Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 214

Chapter 214: Chapter 214:Did you find the person

[Office—Private Room]

Kalix gently guided Winter to sit on the edge of the bed. Her fingers remained clenched in the fabric of his coat, her wide eyes staring into nothingness—haunted, hollow.

Her mind was still frozen, paralyzed by the brutal truth that Diana was gone. Murdered. And she had been powerless to stop it.

Her gaze dropped slowly to her hands. Though the blood was no longer visible on her skin, she could still feel it—sticky, metallic, shameful. The scent clung to her, phantom-like, embedding itself in her memory. A sickening reminder that she had been there. That she had seen it.

Her hands began to tremble and she quickly balled them into a fist.

Kalix, who had been watching her in silence, moved without hesitation. The moment he saw her shivering, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest.

Winter didn’t resist. She couldn’t. The moment his warmth enveloped her, the icy shell around her cracked. The chill in her bones began to melt, and with it came a flood of tears.

“I swear… I wanted to save her,” she whispered, her voice brittle, breaking. “But she—”

The rest of the sentence dissolved into sobs. Loud, aching, uncontrollable sobs that wracked her body and shook her shoulders.

She was drowning in guilt. In helplessness. In trauma she hadn’t had time to process.

Kalix didn’t speak. He simply held her, letting her grief crash over him too. Protecting her with the only thing he had left to offer in that moment—his strength.

He knew she wasn’t in the state to say anything nor was he going to push her to speak. Sean was already on work and he knew nothing would go unseen once they caught hold of the whole murder.

Time passed and Winter slowly drifted to sleep. Kalix made sure he tucked her into bed, covering her under the duvet, before stepping out of the door, where he found Sean already waiting for him.

***

Meanwhile, not far away, heavy footsteps echoed against the empty pavement, each one deliberate and unhurried. Dressed entirely in black, the figure moved with practiced precision, scanning the quiet street with sharp, calculating eyes.

Reaching a shadowed alleyway, they slipped inside without a sound.

Once concealed by the darkness, the figure wasted no time. A gloved hand tugged off the black cap, followed by the smooth removal of a featureless mask that had hidden every trace of identity. The jacket came next, folded swiftly and stuffed into a plastic bag along with the rest.

With one last glance around to ensure no eyes were watching, she—now unmistakably a woman—tossed the bag into a grimy dumpster at the far end of the alley.

The assassin was gone.

Only a ghost remained.

She quickly pulled out her phone, her fingers steady despite what she’d just done.

“Job’s done,” she said flatly, then ended the call without waiting for a response.

Without looking back, she slipped into the night, her shadow stretching behind her—long, silent, and deadly.

***

[Kalix’s Office]

“Someone orchestrated this,” Sean said grimly from where he stood near the monitors. “They knew Diana was coming here.”

Kalix’s jaw tightened, his eyes locked on the CCTV footage playing before him. Frame by frame, he watched the silent execution unfold. Diana had barely stepped into the hallway when the assassin struck—swift, lethal, and with chilling precision.

No hesitation. No traces. No mercy.

The killer disappeared into the blind spots of the camera like a shadow slipping through cracks, as if they knew the building’s layout by heart.

“They were too clean,” Kalix muttered, darkness simmering in his gaze. “Diana didn’t stand a chance.”

Sean nodded grimly. “It was over before she even realized what was happening. And the escape route… it was planned. Familiar.”

Kalix leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable, but the fury in his eyes betrayed him. “Did we get anything? A face? A trace?”

Sean exhaled through his nose, frustrated. “Nothing. Whoever they are, they’re a ghost. No prints, no traceable tech, no camera picked up a clear image. Whoever did this… they’re smart. Smart and very good at what they do.”

Kalix’s silence grew heavier, the atmosphere thick with vengeance and rising questions.

“This wasn’t a warning,” he said coldly. “It was a message.”

And someone would pay for sending it.

By the time Kalix concluded the meeting and returned to the private room, Winter was already awake.

She sat on the edge of the bed, her posture tense, her fingers curled into the blanket. The moment she saw him, her voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“Did you find the person who attacked Diana?”

Kalix paused, his eyes scanning her face, taking in the strain behind her question. She looked more composed than before—less shaken, but no less determined.

“No,” he said evenly, “but we will. Whoever dared to spill blood on my territory won’t go unpunished.”

His words were sharp, his tone cold and lethal, and his eyes gleaming with a fury darker than any night.

But when his gaze met Winter’s and saw the way her expression faltered—haunted, pained—his demeanor shifted. The steel in his voice dulled, just enough to reach her.

“Angel,” he said more softly, stepping closer. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened in the parking lot.”

But she shook her head, the weight of guilt too heavy to brush aside.

“How can I not, Kalix?” Her voice cracked. “She said… she said she was there to meet me. To tell me the tru—”

Her words stopped abruptly, caught in her throat.

Kalix’s eyes narrowed. “What truth?”

Winter looked down, her chest rising and falling in shallow, panicked breaths. It hit her like a wave—the realization of what she had nearly said. Of what it could mean.

Kalix didn’t hesitate. He moved to sit beside her, gently but firmly taking her chin and turning her face toward his. His eyes searched hers, seeing the war raging inside her.

“What truth was she trying to tell you?” he asked, his voice low, careful—gentle despite the storm building around them.

Winter hesitated, her lips parting, but no words came at first. She had decided—planned—to tell him everything. But now, with Diana gone and the implications chillingly clear, the danger felt closer than ever.

“She said she needed to meet me urgently,” Winter began, her voice just above a whisper. “She didn’t say much on the phone. Only that she had information… something I needed to know. Something important.”

Kalix listened intently, his hand not leaving hers.

“But now that I think about it,” she continued, her brows furrowing as she connected the dots, “someone must have known she was coming to see me. Someone who didn’t want that truth to come out.”

Her voice trembled, not from fear—but rage. Guilt. Clarity.

“It wasn’t random, Kalix. Diana was silenced.”

Kalix’s jaw tightened, a curse forming in his mind.

Winter looked up at him then, her eyes glassy but steady. “I think I know who’s behind it.”

“Who?” he asked sharply, tension snapping back into his tone.

“Dorothy,” Winter said. The name felt bitter in her mouth.

Kalix stilled, the name hitting a nerve.

“Dorothy,” he repeated, more to himself than to Winter. “You’re sure?”

Winter nodded, her voice steadier now, edged with certainty. “Who else would see Diana as a threat?”

It wasn’t a coincidence—she was sure of that now. Diana had come to her, deliberately, with the intention of revealing something—their truth. But before she could get the words out… she was silenced.

Assassinated.

Winter’s jaw clenched, the weight of it all pressing heavily on her chest. “She was killed before she could speak to me. That’s not random. That’s calculated.”

Kalix couldn’t agree more. They had long suspected Dorothy’s involvement—not just with Kingstone, but with Diana as well. The two had worked together in the shadows, orchestrating moves to publicly discredit him and those close to him.

But suspicion wasn’t enough. Without solid proof, they couldn’t make a move—not without risking everything.

Diana had been the weak link, the one who might have turned, who might have exposed the truth. But now, she was gone. Silenced before she could speak.

Kalix’s voice cut through the tense silence, calm but firm. “We need confirmation before we draw conclusions.”

His tone left no room for doubt. Hunches weren’t enough. Not in a world where betrayal wore a smile and justice came at a cost.

Winter nodded in agreement, her resolve aligning with his without hesitation. The weight of the day still clung to her, but there was clarity now—purpose.

Without another word, they rose from the couch, the silence between them filled with unspoken understanding. It was time to leave the office, to return home—not to rest, but to prepare for whatever came next.

By the time their car pulled up to the gates of the penthouse, an unexpected scene unfolded before them—one that made them pause in confusion. But the moment their eyes recognized who it was, the air inside the vehicle shifted.

Confusion turned to caution.

And just beneath the surface, something colder began to stir.