Chapter 99: A gamble(2)
>Alisha
The sound was deafening in the narrow hallway. I flinched, my eyes slamming shut as the heat of the muzzle flash brushed my skin.
But I don’t feel the pain.
I opened my eyes and saw Venzrich had jerked the gun upward at the last microsecond. He had fired a shot into the ceiling.
The bullet shattered a light fixture and sent sparks flying. The CCTV camera mounted on the wall nearby flickered several times before the little red light died out completely.
Venzrich switched his gaze back to me. His eyes were wide and wild. I realized then that he had noticed the tiny, hidden transmitter Marcus had used to hack the feed. He knew we were watching him.
"If I ever find out you were tricking me," he breathed, his voice so low it was almost a hiss. It was the kind of cold that could freeze your blood. "I will root out everyone you ever cared for, and everyone you will ever care for. I will hunt them to the ends of the Earth until there is nothing left."
He stepped closer, his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might break. "And I will leave you, and ONLY you, alive to watch the world burn around you. Do you understand?"
I swallowed hard. "I understand."
Venzrich turned to his men. "No one follows us," he ordered, his voice echoing with authority that allowed no argument.
"Brother!" Vale Chesten complained, stepping forward as if to stop him. "You can’t go in there alone with her!"
Venzrich didn’t even look back. He gave a single, terrifying glare that made his brother freeze in his tracks. He reached out, grabbed me by my bicep with a grip like a vice, and began dragging me away toward an empty room nearby.
"Stay here, Marcus," I ordered when I saw Marcus trying to follow. I could see the worry and guilt on his face.
He felt like he had failed because he was letting me walk into a room with a man who wanted me dead. I gave him a small nod to tell him it was okay before Venzrich kicked the door open and shoved me inside.
The door slammed shut behind us, and I heard the lock click.
He threw me forward with such force that I stumbled, my back hitting the far wall with a dull thud. The room was small and smelled strongly of antiseptic and old paper. My arm was stinging where his fingers had dug in, leaving angry red marks on my pale skin.
"Is this any way to treat a lady?" I huffed, rubbing my arm to try and dull the throbbing pain. I tried to regain some of my dignity as I smoothed out my clothes.
Venzrich didn’t answer. He just stared at me like a predator watching its prey. He sat down on the edge of a metal examination table, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. He placed the gun on the table right next to his hand, never taking his eyes off me.
"Speak," he ordered. The word was a command, short and sharp.
I sighed, reaching slowly for the bag I had slung over my shoulder.
"Do anything wrong, and I’ll bust your head open," he warned, his hand twitching toward the weapon.
"I’m only trying to show you this," I said softly. I pulled a burner phone out of my bag and held it out. I didn’t walk toward him; I waited for him to take it.
He snatched the phone from my hand with a violent tug and began scrolling through the messages. After only a few seconds, his brow creased. The anger in his face was replaced by a look of deep confusion.
"Do you recognize that address?" I asked, leaning against the wall.
I had made sure to bring the phone that had received the location for "Happy Villa." It was the only physical proof I had that someone was feeding me information about his private movements.
"The sender can’t be traced," I explained, watching his face closely. "I’ve tried. There are no cameras around that location, and the digital footprint was wiped clean. It’s as if this person knows exactly how our security systems work.
They knew where to hide and how to send this without being caught."
Venzrich remained quiet, his eyes darting back and forth as he processed what he was seeing. He looked at the phone, then back at me, then back at the phone. It looked like he was rebuilding everything he knew inside his head, questioning every person he had ever trusted.
"So?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper in the quiet room. "Do you still think I’m the one lying to you?"
He didn’t answer immediately. He just gripped the phone so hard I thought the screen would crack, his eyes burning with a new, much more dangerous kind of rage.
"Cooperate with me." I started, "I’m sure Eleina’s office has all the clue of who could be helping her."
I was about to come closer to him when all of a sudden he grabbed the gun and pointed it at me.
"Before that..." he turned his gaze at me, it was a terrifying glare. "What did you do with this information?"
My throat went dry when I heard the faint click of the gun.
I raised my hand in front of him as a surrender.
"I didn’t do anything." I replied but all of a sudden, the gun went off inches near my face straight to the wall.
"Don’t make me repeat myself."
"I swear. I just went to confirm the information and I didn’t do anything after that." I explained. "If I really wanted I would have already done anything with how long I have the information."
It’s the truth. I made sure to forbid Eleina from approaching that house again.
It took him a minute before he finally lowered the gun. The drumming in my chest finally able to calm down.
"I’ll let you this time..." he started, "...but if you precious little took even a strand of my wife’s hair. I’ll forget this conversation even existed."
I haven’t even said a word yet when he stood up and left the room. Marcus followed as soon as he left.
"Are you okay Madame?" he asked worriedly.
"I’m fine. Let’s go to Eleina’s office."
