Page 3 of The Pretty Psycho

But I allowed them to brainwash me, to use me, to send me here to this one place that would obviously be the end of me.

"No one is coming for me, Tyler," I murmured, resigned to my destiny. "You should know by now that people like me never have anyone in their corner. So whatever it is that you have planned, go for it. I have nothing to lose and nothing to gain, but I can tell you right now—Adrian is not coming." Even if it broke something inside of me to say it out loud.

A part of me had hoped that maybe he would. But the rational part of my mind knew that no one was coming. And as much as I wanted him to come, to hold me, to tell me the truth, I also didn't want him to get hurt, and Tyler seemed all too confident in his little plan.

And I didn't like it.

"We will see about that, Vega," he mumbled. "But until then…" He pulled out a knife from his boot, twisting it and turning it in front of me. "You're gonna tell me every little secret Adrian Zylla has."

"And if I don't?" I bit out.

A vicious glint passed through his eyes, telling me without so many words what was going to happen. "If you don't, I'd sayyou're a fool, but it would definitely make all of this a lot more interesting. Don't you think?"

And as he lowered my arms, hooking them to another chain that was positioned lower on the ground, I understood what he meant when the first scream erupted from my throat as his knife dug straight through my hand, because I refused to betray the man I shouldn't love.

2

VEGA

TW: Please note that this chapter contains heavy triggers mentioned before.

Tyler wasrelentless with his questioning, that crazed look in his eyes only becoming more and more prominent the less I answered.

My hand throbbed, limply lying on the cold, hard ground, but I wasn't budging.

He could torture me, he could kill me, but I wouldn't tell him shit. Maybe if he had approached me, if he had told me why he was doing all of this, I would've tried to help. I would've tried to understand, but there was not an ounce of understanding in me when he behaved as if I was his enemy and not The Schatten.

My screams died down after he stopped twisting the knife in my hand, pulling it out as if I were nothing more than a rag doll placed here for his enjoyment. My eyes landed on the wound in my right hand and the river of blood still pouring out, shutting him out momentarily even as he kept going on and on about how I betrayed him. How I wasn't clean anymore.

As if any of us were truly clean.

There was not a single pure soul in my life, and Tyler was no exception.

"You gave yourself to him!" he bellowed as he stood up, pacing from one side of the platform we were on to the other, rambling about Adrian, about Heinrich, and giving me information I needed.

Heinrich knew Tyler was alive. He fucking knew and instead of telling me, the two of them created a plan where they could use me to bring Adrian to his demise. Their hatred toward the Zylla family knew no bounds, and I didn't dare ask why.

Throughout all my years in The Schatten I knew that Heinrich didn't get along with the Zylla family, but I never knew that Tyler was somehow involved. The questions were on the tip of my tongue, but I kept my mouth shut, letting Tyler rant, hoping it would give me the insight needed to get myself out of this situation.

There was no doubt in my mind—he was going to kill me if he didn't get what he wanted. I wanted to believe that Adrian cared for me, that all those moments we shared weren't just a lie, but I didn't want him here. I didn't want him walking into the trap, even if it meant me dying.

I looked up at Tyler just as he stopped pacing, his dark eyes narrowing at me, and with bated breath I waited for his next step.

"You know," he started, coming closer to me. "You could've been my queen, Vega." His voice took on a note I was familiar with. The note he used whenever he spoke to me when we were younger. The tip of his bloodied knife dragged over my cheek as his eyes feasted on me. "You could have had everything. The money, power, position, I would've given it all to you. I fucking loved you!" His voice thundered, turning colder as the blade ofthe knife sliced over my exposed cheek, making me wince. I felt the blood trickling down my cheek, but I refused to look away.

If he wanted to torture me, if he wanted to kill me, he would have to look me in the eye and do it.

"I loved you as well," I murmured, looking straight into his eyes. "You were everything to me. My perfect little paradise, but I never loved you in that way."

The hit came out of nowhere. His fist connected with the side of my face, making me taste blood in my mouth. "Lies! It's all lies! He brainwashed you. He made you forget about me. You loved me. I know you did. We were meant to be together. You were meant to be mine!"

I blinked and blinked again, fighting against the darkness threatening to take me under.

"You were mine first. You were always supposed to be mine."

"You were like a brother to me!" I screeched, unable to listen to him any longer. "I was just a child, Tyler. A fucking child. If you saw me differently, then you are one sick motherfucker, and I'm glad you were nowhere near me as I grew up."

I should've seen it coming, but I was too tired of keeping my mouth shut.

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