Page 34 of Tainted Serenity

“Are you happy now?” I shout at the camera sitting in the right corner of the dark, windowless basement room.

The stench of piss and blood permeates the space, along with the acrid smell of sweat and the saltiness of the man’s tears. Combined, it makes a sour smell, one that makes my nose scrunch, but living like this for weeks has gotten me fairly used to it.

A loud screeching sound echoes through every speaker inside the room, cutting through my ears like a shattered mirror until I’m forced to try to muffle the sound with my hands above my ears. I can barely hear the grunts of the beaten man; instead, it feels as if my eardrums explode, but I see how he writhes on the floor. He squirms as if trying to get away from the screech, but none of us can.

Dizziness swarms over me as the room spins while I try to ignore the sounds, but it’s impossible. It grows louder until it leaves a momentary ringing sound in my ear.

It takes several minutes before the sound stops echoing around the room, and I know that Arthur has finally had enough of tormenting me.

“You are not done until you finish him,” he simply states, as if he doesn’t care about the bloodied man on the floor.

Knowing Arthur, he doesn’t. Not even the slightest.

The man on the floor whimpers and cries, snot flying out of his nose and mouth as he tries to desperately protest.

Doesn’t he know? There is no way to defy Arthur.

One second is all it takes for my brain to hesitate, one second for Arthur to put on that goddamn screeching sound until he has me cowering on the floor. Fury builds deep within my chest at his audacity, and if he wasn’t in another room right now, I would have strangled him until his old, liver-stained face became a beautiful color of blue and white from lack of oxygen.

“Do it!”

His voice carries a determination, giving orders I don’t want to obey, but the monster within me longs to comply, to finally get his revenge on people.

“Not until you give me proof she’s alive.”

It physically hurts to utter those words, and the possibility of her being dead is unimaginable. It’s not good that Arthur knows how much she means to me; it will only make both of us even more vulnerable, but Emilio Ricci has figured it out. And somehow, he knows Arthur.

A shimmer dances on one wall in the room, and I am blinded for a second before my eyes adjust to the light. It’s a film of something flickering in different colors, and it takes a while for my brain to connect what I’m seeing. It appears to be a live feed inside a lifeless room, almost like this room, but with bricks lying everywhere along the walls as if they are going to collapse, letting the roof suffocate everything beneath it.

The sudden shock from the live feed causes me to stumble backward while trying to process what the fuck I’m seeing.

A woman sits in the corner, her body frail as she hugs her knees, swaying back and forth in a rhythmic pattern that makes it look like she’s losing her mind. There is a pink dress draped across her, one that looks uncomfortable as a corset sits tight against her upper body, making her breasts nearly fall out of the bodice. Chestnut brown hair sways with the movements, navy blue ends a stark contrast to the pink clothing, and her face is shoved down so I cannot see it, but I instantly know who it is.

Need grips my body in a relentless grip, causing me to suck in a deep breath as I stare horrified at the feed in front of me. It’s not only lust I feel for her; it’s a craving that settles far too deep within my soul, one that itches to get free and is unsatiated because she is not in my presence.

My gorgeous, broken doll. How I wish I could hold you, piece you together in my arms. You would like that, wouldn’t you? My little tainted serenity.

“Naya,” I whisper out loud, my voice hoarse, and it is the first time since arriving here that I dare utter her name.

She ceases her swaying, almost as if she can hear me, which ignites hope, but then she quickly continues her pattern. Her chest heaves, indicating that she’s crying. She’s beautiful when she cries, her tears highlighting her beautiful freckles and making her look all the more fragile, with a spitfire as personality.

“You know what you have to do and what will happen if you don’t complete it.”

As quickly as the feed appeared on the wall, it disappears, and I hear Arthur’s voice through the speakers again, demanding me to finish the job.

Clenching my fists until my nails break my skin, I give him a slight, determined nod. I know what I have to do. He wants me to be his killing puppet because he is too goddamn weak to do it himself, and if I don’t follow his orders, then my precious Naya will suffer the consequences.

And I would do anything to protect her, even if it meant torturing and slaying other people.

I would do fucking anything for her, even if it meant losing myself in the process.

Chapter 14

Grey

Pain.

One word.

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