"Watch your tone. Who told you to speak to the Miss like that?"

  The voice came from the opposite berth. A man sat there, his posture relaxed yet commanding. His scruffy beard and lean frame gave him an air of ruggedness, but if he shaved, he’d probably look much younger.

  The four men stiffened. There was a flicker of fear in their eyes.

  "Get out." The man flicked his hand dismissively.

  They hesitated for a second before shuffling out of the compartment, leaving Cassia and the stranger alone.

  She glanced at him but said nothing, turning back to the window, watching the passing landscape blur by.

  For a while, the man remained silent. Then, finally, in a low voice, he asked, "That was your classmate back there, wasn’t it?"

  Cassia turned her head.

  His face was unfamiliar, but she knew who he was—one of her father’s new favorites, a man gaining power in the gang because he was strong and willing to do whatever it took.

  "Yeah." She nodded lightly.

  The man fell into thought. He had spent a long time searching for someone. Asking around, digging through every connection he had. But the guy had vanished without a trace. No one in the gang could find him.

  And yet—just now, on the platform—he had seen him. The same man who had once saved his life.

  And he wasn’t just some random passerby. He was Cassia’s classmate. No—not just a classmate. From the way she looked at him, from the way she reacted, it was obvious—Axel meant something to her.

  The man exhaled slowly. Shit. This just got complicated.

  Axel had no idea what Cassia was walking into. But Zane did.

  Cassia wasn’t heading off to college. She was being married off—to some powerful figure in Langford, handpicked by Orion himself. This was how Orion planned to clean up his syndicate—by trading his adopted daughter like a pawn on a chessboard.

  And Cassia? She agreed.

  Zane had been surprised when he first heard it. It was said that Orion had wept while convincing her, pouring out years of supposed fatherly love.

  But Zane knew better. Orion didn’t see her as a daughter. She was a tool. A young, newly awakened girl—beautiful, with a clean background. To outsiders, it looked like an overprotective father arranging a good match for his daughter.

  But Zane knew Orion. The man didn’t have love.

  He’d seen it firsthand. All it took was one moment of hesitation, one second of pity, and Orion had thrown Zane into a death trap—just because he had spared some poor bastard during a debt collection.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Zane had barely crawled out of that hell alive. That day, he made a decision. If Orion can kill me so easily, then why shouldn’t I kill him instead?

  Since then, he had played the long game. He sharpened himself into a weapon, rising through the ranks, earning Orion’s trust. Recently, he had even awakened—his power making him an even bigger threat.

  The four men earlier hadn’t feared him out of respect.

  They feared him because they knew what he was capable of. This mission had been just another step in the plan—another way to get closer to Orion.

  But now? Axel changed everything.

  If Zane did nothing, Axel would never know the truth—not until it was too late. Zane had done a lot of ruthless things. But he wouldn’t betray the man who once saved his life.

  He glanced at Cassia one time before standing up. "Miss, I’ll be heading down. If you need anything, call me. Oh, and—" He smirked slightly. "You don’t know my name yet. It’s Zane."

  Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.

  .......

  Cassia sat in silence, her thoughts heavy as the scenery blurred outside the train window. The memories of her time with Axel, the small moments they shared, were on her mind. But even those were drowned out by the image of Orion’s face—the sadness in his eyes, the way he’d pleaded with her.

  She’d never shared her family background with anyone. No one knew that her father was the leader of the Ironfang Syndicate, a criminal organization that ruled Dune’s underground. Orion had never treated her like a real daughter, nor had he ever asked for anything. Their relationship was one of distance—almost like strangers bound by an unspoken, uneasy familiarity.

  But despite everything, Cassia had always been grateful to him. Grateful for raising her, for keeping her safe. She had always believed that one day, when she became stronger, she would be able to repay him. By then, she thought, maybe he’d finally open up to her. Maybe she could finally break through the wall between them.

  But that moment never came. Instead, it had come too soon—and in the worst possible way.

  Orion had sat her down and laid out the cold truth: his identity was too dangerous to reveal to the public. If they wanted to move forward, to expand their power and influence, she needed to marry a man in Langford—someone strong. It wasn’t just a political move; it was a necessity. Orion had no other choice but to use her as a means to an end.

  The man she was supposed to marry was older, in his thirties, but a bit of a fool. If it had been any other situation, Cassia would have fought back. She would’ve cursed him, yelled, and refused outright. But this wasn’t just any father-daughter relationship. Orion had kept her at arm’s length all these years, never showing any real affection.

  It was because of that distance that Cassia felt like she owed him something. And so, despite every instinct telling her to run, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She was silent, her heart torn in two.

  "That's it," she whispered to herself, accepting her fate.

  The train rumbled on, passing through endless fields, and then entered a dark tunnel. The lights flickered and dimmed, the noise of the train becoming louder.

  The train had a malfunction. The attendant's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.

  "Cassia, don’t make a sound, follow me."

  The voice was familiar—Uncle Benjamin.

  Without hesitation, Cassia rose, wiping her eyes quickly. She followed the figure as he led her out of the sleeper compartment and into the bright light outside the tunnel. The surroundings immediately became clear again, the dimness lifting. But as the light bathed the scene, Cassia felt a sense of calm wash over her.

  Benjamin, an older man in his early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and a solid build, looked at her with concern. He wasn’t just a member of the gang—he had always been one of the few people she trusted.

  "Uncle Benjamin, why are you here?" she asked softly, her voice cracking.

  Seeing the tears in her eyes, Benjamin took a tissue from his pocket and gently wiped her face. "Cassia, they’re all watching you. We don’t have time for this. I’ve arranged for someone to take you away at the next stop in Langford."

  Cassia froze. "Take me away?"

  "Silly child," Benjamin said, his voice thick with sorrow. "Do you really think you want to get married? Is that what you want for your future? You’ve been wronged all these years. You deserve better."