Virgin At 25-Chapter 109: THE BLOOD DECISION

The glass doors slid open as Aec stepped into the lobby, the cool air hitting his face like a reminder that the world was still moving even if his mind wasn’t.

His jaw was tight, his pace sharp, eyes fixed ahead.

Then his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Maxie... Sharon’s best friend.

Aec slowed for half a second before answering.

"Yeah."

Her voice came through gentle, a little worried.

"Aec... hi. I’m at work. I just wanted to check in. Any update yet?"

He kept walking, shoes clicking on marble, expression unreadable.

"No."

"Okay." A small breath on her end. "It is difficult doing life without Sharon and more difficult knowing there’s nothing I can do."

He didn’t respond immediately, her voice shaky from the other end.

He stopped by the elevator, pressed the button, watched the numbers descend.

His silence stretched... but it wasn’t hostile.

Just heavy.

Maxie spoke again, softer this time.

"Aec... are you okay?"

A muscle in his jaw moved.

The elevator arrived with a soft chime.

He stepped inside.

"I’m fine."

Maxie continued "Please..." but she was cut short

"Maxie." His tone cut her sentence clean, but not harsh. Just firm. Controlled. "I’ll tell you when there’s something to tell."

There was a pause.

She understood he meant stop worrying for nothing... but also thank you for checking.

"Alright," she whispered. "I’ll let you go."

The call was seconds from ending when Aec suddenly spoke again, voice lower... rougher... but strangely calmer.

"Maxie."

"Yes?"

"Be ready after work, we have somewhere to go."

She blinked on the other end. "Ready? For what?"

He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, gaze turning colder, colder, but purposeful.

"We’re going somewhere."

"Somewhere... where?"

The elevator rose, humming quietly.

Aec’s eyes hardened, just enough for someone near him to feel the shift.

"Maxie..."

Maxie swallowed.

"Okay."

He ended the call without another word.

The doors slid open to his floor.

- - -

Tory Langley rarely called his mother first.

So when her phone rang and his name flashed across the screen, she froze mid-step.

She answered.

"Tory?"

A long exhale came through, shaky but controlled.

"Mom... we need to talk."

Camila straightened fully.

"What is this about?"

"Just... come. Please."

There was something in his tone she couldn’t place. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Not fear. Not anger. Something quieter.

She didn’t like it. But she went to him.

Tory sat at the edge of a quiet outdoor terrace, staring at nothing. His hands were clasped, too tightly. His foot tapped the floor in an anxious rhythm he’d never admit to.

Camila walked in, her perfume arriving before her presence.

"Tory."

He lifted his head, looking tired...

Like he’d been holding something inside too long.

Camila’s chest tightened before she masked it.

"What’s going on?"

He stood up slowly.

"I want you out."

She blinked.

"Out of what?"

"The mess Victor is creating. The business he’s dragging you into. The fight with Aec. Everything."

He swallowed.

"Do not get involved... Mom."

Camila’s spine locked straight.

"You’re not supposed to know about any of that."

Tory stepped closer, voice breaking slightly.

"How could I not know? I hear things. I see how you move. I see how he moves. And I know it’s going to end badly. For all of us."

Camila’s eyes hardened.

"You don’t understand what I’m doing."

"I do," Tory whispered. "I do, Mom... But don’t claim you are doing this for me because you clearly are not"

Camila stared at him like she was seeing a stranger.

"You’re speaking like you have any idea what it takes to survive in this family."

He flinched but didn’t back down.

"I do know," he said quietly. "That’s why I don’t want it. Let it go. Let me go. Stop fighting Victor. Stop dragging Aec. Stop planning things you shouldn’t be planning."

His voice rose, trembling.

"Please, Mom. We were fine even before we got into the Langley’s family. It’s going too far."

Camila’s breath caught. She was filed with anger.

"Tory..."

Her voice softened without her permission.

"You don’t know what position you’re putting yourself in by saying all this."

He shook his head.

"No. You don’t know what position you’re putting me in. I don’t want you and Dad destroying each other. I don’t want Aec dragged into this anymore. I don’t want blood. I don’t want..."

Her voice snapped again, sharper than she intended.

"Tory stay out of this."

He stopped.

His jaw tightened.

His eyes glistened with something like hurt.

Camila didn’t look away.

"I am doing everything I am doing for you," she said, each word like a stone dropping in water.

"For your protection. For your place in this family. For your future. Not Aec’s. Yours."

"And I’m telling you," Tory whispered, "that I don’t want it, if it costs you your dignity."

That hurt her.

Deeply.

More than she showed.

There was silence between them.

A fragile silence... stretched too thin.

Finally, he exhaled.

"I’m stepping back from all of it, Mom. I’m done pretending."

He turned to leave.

Camila’s heart slammed painfully in her chest.

"Tory!"

Camila’s breath was still uneven from the argument, but Tory was done explaining.

She could see it in the way his shoulders straightened... in the way he finally stopped pleading and started deciding.

He looked back at her and the softness in his eyes slowly burned away.

What replaced it made Camila’s stomach go cold again...

"Mom..."

Camila raised her chin, trying to regain control.

"What?"

He stepped closer, close enough for her to smell the faint cologne on his collar.

His voice was low... steady... unlike the trembling tone he arrived with.

"If you don’t stop what you’re doing... if you keep digging yourself into Victor’s madness... if you keep dragging Aec, dragging me, dragging everyone..."

He inhaled deeply, as if bracing himself.

"Then we will reach a point where I stop caring that you’re my mother."

Camila froze.

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t shake.

He didn’t blink.

He just said it, calm, absolute.

"And if we get there... I’ll go all in. Against everything. Against everyone. Even you."

His words landed like a slap.

Camila’s lips parted, stunned hurt flashing across her face before she hid it.

"Tory..."

But he was already stepping back, shaking his head.

"I’m tired. And I’m done being quiet because I’m trying to be a good son."

He picked up his jacket from the chair.

"Stop this now... while you still have me."

He didn’t wait for her reply.

He turned, walked past her, and headed toward the exit with a calmness that frightened her more than his anger.

The door opened and the sound of the door going shut, broke Camila...

Camila was left standing there, her heart pounding too loudly, her throat tightening around a fear she had never allowed herself to feel.

Not for Victor or Aec but for Tory... The one child who had never raised his voice at her... until now.

A voice whispered in her chest "You just lost him."

And she didn’t know that outside, only minutes later...

She would lose him for real...

- - -

Aec sat down in his office chair when his phone buzzed sharply against the desk.

The call ID showed Zion...

Aec answered immediately.

"Talk."

Zion’s voice wasn’t calm this time. It was clipped, urgent and almost breathless.

"Aec... listen carefully. Sharon is missing."

Aec froze.

For the first time in hours, every sound in the office went silent.

The pen in his hand dropped, clattering loudly against the glass table.

"What... You said she was safe?"

Zion exhaled shakily.

"I went to her venue right after you left the hotel. I didn’t notice at first, but... I think I was followed."

Aec’s eyes darkened.

"Followed! By who?"

Zion continued quickly

Your father’s men, probably. That’s my best guess. The guy watching Sharon said some unfamiliar men appeared minutes before I got there. She tried to run... but they got her before he even understood what was happening.

Aec pushed away from the desk so hard the chair rolled back and slammed into the wall.

Aec voice went low and deadly...

"Zion... tell me you’re lying."

Zion’s voice cracked, only slightly

"Aec... they have her."

Aec’s breath left him in one sharp exhale. His jaw ticked violently, rage rolling through him like fire licking at gasoline.

He grabbed his keys.

"I didn’t know I was being tailed. I swear. I wouldn’t have gone near her if I knew..."

Aec didn’t reply for a moment then he added

"It might have been your parents too"

He threw the office door open with so much force the entire row of secretaries flinched. His steps were fast, heavy, loud... the kind that made the whole hallway feel too small to contain him.

His phone was still pressed to his ear.

Aec voice continued, his voice cold and shaking with restrained fury

"Zion, listen to me carefully."

Zion swallowed audibly.

"Yeah.. yeah. I’m listening."

"If they touched her..." Ae continued

His voice dropped to a whisper so sharp it felt like a blade.

"There will be no trap. No plan. No waiting."

He reached the elevator, eyes burning...

"I’ll burn everything and everyone and that includes your parents... to get her back."

The elevator doors slid open.

He stepped inside.

And the line went dead.