Tied In Silence

Victor’s POV

It had been thirty-five minutes.

Thirty-five excruciating, soul-shredding minutes since I’d been forced to leave her side. Since the doctor locked the door and told me to wait—as if I wasn’t breaking apart with every second that ticked by.

Every moment without her was a knife in my chest.

My patience—already bleeding—was thinning to a thread.

Why is it taking so long?

Is she that hurt?
The thought alone sent fire crawling up my spine.

My fists clenched as images of her red, bruised skin flashed before my eyes,

her body curled on that cold basement floor like she didn’t even belong to the world anymore.

A low growl rumbled in my chest.

Lucifer.

I’ll burn you alive.
For touching her.
For even looking at her.
For keeping her tied like she was nothing.
For hurting what’s mine.

I stormed across the hallway like a beast barely caged. Lexa leaned silently against the wall, arms crossed, sharp eyes pinned on me—but saying nothing.

She knew better.
She knew I was a second away from losing it.

Camelia walked up to me slowly. Her eyes—usually calm, maternal—were red with unshed tears.

“She’ll be okay, son.” Her voice shook like she didn’t believe it herself. She reached out, wrapping her arms around me tightly.

I didn’t want comfort. I wanted Lyra. I wanted her heartbeat against mine. Her warmth. Her smile.

But when my mother’s embrace tightened, something inside me broke. The mask I wore for years shattered.

Images of Lyra’s pale face. The blood on her wrists.

And then it happened.

A single tear slid down my cheek.

The first tear I’d let fall in years.

Across the hall, Lexa’s voice dropped low as she turned to Ravile.

“It was Lucifer,” she said grimly. “Your old enemy. He’s the one who did this.”

Ravile’s eyes turned to steel.

“I should’ve killed that bastard when I had the chance.”

His jaw ticked, fists clenched.

He had never accepted Lyra as my wife. But even he looked ready to murder the man who dared hurt her.

Finally, the door creaked open.

The doctor stepped out. Her face looked grim—too grim.

Camelia rushed forward. “She’s fine, right? Please tell me she’ll wake up soon.”

The doctor’s gaze dropped. “She’s alive. Stable. But…”

But.

My heart seized.

“But what?” I snapped, voice like a thunderclap. “SPEAK!”

“She was injected with multiple sedatives… heavy doses in a very short time. Her body isn’t equipped to handle it.”

I stepped forward, rage flooding me. “What are you trying to say?!”

Lexa grabbed my wrist just as I was about to lunge at the woman.

“She’s… she’s in a coma.”

Time stopped.

No.

No.

That word didn’t exist in my world. Not for Lyra.
Not for my wife.

I took a step back, as if reality had cracked beneath my feet.

“In a coma?” Camelia whispered. Her voice trembled as tears spilled down her cheeks. “You’re lying…”

I didn’t hear anything else.

My blood roared in my ears.

I could kill the doctor for just saying it—for speaking that curse into existence.
But Lexa’s hand on mine kept me tethered. Barely.

“She needs to be admitted to a hospital immediately,” the doctor said. “She’s stable, but we need to monitor her closely.”

Camelia asked through sobs, “When will she wake up?”

“I… don’t know,” the doctor admitted. “There may be side effects. Memory issues, delayed response, even trauma. I wish I could promise more, but—”

I didn’t stay to hear it.

I turned and stormed back into the room.

Everything inside me was numb and on fire all at once.

I sat beside her on bed  and pulled her into my arms—gently, like she was glass. Her skin was so cold. Her breathing faint.

I buried my face in her neck and whispered, “I swear on everything I am, I’ll kill them all.”

I kissed her ear, her cheek.

“I’ll burn every name on the list, Lyra. Every man who touched you. Every person who let this happen. Lucifer will beg for death.”

I cradled her closer.

“I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll wait for you—years if I have to. But I’ll kill without blinking to keep you safe.”

My voice cracked.

“You’re my home… and if you don’t wake up, I’ll never find my way back.”

No one entered the room.

They all knew better.

This moment was mine.
She was mine.

I kissed her forehead, holding her like she was my only breath left.

She laid unconscious in my arms. Unmoving. Fragile.

This would be the last time Victor Knight shed a tear.

Because from this moment on—
He would be ruthless.
Unforgiving.
And the world would burn.