Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2571

Mario’s men panicked for a split second before launching a desperate counterattack. Gunfire erupted all around, echoing through the warehouse.

It was over in less than twenty seconds—a massacre.

Mario lay sprawled on the cold concrete, riddled with bullets. His eyes, wide and unblinking, stared up at Sean, even wider in death than Giles’ had been.

Sean strode over. Handsome as ever, but with a chill in his gaze that sent shivers down anyone’s spine. “Listen closely,” he said coldly, his voice like ice. “You could die a hundred times, and I’d still never betray Gab.”

Mario’s vision blurred, but in that final moment, everything snapped into focus. All at once, he understood.

It had been Sean who’d approached him first, Sean who’d orchestrated careful plots to earn his trust, to make him believe he was truly dissatisfied with Gab.

When Giles had caught them both, Sean had gone in to meet him alone. Afterward, he’d come back with grim news—Giles was going to have his hands and feet chopped off, and sell his woman, just to make an example out of him. To show everyone what happened to traitors.

But then Sean had helped him escape, pulling strings and using every trick to help Mario win back his old crew. Again and again, Sean had hinted—subtly, persistently—that Mario could take Giles’ place.

Now, with his last breath, Mario realized what Giles meant—this had all been Sean’s scheme. Every move, every betrayal, just to wipe Giles and his men from the map.

Regret washed over him as he closed his eyes for the last time.

Sean slung the machine gun over his shoulder and turned back toward his men. “We’re done here. Let’s pack up and go home—dinner’s waiting!”

He hadn’t been home in over a month. Would anyone even notice he was back?

…

That night, Lambert threw a lavish victory party at his castle.

Giles’ syndicate was finished, but someone would soon fill the power vacuum in the Citadel. If not here, then somewhere else in Tripe. The only real solution was for someone trustworthy to take over the arms business.

Lambert’s smile froze. For a long moment, he said nothing, then forced a crooked grin. “To Alvis?”

Gab nodded. “Yeah.”

Lambert tried to mask the anxiety rising inside him, forcing a light laugh. “If it hadn’t been for the mess with Giles, I’d have gone to her sooner—maybe I could’ve made her change her mind.”

“Don’t even think about it. Leave her alone, and don’t cause her any trouble,” Gab said sternly.

“Come on, we’re friends. She’s getting married—how could I not show up?” In the shadows, Lambert’s expression was unreadable, his words almost a murmur. “Of course I’ll be there.”

“Do what you want,” Gab said over his shoulder as he strode away. “But let me warn you—J City isn’t your turf. If you piss off the wrong people, there’s no guarantee you’ll make it out alive.”

Lambert stood alone in the chill night air, watching Gab’s silhouette fade into the darkness. A cocky smirk tugged at his lips as he muttered to himself, “If they don’t want me to come back, I’ll just stick around. I’ll stick to her for the rest of my life.”