Page 28 of Depraved

His eyes flitted behind me frantically. “My son, are you going to let this continue?”

Alex stepped forward and grabbed his father's chin roughly, forcing Carlos to meet his gaze. “You lost the right to call me son when you started selling kids. If it were you, I’d give her all the information she wants. She’s playing right now, but you won’t like it when my queen getsreallypissed off.”

Carlos sputtered as Alex stepped back, and despite my grief, my rage and my adrenaline, every fiber of my being wanted to mount and fuck Alex into oblivion right here, right now.

A feral grin spread across my face as I turned back to Carlos. His eyes darted between Alex and me, the last shreds of hope dying as he realized there would be no mercy here.

"Now then," I purred, trailing the bloody forceps down his cheek. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I want to know how long you’ve been going behind your brother’s back. How long were you planning to betray Raul? And Carlos? If I think you're holding anything back, I'll start removing body parts. Slowly."

Thirty minutes later,the pristine white room had been transformed into a grisly abstract canvas. Blood spattered the walls and pooled on the tile floor, the metallic scent heavy in theair. Carlos slumped in the chair, his once-immaculate suit now shredded and soaked crimson.

Where his left hand had once been, only a mangled stump remained. Severed fingers lay scattered on the floor like discarded cigarette butts, congealing blood forming macabre halos around them. His right eye socket gaped empty, trailing viscous fluid down his cheek to mingle with the blood from his mutilated nose.

I stood before him, my black dress splattered with arterial spray. The ruby ring glinted wickedly on my finger, now slick with Carlos's blood. In my hand, I held a wickedly curved filleting knife, its blade stained dark red.

"I have to admit, Carlos," I purred, wiping the blade clean on his sleeve, "I'm impressed by your stubbornness. Most men would have broken long ago."

Carlos lifted his head with visible effort, his remaining eye unfocused and glassy with pain. "You can't kill me," he slurred, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth. "My men have the order to execute your precious mother if anything happens to me."

Itsked, shaking my head in mock disappointment. "You still don't get it, do you? Your men are already dead." Carlos's eye widened in disbelief. I pulled back, savoring the dawning horror on his mutilated face."That's right, Uncle. While you've been enjoying our hospitality, my enforcers have been busy. Your safe houses? Raided. Your lieutenants? Eliminated. And those men you sent to watch my mother?" I paused, letting the tension build. "Well, let's just say they won't be reporting back."

A choked sob escaped Carlos's throat, a sound of utter despair. I could see the last shreds of his defiance crumbling away, leaving nothing but a broken, pathetic shell of a man.

"You see, Carlos," I purred, trailing the tip of the knife along his jawline, "I learned from the best. Raul taught me to always bethree steps ahead, to anticipate every possible outcome. Did you really think I'd let you anywhere near my mother?"

Vinny and about a dozen of my enforcers had taken care of Carlos’s guys, thanks to Alex’s intel he managed to con out of his father’s men. It was pathetic, actually, how easily the operation was shut down. Carlos was getting rusty in his old age.

Carlos slumped in his restraints, defeat written in every line of his battered body. "What—what do you want from me?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"It's not about what I want anymore," I purred. "This is for all those girls you sold, for the families you destroyed, for betraying Raul's trust. I considered killing you right here," I mused, twirling the knife between my fingers. "Or locking you in here with only your single brain cell to keep you company. But that would be too merciful. No, I think it's time we put those shipping containers of yours to good use."

Carlos's remaining eye widened in horror as understanding dawned. A pathetic whimper escaped his throat, the sound music to my ears.

"That's right, Uncle," I purred, straightening up. "You're going to experience firsthand what those poor girls went through. Locked away in the dark, slowly starving, wondering if anyone will ever come for you."

I turned to Alex, who had been watching with cold detachment. "Have the guys at the docks prepare one of the containers. Make sure it's airtight."

Alex nodded, a cruel smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "With pleasure, baby girl."

As Alex left to carry out my orders, I turned back to Carlos. Tears streamed from his one good eye, mingling with the blood on his cheeks.

"Please," he sobbed, all pretense of dignity abandoned. "I'll do anything. Just kill me now. Don't put me in there."

I cupped his cheek, letting my nails sink into his pockmarked skin. “I’m afraid I’m fresh out of fucks to give you.”

Carlos sobbed pathetically as I stepped back, his pleas falling on deaf ears. I turned to Sarge and River, who had remained silent observers throughout the interrogation.

"Get him ready for transport," I ordered. "And make sure he's secured tightly. I don't want him to have any chance of escape."

Sarge nodded grimly, moving forward to begin untying Carlos from the chair. River's eye gleamed with dark satisfaction as he produced a set of handcuffs. The door opened and Tomasso came in, with Effren and two more guys on their heels.

As they worked, I made my way to a small sink in the corner of the room. The water ran pink as I washed Carlos's blood from my hands, the ruby ring glinting wickedly under the harsh fluorescent lights.

I caught my reflection in the small mirror above the sink. My face was spattered with blood, my eyes cold and hard. For a moment, I barely recognized myself. Then I smiled, baring my teeth in a feral grin. This was who I was now—Raul's chosen successor, the new queen of his empire.

CHAPTER 10

Alex

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