Chapter 264: Chapter 264.
"I gave that family everything."
Every word comes sharper now.
"I protected Zane, I cleaned up his messes and I stood beside him through everything."
The bitterness in his voice is terrifying.
"And what did my family get in return?"
I shake my head immediately.
"No."
Because whatever he’s about to imply.....No.
Absolutely not.
But Thomas steps closer anyway.
"Your husband destroyed my mother."
Anger flashes through me instantly.
"No he didn’t."
"He absolutely did.
"He was a child!"
Thomas’s jaw tightens.
"And yet she still died because of what happened at their site."
Silence crashes heavily into the room, my heart pounds painfully hard now.
Beside me, Aria looks pale.
Wait. Aria.
Holy shit.
I turn toward her again slowly.
"You’re really Aria?"
She swallows hard before nodding faintly.
I stare at her in disbelief, everybody thought she was dead for years.
Zane mourned her.
Lucas mourned her.
The entire world thought she died.
"How?" I whisper.
Pain flashes across her face but Thomas answers instead.
"I took her before anybody could find her."
"You kidnapped her?" I snap.
"No." His expression sharpens dangerously. "I saved her."
Aria finally speaks quietly.
"He did save me."
I blink at her.
"What?"
Her eyes look glassy now.
"I was hurt really badly," she says softly. "I barely remember anything from that night."
Thomas watches her carefully while she speaks.
"He took care of me."
Something about the way she says it twists uneasily in my stomach. Not fear exactly, soomething stranger, like confusion mixed with loyalty.
I look between both of them.
Then suddenly realization slams into me.
"Oh my God."
I stare at Thomas.
"All the attacks..."
He says nothing but he doesn’t deny it either.
"The poisoning."
Silence.
"Aaron."
Still silence.
"You did all of this?"
Thomas finally sighs softly.
"I did what I had to do."
My skin crawls.
"You’re fucking insane."
His expression hardens instantly.
"No," he says sharply. "I’m a son who watched his mother die while powerful people walked away untouched."
I yank hard against the ropes again.
"You kidnapped a pregnant woman!"
"And yet you’re perfectly unharmed."
"For now!"
Aria suddenly shifts beside me looking uncomfortable.
"Thomas..."
He immediately softens slightly at her voice, which somehow makes this all even creepier.
I stare at them both in horror. Then one terrifying thought crashes into me fully.
Zane.
Oh God. The second he realizes I’m gone...
Everything is going to explode.
I stare at Thomas in complete disbelief, the man standing in front of me doesn’t even feel real anymore, nothing like the Thomas I knew.
Not the calm, quiet, dependable man that stayed beside Zane for years.
This version of him feels... brokenn and twisted, like grief rotted him from the inside out slowly until there was nothing left but anger.
My wrists ache against the ropes as I shift slightly in the chair.
The bulb above us flickers faintly and for a second nobody speaks.
Then finally I swallow hard and ask quietly:
"So why?"
Thomas looks at me and I force myself to continue despite the fear clawing at my chest.
"What’s your reason for doing all this?"
Something shifts in his face immediately.
Not rage exactly but Pain, raw and ugly pain.
He looks away from me briefly before speaking.
"You’re not in any position to ask questions but I’ll humor you for now."
"Years ago," he says quietly, "when Zane’s father was still running the company and preparing to hand things over to him..."
He pauses.
"An incident happened at the old site."
I stay silent listening.
"My mother worked there," he continues. "She was just a cleaner but sometimes she handled paperwork too."
His jaw tightens.
"And one day she stumbled onto something she wasn’t supposed to see."
A chill crawls slowly down my spine.
"What kind of something?"
"Illegal," he says flatly. "Big enough that powerful people wanted it buried."
Thomas laughs softly then but there’s no humor in it.
"After she saw that everything changed."
His eyes darken.
"Cars started following us, people watched our house and my mother became paranoid."
His voice cracks slightly there before he steadies himself again.
"She kept saying we were in danger."
I stare at him quietly now, trying to imagine him younger and scared, watching his family fall apart.
Then he says softly:
"One day she went to work."
His expression empties completely.
"And the site caught on fire and somehow she was locked inside."
Oh God.
Thomas swallows hard.
"She burned to death alive."
The words hit the room like a punch, even Aria lowers her eyes immediately. For a second all I can think about is how horrifying that must’ve been.
How painful and terrifying.
And despite everything...despite what he’s done...My heart aches for him.
"I’m so sorry for your loss," I whisper honestly. "Really I am."
Thomas says nothing.
"But do you actually think Zane had a hand in this."
That finally makes him laugh bitterly.
"Come on now, Elaine."
He looks at me.
"You know he can’t be that heartless."
Relief flickers briefly through me.
"Then why...."
"I don’t care!" he suddenly snaps violently.
I flinch hard at the sheer force in his voice as Thomas starts pacing now.
Agitated wnd emotional.
"I just want them to suffer," he says angrily. "The same way I did."
I stare at him.
"Them?" I repeat carefully. "What do you mean them?"
He doesn’t answer.
"It’s Zane you’re hurting now," I continue softly. "It’s him carrying this pain."
I glance toward Aria beside me.
"You made him believe his sister died."
Thomas’s face hardens instantly.
"You made him carry that guilt for years."
Something dangerous flashes across his expression then and he suddenly moves toward me so fast my breath catches.
For one terrifying second I genuinely think he’s going to hit me.
Aria stiffens beside me immediately but Thomas stops himself at the last second though.
His hand clenches tightly at his side instead.
"You don’t know how I feel," he says through gritted teeth. "So don’t tell me shit."
I swallow thickly as he steps back again, my heart pounding painfully hard against my ribs.
The silence afterward feels suffocating.
Then quietly I ask:
"How did you even pull that off?"
Thomas frowns slightly.
"Pull what off?"
"Her being alive."
I glance toward Aria again.
"How did you do all this without Zane or Lucas suspecting anything?"
Thomas exhales slowly before leaning back against the wall.
"When the accident happened," he says quietly, "Aria was rushed to the hospital."
Aria looks down.
"Zane was devastated," Thomas continues. "You have no idea on how he was back then. He was hotheaded, emotional and violent when angry."
I nod slowly.
"He went to fight Lucas."
Aria flinches slightly at Lucas’s name.
"And while he was gone..." Thomas shrugs lightly. "I switched the bodies."
The words make me feel physically sick.
"What?"
"The accident had already caused heavy burns," he explains. "The body was barely recognizable."
Oh my God.
"I told Zane the burns had disfigured her badly."
His expression remains eerily calm now.
"He was drowning in grief and guilt already. He couldn’t bear seeing her body one last time."
The horror of it settles heavily inside me.
Jesus Christ.
"I handled the burial preparations myself," Thomas says quietly. "Everything."
My chest hurts listening to this.
"And Zane had already cut ties with Lucas by then," he adds. "Luckily he stopped him from attending the funeral, so Lucas couldn’t know too.....then eventually I pitch the two I against each other."
I close my eyes briefly.
God.
"It was easy."
The word makes my stomach turn violently as I stare at him in disbelief.
"Don’t you think that was too much?" I whisper. "Why would you do that?"
Genuine emotion cracks fully across his face.
Pain....devastating pain.
"So he could feel what I felt."
The room goes quiet.
"My mother died," he says hoarsely. "And after her... my little sister followed."
My throat tightens.
"What?"
"She stopped eating," he whispers. "Stopped talking."
His eyes look glassy now.
"She died from a broken heart...causeed by my mother’s death."
Silence crashes into the room heavily and suddenly I understand....Thomas lost everyone. His mother and sister, somewhere in all that grief...he broke.
Still, I shake my head.
"But you have to know Zane didn’t do this....so I still don’t get why you are making him suffer."
Thomas’s face immediately hardens again
"I don’t care!"
His voice echoes loudly through the room.
"He shares the same blood as his father."
His breathing grows heavier.
"Someone has to pay."
The hatred in his voice terrifies me.
Then suddenly another thought slams into me.
"Tessa."
Thomas looks at me calmly.
"What did you do to her?"
"Why would she bring me here?"
"Oh." He shrugs lightly. "She didn’t want to help me."
My stomach drops.
"So I had to gjve her a little motivation."
Fear flashes through me.
"What motivation?"
He pretends to think.
"What are their names again?"
My entire body goes cold.
"Thomas."
"June and Lila yeah?"
His eyes meet mine calmly.
"I kidnapped them for a while and threatened to kill them."
Rage explodes through me instantly.
"You better not touch my friends!"
I yank hard against the ropes again.
"Leave them the fuck alone!"
My voice breaks sharply.
"Leave them out of your twisted games, Thomas!"
"Relax," he says coldly. "They’re safe."
Then after a pause:
"For now."
The threat settles heavily into the room.
"I just needed them to get you out of the house."j
