(third person POV)

Music thundered through the private club hard enough to make the crystal glasses tremble on the tables.

Vegas nightlife at its most excessive.

Purple neon lights cut across the dark room in waves while dancers moved around chrome poles under flashing strobes. Cigarette smoke curled lazily into the air above crowds drowning themselves in alcohol, pills, confetti. Men in tailored suits laughed too loudly. Women in glittering dresses leaned close enough to promise things they never intended to keep. Somewhere deeper in the club, someone sprayed champagne over screaming bodies while cash floated through the air like confetti.

Kaito Ishigami loved places like this.

Because places like this never asked questions.

A cigar rested between his fingers as he sat sprawled across a velvet booth with a half-dressed stripper grinding against him to the rhythm of the bass. His shirt buttons were open halfway down his chest, expensive watch gleaming beneath the lights as he laughed and threw another stack of bills into the air.

The dancer squealed.

"That’s what I’m talking about!" Kaito shouted drunkenly.

Money rained over the booth.

The men around him cheered.

Kaito grinned wider.

Twenty minutes later he finally staggered away from the booth toward the bar.

"Where the hell is my drink, Otis?" he complained, leaning heavily against the counter. "I ordered that like an hour ago."

The bartender slid a crystal glass toward him. Amber liquid. Expensive whiskey. The kind of bottle people bought less for the taste and more because it told the room they could afford it.

"Easy there, Mr. Ishigami," Otis said. "Top shelf. Just how you like it."

Kaito took one sip and exhaled sharply.

"Now that’s the stuff."

Then he saw her.

She sat three stools away with one leg crossed over the other, red dress hugging her body like it had been designed specifically to ruin men financially and emotionally. Smooth skin. Red lipstick. Long black heels that climbed elegantly up her calves. The slit on the side of the dress revealed just enough thigh to make imagination dangerous.

Her perfume reached him before her voice did.

Sweet.

Expensive.

Lethal.

Kaito immediately straightened.

Well damn.

He slid onto the stool beside her with a grin already forming.

"Hello, baby."

The woman turned toward him slowly like she already knew exactly what effect she had on people.

"And who might you be?" Kaito asked.

"I’m Jane," she said softly, extending her hand.

He took it immediately and kissed the back of her palm.

"My lady Jane," he said smoothly. "What brings a woman like you to a place like this?"

She smiled.

"I’m new in town." Her heel brushed lightly against his ankle beneath the counter. "And I just want to have fun."

The wink she gave him after nearly erased the last functioning brain cell in his head.

An hour later they were crashing into a hotel suite upstairs.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Kaito grabbed her waist immediately and pushed her gently against the wall while kissing her hard. She kissed him back just as aggressively, fingers sliding into his hair as his cigar hit the carpet somewhere behind them.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered against her lips. "You’re gorgeous."

Jane laughed softly.

"You haven’t seen anything yet."

Kaito kissed down her neck slowly.

"You are fucking sexy," he breathed.

She pushed him backward toward the bed.

He let her.

Gladly.

The mattress dipped beneath his weight as she climbed over him, dress riding slightly higher against her thighs. Kaito looked up at her with drunken admiration.

"Lord have mercy," he muttered.

Jane reached behind her back.

Something metallic clicked.

Kaito blinked.

Handcuffs.

"Wooah," he laughed. "Kinky."

"Hmmm," she replied with a teasing smile.

She cuffed one wrist to the bedframe.

Then the other.

Kaito laughed again, completely relaxed.

"This might actually be the best night of my—"

Jane suddenly stood up.

Adjusted her dress calmly.

And looked down at him differently now.

Not seductive.

Professional.

"You are cute," she said.

Then her smile faded slightly.

"But a job is a job."

Kaito frowned.

"What the hell does that mea—"

The hotel room door burst open.

Four men stormed inside immediately.

Dark suits. Hard faces. Efficient movements.

Kaito’s drunk haze vanished instantly.

"What the fuck?!"

The men spread across the room without answering him.

Then another figure entered casually behind them, whistling under his breath with both hands tucked into his pockets.

Tengu.

"Damn," Tengu said, looking around the suite. "You really know how to have fun."

Kaito’s eyes widened.

"You."

Tengu smiled.

"You’ve seen me before."

"You’re Katsuro’s man."

Tengu tilted his head slightly.

"Right hand man," he corrected. "You can call me Tengu."

One of the men handed Tengu a thick stack of cash.

Tengu turned and gave it to Jane.

"You did a fine job, hon."

Jane took the money with a satisfied smile.

"It’s always a pleasure doing business with you."

Then she looked at Kaito one final time, blew him a kiss, and walked out of the room in those deadly black heels without looking back once.

Kaito stared after her in disbelief.

"...I knew she was too hot for me."

Tengu laughed.

"I know you’re wondering why we went through all this trouble instead of just grabbing you off the street." He paced slowly around the room. "Truth is... I enjoy drama. Adds spice to life." He shrugged lightly. "Snatching you in some parking lot would’ve been boring."

Kaito struggled against the handcuffs.

"What do you want from me?"

Tengu stopped pacing.

"My boss wants you in Harrington."

"Why?"

Tengu smiled.

"Because my boss said so."

He turned toward the others.

"Wrap him up. We move in five."

Then he walked out.

The men immediately grabbed Kaito as panic finally crashed fully into his face.

"Wait— hold on—"

A cloth gag was shoved roughly into his mouth.

"MMPH—!"

His struggles became violent now.

Useless.

The last thing he saw before they dragged him out of the room was the neon glow of Vegas flickering through the suite windows.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which brought everything back to the present.

"Dad?"

The word left Raina quietly.

Almost uncertainly.

Kaito looked terrible.

Wrists tied. Lip split slightly. His expensive suit wrinkled beyond saving. He looked smaller somehow than she remembered. Not physically.

Just... diminished.

"Grandpa," Raina said slowly. "What’s going on? Why is he here?"

Katsuro stood up calmly and walked toward Kaito.

"He’s here because he’s reckless," he said. "And reckless people create problems." His eyes hardened slightly. "I will not have him causing you more pain."

"Grandpa he—"

"I know he’s your father."

Katsuro looked back at her.

"And I promised you I would not hurt him unless he deserved it."

Then suddenly—

He grabbed Kaito sharply by the ear.

"You should apologize to her."

Kaito jerked violently. "To who? Her?" He spat blood lightly onto the floor. "She doesn’t deserve it."

BAM!

The punch landed so hard Raina physically flinched.

Kaito crashed sideways into the chair arm with a groan.

"Grandpa!"

Katsuro stood over him coldly.

"Apologize to my granddaughter," he repeated quietly. "Do not make me say it again."

Raina rushed forward immediately.

"Stop!"

Katsuro didn’t move.

"Grandpa, stop!"

His grip finally loosened.

Raina stepped between them, breathing unevenly.

"Please."

Katsuro stared at her for several long seconds.

Then finally released Kaito completely.

Raina looked at one of the men nearby.

"Untie him."

The man hesitated.

Then obeyed.

At that exact moment Tengu walked in from the bar area carrying a glass of whiskey.

"Boss," he said calmly, handing it over.

Katsuro took the drink without looking away from Kaito.

"What now?" he asked Raina quietly.

Raina looked at her father.

Really looked at him.

This pathetic man with tired eyes and blood on his lip and fear hiding underneath his arrogance.

He had hurt her.

Again and again and again.

And somehow she still couldn’t stop part of herself from wanting him to love her properly.

"Nothing," she said softly. "Let him go."

Katsuro frowned slightly.

"We know he loves money." Raina swallowed hard. "Give him enough of it that we never hear from him again."

Silence.

Then Katsuro nodded once.

"I can do that."

He turned toward Tengu.

"Come with me."

The two men stepped away, leaving her alone with Kaito for the first time in years.

The room suddenly felt too quiet.

Raina sat down slowly across from him.

Kaito rubbed his wrists where the restraints had been.

Then she finally asked the thing that had lived inside her for most of her life.

"...Was there ever a day you loved me?"

Kaito looked up at her.

And for the first time in years she saw no performance in his face.

No manipulation.

No cruelty.

Just exhaustion.

"Oh, Raina," he said quietly. "I loved you from the moment you came into this world."

Her chest tightened painfully.

"Then why?" she whispered. "Why?"

Kaito looked down at his hands.

Then back at her.

"Because eventually..." He struggled slightly with the words. "Eventually a person has to accept that even the thing he loves most can come into this world broken."

Raina felt something inside her crack.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just quietly.

Like glass giving way beneath pressure it could not survive anymore.

"You looked at your mother after it happened," Kaito continued softly. "And you smiled." His voice trembled slightly now. "Maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe shock did something to your face. I don’t know." He swallowed hard. "But once I saw that... I couldn’t stop seeing it."

Tears blurred her vision instantly.

"No..." she whispered. "Dad—"

"I didn’t know how to love you after that."

That one hurt the most.

Because he said it honestly.

Raina looked away quickly as tears spilled down her face.

All these years. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

All these years she had wanted him to just choose her once.

Just once.

Kaito’s own eyes had reddened now.

"I’m sorry," he said quietly. "For everything." His voice cracked slightly. "For bringing you into this flawed world. For making you feel unwanted." He looked at her helplessly. "I’m truly sorry, Raina."

She stared at him through tears.

And the worst part was...

She knew he meant it.

The door opened again.

Katsuro returned with Tengu beside him. Tengu carried a large black duffel bag and dropped it onto the floor in front of Kaito with a heavy thud.

"Twenty million dollars," Katsuro said calmly. "Take it and disappear."

Kaito stared at the bag silently.

Then Katsuro stepped closer.

"And if I ever hear your name connected to my granddaughter again... if I hear you are speaking when you shouldn’t..." His voice lowered dangerously. "I will find you myself. Husband or not. Father or not."

Kaito nodded immediately.

He understood.

Slowly, he picked up the bag.

Then he looked at Raina one final time.

There was something unbearably sad in his expression now.

"Goodbye, Raina."

Her throat tightened.

She nodded weakly.

"...Goodbye, Dad."

Kaito turned and walked toward the exit.

Katsuro’s men stepped aside to let him pass.

And just like that...

He was gone.

The door shut behind him softly.

Raina stood there staring at it long after he disappeared.

As if part of her still expected him to come back.

Then the tears finally came properly.

Katsuro pulled her gently against his chest and held her while she cried.

Not elegantly.

Not quietly.

The kind of crying that hurt all the way down into the ribs.

"I’ve got you," Katsuro said softly, resting a hand against the back of her head. "Grandpa is here."

And for the first time in a very long while—

Raina allowed herself to believe it.