Page 223 of Sinful Pleasure

CHAPTER67

ALLYN

Today was the day. My father must serve his punishment.

The thought alone tightened the lump in my throat.

I tried not to dwell on it as I eat breakfast alone.

Maddox left with my father early this morning, wanting to spare me the agony of witnessing what he had to do.

I tried to keep my mind busy, reading another book I found in the small house, trying to pass the time between the pages.

All I’ve been told by the guards is that Maddox left the house alone with my father, not wanting any of his men involved. Something about that unsettled me.

Seconds, minutes, hours tick by, and still, there’s no sign of either of them.The sun slowly sunk, inching toward the horizon, and the night creeped in, but neither Maddox nor my father had returned.

By eight in the evening, I was pacing the house. I knew both Mikael and Maddox. Of course, I had reason to be worried.

They were both men of iron, shaped by a world of chaos and violence. All they knew was how to kill and survive.

Could my father go back on his word? Could he try to hurt Maddox, even after everything he promised?

I quickly dismissed the thought.

Mikael was too weak to overpower Maddox in his state.For him to have any chance, there would have to be a weapon involved— something that could tip the scale in his favor. Otherwise, his chances of survival against Maddox were nonexistent.

And that, in itself, worries me even more.

Just when the tension in my head was about to make me snap, the door to the small house opened.I jumped off the sofa, heart racing. I nearly collided with Maddox as I rushed out of the living room.

The sight of him made me stop dead in my tracks.

My eyes widened in shock.His hair was disheveled and wet, his expensive shirt crumpled and soaked in blood. His pants, too, were stained with it. His face expressionless, like steel.

I rushed to him, panic rising in my chest. My hands touched his body, searching, desperate to find any sign of injury. But the more I touched him, the more I realized there wasn’t a single wound on him.

The blood wasn’t his.

The realization slammed into me — it had to be Mikael’s.

I pulled back, putting a slight distance between us, my heart racing as I waited for him to speak.

Maddox calmly began to peel off the bloody shirt, tossing it onto the floor. I followed the movement with my gaze before looking up at his face.

“Where’s Mikael?”

“Not here.”

He closed the door behind him, walked past me, and went straight to the table. Without a word, he grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took a long gulp. His face remained unchanged—as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

Maddox rarely drank in front of me—almost never. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

“I asked you a question, Maddox.” I stepped closer, my voice sharp with urgency. “Where’s Mikael?”

He didn’t respond. Not a word.

He took another sip from the bottle, and I snapped, snatching it from his hand.His eyes shot to mine, locking onto me with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine.

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