Vengeance Is Mine

chapter 60 : palace

The trees were so thick it felt like they were trying to keep the night alive, choking out every bit of sun. The woods were a wall of black, hiding the entrance to the tunnels like a trap. The cars drove deeper and deeper until the trees finally snapped away, and the world opened up into flat, empty land.

And then, they saw it.

The Preston Palace sat there in the distance, huge and cold, with the sun bleeding red behind its sharp towers. Every member of Bangtan pressed their faces to the limo windows, their breath hitching in their throats. Their hearts were hammering against their ribs. This was the place. The forbidden zone. The place where everyone died twelve years ago. The place no one was ever allowed to touch again.

The limo took a sharp, violent turn into another tunnel. It wasn't pitch black; orange lights flickered against the glass, hitting their faces one by one. In the flashes, they looked at each other. They saw the fear in each other's eyes.

"Is that... the palace?" Jimin's voice was small and shaking.

Nobody answered. The silence was sick and heavy. They all turned to Ellie. She looked like she was about to break. She was biting her lip so hard it turned white, staring at the floor because she couldn't bear to look out the window. Alex reached over and gripped her hand, squeezing it so hard his knuckles turned white, trying to keep her from falling apart.

"Yes," Alex said, his voice like a ghost. "It is."

The car slammed to a stop. "We're here. Let's go," Alex told them.

The doors flew open. As soon as they stepped onto the cold ground, the limo and the guards sped away, leaving them in a silence so deep it hurt. They followed Ellie and Alex blindly toward a small keypad. Alex punched in the numbers—click, click, click—and a hidden door groaned open.

They stepped into a cold, metal elevator. Red lights scanned their bodies, and with a sudden jerk, they started to move. When the doors finally opened, the air left their lungs.

They weren't just near the house. They were inside it.

A new squad was waiting—men in black uniforms, covered in gear, carrying heavy guns. They looked stronger, deadlier. They all snapped into a salute as Alex led the way toward a massive, heavy metal door.

Namjoon froze for a second, staring at the door. It was beautiful but terrifying. This is it, J-Hope thought, his heart thumping in his ears like a drum. Behind this door is the truth. Every lie I've lived for twelve years is on the other side.

Ellie looked like she had turned to stone. Having the boys here—having him here—was like someone was ripping her heart out of her chest. Her walls were crumbling to dust.

The guards grabbed the heavy iron handles. With a deep, groaning sound, the doors swung open.

Yoongi stepped onto the black-and-white checkered floor. He looked up, his neck aching as he saw the massive crystal chandeliers hanging from ceilings so high they disappeared into the dark. It was beautiful, but it felt like a graveyard.

Then, he looked down.

Three men were standing there. Waiting.

The truth hit Bangtan like a punch to the gut. The missing kids. The secrets. It was them. The Prestons.

Ellie broke first. Her heels clicked frantically against the marble as she ran. Leo met her halfway, catching her in a collision of a hug that looked like it might break them both. He let out a choked sound—a sob he'd been holding since he was a boy. His eyes were bloodshot, his face gaunt, but as he buried his face in her hair, he finally drew a breath that didn't hurt. Shelly and Ian crashed into them, forming a desperate circle of trembling limbs. It was a silent, raw explosion of shared trauma.