It was my fault.

It was all my fault.

Byron wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for me.

I rubbed my face with a hand, then leaned my head back on the wall until I was staring up at the ceiling. I hated being in hospitals. They held nothing but bad memories.

"Here," Arisa said, handing me a cup of coffee.

"Thanks."

She sat down beside me, as she looked around the waiting room. Yash just left to get a shower and a change of clothes. Gwen was on her way here with outside food because hospital food was shit.

Arisa's phone buzzed. She unlocked her phone and scrolled, reading whatever it was. She gasped in outrage.

"This is bullshit," she muttered.

"What?"

"Holden was released."

"Fuck."

I couldn't say I was surprised. There was no evidence linking him to the actual crime. That was why he was only brought in for questioning, but he wasn't really a suspect.

After the ambulance arrived, Byron was taken to the hospital. Yash and I were held up by the police because they wanted to get our statements.

I had to tell them everything – names and all.

I could still remember the reluctance in officer's face when I mentioned Senator Adder and his son. They looked like they didn't believe me. At least, they didn't know how to approach the situation or whether or not they should believe me.

That indecision changed when Byron's parents found out. They wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. When they heard about what happened and who I thought was the person behind it, they demanded to have Holden questioned.

Of course, that meant that the Adder family's dirty laundry was out. Meaning, it was now known that Senator Adder's late brother had an illegitimate son who died in a fraternity hazing a few years ago.

I was surprised that it wasn't in the news. But I guessed they managed to keep the media well out of it. The families involved had that much power after all. I had no idea how this would play out in the end. Too many people got tangled into this mess.

"They need proof," Arisa said. "I don't know how they're going to get it—legally."

Yeah, it had to be through legal means. Otherwise, it wouldn't hold up in court.

I threw away all the disgusting packages he sent me. I didn't want a reminder, nor did I want any bad mojo from it so I threw them away as soon as I got them. The messages were long gone, too. Plus, there was no visible wound or injury from that day when Arisa was attacked.

"I need to talk to him," I declared.

"Who?" Arisa asked.

"Holden."

She turned to me. "Why?"

"At this point, our only hope is to get a confession out of that piece of shit."

"Do you really think he'll admit to it?"

I sighed. "I have no fucking idea. But I bet he wants to talk to me just as badly."

"And why is that?"

"'Cause out of everyone there that night in Florida, he blames me for Mauri's death the most."

Arisa looked away and shook her head. I grabbed her hand with mine and intertwined our fingers.

"I need to end this," I told her, my jaw clenching from the conviction in my voice. "I don't want anybody else to get hurt because of me."

Her eyes met mine, and she had a frown. "This is not your fault."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, before managing to say in a pained voice, "You know it is."

Her body shifted, fully facing me now. "Alfie, this is that monster's fault. He's so full of vengeance that he's dragging everybody else to suffer with him. Please don't sink with him."

"Byron took the knife for me," I said, my voice cracking. "He... He—Damn, he almost fucking died."

"But he didn't." She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, studying my face. "Byron is going to be alright. He's going to wake up soon. He's going to live happily and freely. Holden is going to end up in jail at one point or another because that's what he deserves."

I stared at her, the love of my life. She believed in me so much. I couldn't be more thankful to have her in my life. She still saw something in me even when I had already given up on myself.

I didn't give her a response. I only leaned in and kissed her lightly on her soft plump lips.

"I love you."

A little smile appeared on her face before her eyes met mine. I watched her expression soften as we gazed at each other.

"I love you, too."

"I'm not going to let anything bad happen to anyone I love from this point forward," I promised.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Promise me you won't blame yourself instead."

"Can I promise both?"

She let out a small quiet laugh. She was about to reply when Gwen came running to us.

"Did you hear?" she demanded, stopping in front of us and trying to catch her breath.

I nodded, while Arisa replied grimly, "Yeah, they let him go."

"After only one hour!" Gwen shrieked.

"They had to. The homeless person confessed to doing the act, and there's no evidence whatsoever that Holden hired him to do it."

Gwen stomped on the floor. "Ugh, this is infuriating! What are we going to do? We can't just let him get away with this!"

"I'll talk to him," I said.

Gwen turned to me.

"I haven't worked out exactly what my plan is yet. But I'll talk to him and see where it goes from there."

Gwen's eyes widened in horror. "Please don't tell me you're going to kill him. That's going to be hard to cover up, Alfie!" She stopped and blinked. "Unless, my grandfa—"

"I'm not going to kill anyone." Ha, I wished.

But no, the bastard needed to pay. Death would only be an escape for him.

"How are you sure his father's going to let you talk to him, though?" Gwen asked.

"Why not?"

Arisa raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? He was the one who charged the precinct with an army of lawyers to get his son out that quick. What makes you think he'll risk letting you talk to Holden, especially after everything you accused him of doing?"

Huh. That was a very good point.

"I have to at least try," I said firmly.

"He's only a person of interest. He's not a suspect, so he can go wherever he wants. You have to catch him before he attempts to leave the state."

"I'll see if I can find out where they're currently staying," Gwen offered, pulling out her phone and stepping away to make some calls.

"Maybe we need to hire some bodyguards for extra security," Arisa suggested, as she bit her lip while she contemplated about it.

I looked at her. "Are you serious?"

She met my stare. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"I'll be fine."

"You're going to the lion's den."

"Perfect, I'm a Leo."

"Alfred."

"Arisa Emilia."

She took a deep breath. "You better still be alive when Byron wakes up."

"I seriously doubt the Senator will do anything to me." Not when they were hot in high society right now. "Besides, we're both members of the Ordo. That counts, right?"

"I'm not sure." Light a light bulb turning on, her face brightened with an idea. "I'll go to the library and read up on the by-laws. There must be something there that can help us deal with this."

Just then, my phone started ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Yash calling. Wishing so bad that nothing bad happened, I answered.

"Hey—"

"I need his DNA."

"What?"

"I need Holden's DNA—hair, saliva, nail, whatever you can give me."

"What do you need it for?"

"Remember the knife Arisa used to slash the intruder? Byron asked me to keep it. We can test the intruder's blood with Holden and see if it's a match."

My mouth dropped open. "If it is, that'll be enough to make him a suspect on the case."

I just hoped their lawyers weren't smart enough to spin it on us. It wasn't much, but it was definitely a start. Even unconscious, Byron was helping us.

Damn, that saint.

"Can you get it?" Yash asked, through the phone.

It wasn't going to be easy. But hell if that was going to stop me. For my friends, I'd do anything.

"Yeah."

For my family, I'd do everything.

"I'll get it."

Byron was family.