The Last Navine

Chapter 1

"Why won't she wake up?"

Christine's voice was barely above a whisper as she stood beside Bran Navine, her small fingers clutching the sleeve of his shirt. She stared at the freshly covered grave in front of them as though expecting someone to suddenly tell her it was all a mistake. The mound of dirt looked ugly and unfinished, marked only by a cheap wooden cross that leaned slightly to one side.

Bran didn't answer immediately.

What answer could he possibly give?

Their mother was buried beneath that dirt. There was no headstone, no flowers, and no relatives gathered to mourn her. Even the funeral itself had been rushed through as though her life had meant nothing.

Most painful of all, their father hadn't bothered to show up.

Mike Navine, the man who had once sworn to protect their family, was nowhere to be seen.

Bran already knew where he was.

With Elara Quin.

The woman who had destroyed everything.

The memory surfaced in his mind with painful clarity. He could still see his mother standing outside the gates of the Navine estate, desperately knocking as servants watched from a distance. Her voice had become hoarse from pleading.

"Please, Mike. If you're angry, then be angry with me, but don't do this to the children. They're innocent."

The gates never opened. No reply came. No explanation was given.

Their father remained hidden behind those walls while the woman who had shared his life for nearly twenty years stood outside begging to be let in.

That night became the beginning of the end.

Three weeks later, his mother was dead.

The authorities called it suicide. The newspapers called it a tragic incident.

Bran called it murder.

Maybe nobody had physically pushed her, but people like Elara Quin didn't need to use their hands to destroy someone. They used power, influence, humiliation, and fear until their victims broke apart on their own.

"Brother..."

Christine's trembling voice pulled him back to reality.

She looked up at him, her eyes swollen from crying.

"Mom promised she would never leave us. Why would she lie to me?"

Bran felt something twist inside his chest.

His sister was still too young to understand betrayal, greed, and the ugliness hidden behind wealth and power. She still believed promises were unbreakable and that parents always kept their word.

Slowly, he crouched down in front of her and wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

"She didn't lie to you," he said quietly. "She wanted to stay with us more than anyone else in this world."

"Then why isn't she here?"

The question left him speechless.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Bran turned toward the grave again, his eyes settling on the wooden cross. The anger that had been burning inside him for weeks returned stronger than ever. His mother was dead. His father had abandoned them. The people responsible were probably living comfortably without a single ounce of guilt.

Meanwhile, he and Christine had been left with nothing.

Nothing except each other.

Bran took a deep breath before pulling Christine into his arms.

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you."

His tone made her lift her head immediately.

"What is it?"

"No matter what happens from today onward, you have to stay strong. Promise me that you'll keep going no matter how difficult things become."

Christine frowned.

"I don't understand."

Bran hesitated before finally saying the words he had been carrying in his heart for days.

"I'm leaving."

Her entire body stiffened.

"Leaving? Where?"

"I don't know exactly where yet, but I know I can't stay here."

"Why?" she asked, gripping his arm tightly. "You're all I have left."

Bran looked away for a moment because he wasn't sure he could bear seeing the fear in her eyes.

"Because staying weak won't protect us," he replied. "The people who did this think they've already won. They think we're powerless and that we'll spend the rest of our lives crawling at their feet. They're wrong."

Christine stared at him silently.

Bran's gaze hardened as he looked at their mother's grave.

"When I come back, nobody will ever be able to hurt you again. Nobody will be able to throw us away like we're worthless. I don't care how long it takes or how much I have to suffer. I'll become strong enough to make every single person responsible regret what they've done."

For a moment, Bran heard nothing.

The officers moving around the command center disappeared from his awareness. The reports coming through the speakers faded into the background. Even the battle unfolding across the screens no longer seemed important.

There was only one thing that mattered.

The voice on the phone.

His sister's voice.

Bran snatched the phone from Raymond's hand so quickly that his assistant barely had time to react.

"Christine?"

A shaky breath came from the other side.

"Bran..."

The moment he heard her voice, a bad feeling settled in his stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately. "Where are you?"

There was a pause before Christine spoke again.

"She found us."

Bran's eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

"Elara Quin."

The name landed like a hammer.

Around him, several officers exchanged confused looks. They didn't understand what was happening, but Raymond's expression darkened immediately.

Bran's voice became dangerously calm.

"Tell me everything."

Christine took a shaky breath.

"Aunt Francine and I thought we were safe. We changed cities twice. We never used our real names. We stayed away from everyone connected to the Navine family, but somehow she still found us.

"Aunt Francine realized something was wrong this morning. She hid me in the attic and told me not to come out no matter what happened. Then Elara's people arrived."

A cold silence settled over the command center.

"What did they do?" Bran asked.

For several seconds, Christine couldn't answer.

When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible.

"They hurt her."

Bran closed his eyes.

"How badly?"

"They broke both her legs."

Several officers nearby stiffened.

Christine continued before Bran could say anything.

"I heard everything, Bran. They kept asking where I was. Aunt Francine refused to tell them. She kept saying she didn't know anything."

A sob escaped her lips.

"They laughed at her. They said Elara was tired of us running. They said she wanted to make sure nobody helped us disappear again."

Bran's hand tightened around the phone.

Then Christine said something that caused the entire room to grow colder.

"They implanted a tracking device inside her body."

Nobody spoke. Even Raymond looked stunned.

"They said if she ever tried helping us again, they'd know exactly where she was."

Bran stared at the floor.

For ten years, he had fought wars. He had seen things that would haunt ordinary men for the rest of their lives. Yet at that moment, he felt a rage unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"Where are you now?" he asked.

"I'm still at Aunt Francine's house."

"Good. Stay hidden."

"It's too late."

Bran froze.

On the other side of the line came a loud crash.

Then another.

Christine's breathing became uneven.

"They found the attic."

Bran's heart skipped a beat.

"No."

"I can hear them."

Another crash echoed through the phone.

"They're breaking through the door."

"Christine, listen to me carefully." Bran's voice rose for the first time. "Find another way out. A window. A vent. Anything. Just keep moving."

A sad laugh escaped her lips.

"You always say that."

"Christine—"

"You promised you'd come back for me."

"I am coming."

"No, Bran."

His grip on the phone tightened.

"Don't talk like that."

"I know how powerful Elara is."

"Christine—"

"I know you've spent years becoming stronger."

"Stop."

"But she's still stronger."

"Christine!"

The entire command center fell silent.

Every officer turned toward him. Nobody had ever heard their commander raise his voice like that. For years, Bran Navine had remained calm no matter how desperate a battlefield became.

Now, for the first time, panic appeared on his face.

"Listen to me," he said. "You are not dying today. Do you hear me? Stay alive for ten more minutes. That's all I need."

Christine didn't answer immediately.

When she finally spoke, her voice was soft.

"I love you, brother."

Bran's chest tightened.

"Christine..."

"I just wanted to tell you that one more time."

"No. You're going to tell me when I get there."

A loud crash exploded through the phone.

Men were shouting.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the background.

Then came Christine's scream.

"BRAN!"

The scream ripped through the command center.

Bran felt the blood drain from his face.

"Christine!"

No answer.

"Christine!"

The line crackled.

Then silence.

Complete silence.

The call disconnected.

The phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor.

Nobody moved. Nobody dared speak.

Bran stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the screen of the disconnected phone.

Then the building shook.

A deafening explosion rattled the command center. Coffee cups crashed onto the floor. Several officers stumbled backward.

On the main display, enemy headquarters disappeared beneath a massive fireball.

One of the missile strikes had landed directly on target.

The structure collapsed.

Flames swallowed everything.

For a few seconds, nobody could believe what they were seeing.

Then cheers erupted throughout the room.

"We did it!"

"The enemy command center is destroyed!"

"The war is over!"

"We won!"

Officers embraced each other. Some laughed. Others shouted in celebration. Years of fighting had finally come to an end.

Yet amidst the celebration, one man remained silent.

Bran slowly lifted his eyes toward the burning ruins displayed on the screen.

The enemy had fallen.

The war was over.

Peace had finally arrived.

"All thanks to Commander Navine!"

The shout came from one of the officers near the main screen, and it was quickly followed by dozens of others.

The command center erupted into celebration. Soldiers exchanged handshakes. Officers congratulated one another. Years of fighting had finally come to an end, and for many of them, this was the moment they had dreamed about for a very long time. Someone even pulled out a bottle he had been saving for the day the war ended.

Yet in the middle of the celebration, Bran remained completely still.

The victory that had everyone cheering meant nothing to him.

A few moments ago, his sister had been screaming for help.

Now she was gone.

Raymond looked around and noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere surrounding his commander. The celebration was still going on, but those closest to Bran had already stopped smiling.

They could feel it.

Something was wrong.

Bran finally spoke.

"Prepare a flight to Heartless."

His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly cut through the noise.

The celebration died down as several officers turned toward him.

Raymond stepped forward cautiously.

"Sir?"

Bran's eyes remained fixed on the giant battlefield screen.

"My sister is in trouble."

No explanation followed.

None was needed.

Raymond immediately straightened.

"Understood."

Within minutes, the entire command center shifted from celebration mode back into operation mode. Orders were issued. Clearances were granted. An aircraft was prepared.

Nobody asked questions.

When Commander Bran Navine gave an order, people moved.

The military jet tore across the sky at incredible speed.

Inside the aircraft, nobody spoke unnecessarily. Raymond sat near the front alongside eight elite soldiers who had followed Bran through countless campaigns. These men had fought beside him for years. They trusted him completely, and more importantly, they knew exactly what kind of person he became when someone threatened the people he cared about.

That was why the silence inside the cabin felt unusually heavy.

Bran sat alone near the cockpit. His gaze remained fixed ahead while his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Ten years.

It had been ten years since he left home.

Ten years since he promised Christine he would return.

Back then, they had nothing.

After their mother's death, they were two abandoned children trying to survive however they could. Nobody wanted to help them. Nobody cared.

Then Aunt Francine appeared.

She wasn't related to them by blood. She had simply been their mother's closest friend.

When she learned what had happened, she came looking for them. She eventually found them hungry and homeless behind a restaurant.

Most people would have walked away.

Aunt Francine didn't.

She took them home. Fed them. Protected them.

For the first time after their mother's death, Bran and Christine had a place where they felt safe.

Unfortunately, Elara Quin had never been willing to leave them alone.

The woman wanted every trace of Bran's family erased. Men were sent after them repeatedly. Threats followed wherever they went. Aunt Francine moved them from city to city, constantly changing addresses and identities.

For years, she carried that burden alone.

Bran slowly closed his eyes.

Everything he had accomplished during the last decade had been for one reason.

Christine.

Every battlefield. Every scar. Every sacrifice.

Everything had been for her.

He wanted to return home strong enough that nobody would ever threaten his family again. He wanted to tell Christine that she no longer needed to run. He wanted to tell Aunt Francine that her years of sacrifice were finally over.

Instead, he was flying home because they had been found.

A voice suddenly came from the cockpit.

"Commander, we're approaching Heartless airspace."

Bran immediately opened his eyes.

"How long?"

"Approximately thirty minutes."

"Too long."

The pilot glanced back.

"Sir, we're already flying at maximum safe speed."

"Then increase it."

The pilot looked uncomfortable.

"Commander, pushing beyond this limit could damage the aircraft."

Bran slowly turned toward him.

The look in his eyes made the pilot forget the rest of his sentence.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Bran leaned forward.

"If this aircraft falls apart after I reach my destination, I don't care."

The cabin fell silent.

"Push it harder."

"Commander—"

"Every second we lose is another second my sister is alone."