THE MIRACULOUS RETURN OF DAMIEN BLACK

Chapter 6

Damian stood over Penelope, who had collapsed back onto the floor during her rant, his shadow falling across her like a dark omen. His voice came out flat, emotionless, which somehow made it even more terrifying than if he'd been shouting.

"If you have a death wish, just let me see you in front of that land again. Just show your face there one more time, and you are going to die. I'm not making a threat. I'm making a promise."

He crouched down slightly, bringing his face closer to hers so she could see the absolute certainty in his eyes, the complete lack of hesitation or doubt.

"But like I said before, this is just the beginning of what I'm going to do to you and the entire Nathaniel family. This is nothing compared to what's coming. So pass my message to them. Tell them that I'm back. Tell them that I'm coming for every single one of them. Tell them to prepare themselves, because the storm that's about to hit them won't leave anything standing."

He straightened up and turned to leave, dismissing her as if she were nothing more than an insect beneath his notice.

Penelope's voice rose to a shriek behind him, her pride wounded more than her body.

"Is this a threat? Are you actually threatening me right now? How dare you! How dare you threaten the Nathaniel family!" Her voice cracked with a mixture of rage and lingering fear. "You will see! I'm going to come for you! You have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide! The entire family will hunt you down like the dog you are! Just hold on and see what happens to people who disrespect us!"

But Damian wasn't listening anymore. Her words faded into background noise, meaningless sounds that couldn't penetrate the singular focus that had taken over his mind. His sister. He needed to find Rebecca. Nothing else mattered right now, not Penelope's threats, not the Nathaniel family's power, not even his rage about his mother's desecrated grave. All of that could wait. All of that would be dealt with in time. But Rebecca needed him now.

He spotted a taxi rolling down the street and flagged it down with an urgent wave of his hand. The driver pulled over and Damian climbed into the back seat, his body moving on autopilot while his mind raced ahead to what he might find at Zed Bar.

"Zed Bar, and make it fast," he said, his voice tight with barely controlled emotion.

The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb, leaving Penelope still sprawling on her doorstep.

Behind him, Penelope remained on the ground for several long moments, her entire body shaking like a leaf caught in a violent storm. She looked down at her hands and watched them tremble uncontrollably, the adrenaline that had kept her talking finally draining away and leaving nothing but raw fear in its wake.

"I just can't believe it," she muttered to herself, her voice barely above a whisper. "That bastard, that absolute bastard literally just lifted me up like I weighed nothing. He grabbed me by the throat and held me in the air like I was a child's toy."

She touched her neck again, wincing at the tenderness, feeling the heat of forming bruises beneath her fingertips.

"He's strong. Too strong. That's not normal. Nobody should be that strong."

But even as fear coursed through her veins, anger began to surface alongside it. How dare he put his hands on her? How dare he threaten her family? The shock of his physical power was real, but she couldn't let this stand. She couldn't let him just walk away after humiliating her like this.

"Everybody needs to hear about this," she said, her voice gaining strength as indignation replaced terror. "Everybody in the family needs to know what just happened. That bastard will not get away with this. He will not go scot-free."

Her hands still shaking, Penelope fumbled for her phone in her pocket. She pulled it out and immediately started scrolling through her contacts, her thumb moving frantically across the screen as she searched for the right number. She needed to call someone.

"Where is it? Where is the number?" she muttered, scrolling faster, her vision slightly blurred from the rage and humiliation that threatened to spill from her eyes.