work for a woman?"

That made Cole laugh as well. It was only short, and hollow.

"I had something to lose," he said. "I thought you were still out there somewhere. Working with Asli wasn’t the plan. It was survival. But the day I realized you were inside and no one knew we were related? That was the day I stopped caring about protecting you. It only made me angrier."

"Good for you," Daniel replied coolly. "We’re on different sides. When Marco finds out your precious woman is tied to Ahmet, he’ll kill her. And you’ll fight for her. I wish you luck."

There was a hitch in Daniel’s voice, it was so small most people would’ve missed it. A fraction of a second where the cruelty didn’t sit right, where the threat didn’t carry the weight it was meant to.

Cole caught it.

He’d grown up with that voice. More so, he’d matured learning and paying attention when people spoke. He knew every shift, every crack, every lie wrapped in bravado. That wasn’t the sound of a man ready to kill his brother. It was the sound of someone pushing too hard, reaching for a line he hoped would scare rather than one he meant to cross.

Realization slid in, sharp and grounding.

Daniel was bluffing... when it came to him, he was only lying to want him dead.

The anger in Cole didn’t fade, but it changed. His grip tightened, not to hurt, but to hold him there, close enough to remind him that Cole still knew him and still saw through him.

"You won’t," Cole said quietly, certainty in every word. "I don’t need luck," Cole said flatly. "That’ll be Ahmet’s fight. My purpose is to kill Marco."

Daniel’s expression darkened instantly. "How dare you?"

The last thread holding him back finally gave way. All his life, he had carried this alone. Swallowed and buried it, thinking he was protecting Daniel from it the same way he’d always done. He knew if Daniel knew, really knew, it would shatter whatever was left of him. He would go after Marco and he would end up being killed. And Cole had promised himself he’d never be the one to put him in danger.

But now Daniel stood there, loyal to the wrong man. Defending him, thinking of him as his savior, mentor, and leader.

The unfairness of it burned.

Cole felt it rise from somewhere deep and old. The nights he didn’t sleep. The time he played the obedient boy so Daniel wasn’t seen. The years being the best soldier. The rage he learned to fold inward because someone had to be strong enough for revenge.

Daniel trusted a lie more than him. That was what finally broke it.

"You know what?" Cole exhaled sharply. "Maybe it’s time you knew the truth. Marco killed our parents."

"You’re lying."

"I’m not," Cole said firmly. "He wanted me the moment he saw me. Dad refused. He told him I’d grow up normal. He tried to get us out before Marco found out we were twins and started searching for you too. So he was sending us to different guardians. He thought he could protect you, us that way."

Daniel shook his head.

"My flight was canceled," Cole continued. "I went back home. That was when I saw him kill them. I ran. I thought you were already gone. But I found you on the street days after. I kept my distance so he wouldn’t notice you but you kept finding me. And when that car came that night, I knew if I didn’t follow him, he’d search the place. He would’ve found you. So I went."

"Stop," Daniel muttered.

"He assigned me to his daughter, Asli," Cole went on, his voice unsteady now. "I hated her at first. Hated everything about that Villa. But guess who I would die for now? I thought protecting her would fix something broken in me. I thought protecting her would be the same as protecting you. I was hoping you’d never find me. But you did.. like you also do. And you came back standing beside a worse man than that monster is."

"I came looking for you!" Daniel shouted. "He told me I had potential! That I was strong! Mum and Dad always called you the strong one!"

"You want to blame them?" Cole fired back. "You said you were the brains and I was the muscles!"

The words hung between them.

"They only said that because I trained constantly," Cole muttered, but the heat had drained from his voice. "Remember when I always got low marks in school? Our parents told me to copy your answers. You didn’t complain. I didn’t complain. We were fine."

Cole’s jaw tightened. They had been boys then. It had never been a competition for him and he thought his brother was fine with it too.

Daniel stepped forward and held out the keys. "I’ll pretend this conversation never happened. Take them and leave."

Cole took them slowly, their fingers brushing for the briefest second.

"If that’s what you want," he said quietly. He glanced around the empty stretch of road. "You sent your men off. Which car are you going with?"

Daniel gave a short shrug, already stepping back. "Don’t worry about me. I always find my way."