Page 50 of Lord of the Dark

How smart was it to confess everything to him—things I’d never told another soul? But under the weight of his unrelenting gaze—as if he already knew exactly what I was hiding—I felt the words spill out. Like a secret river finally carving its path afteryears of silence. I took a sharp breath.

"My father..." I began, my voice catching as memories rose, painfully vivid. "He was a tyrant. A man who took pleasure in keeping us terrified. The nights were pure horror—like an abyss with no escape." I held his stare, saw the understanding in it.

"I remember one night—I was about fifteen. He'd beaten my mother so badly she lay motionless on the floor. Blood on her lips, her face blue and swollen... I wanted to call the police, to save her, but he grabbed my wrist and shook me. He looked me dead in the eyes and just said: 'Not a word.'" I closed my eyes briefly, the memory visceral. "I hated him with every fiber of my being. Felt guilty for not helping her. But I was powerless. He made me complicit."

I saw Alessandro register the tension coiled in my bones.

"Then one afternoon, deep in the woods, as my father knelt over a wolf he'd shot—it hit me like lightning. That was my chance. The only way to end the nightmare."

Alessandro nodded slowly, the hard glint in his eyes shifting to something like approval. "You handled the problem yourself." His gaze bore into me, a dangerous smile ghosting his lips. "Good. That explains why you were ready to shoot me without flinching. You're made of stronger stuff than I thought."

I met his stare. "This darkness inside me," I said quietly, "I've always kept it locked away, buried deep. These abysses—they have no place in the world I built around myself. You can't just erase or forget them."

"And Carter? Your shield?" Alessandro asked. "You used him as a buffer against that darkness."

"Yes," I whispered, the admission loosening something in my chest. "Carter... he's part of the facade. An illusion of a normal life. But the darkness... it was always there. I was terrified, Alessandro. Terrified it would erupt someday. Carter... it would have destroyed him."

"Fiona," he said softly, almost gently. "You can't suppress that darkness. I knew it the moment I looked into your eyes. Because I carry the same thing."

"What did you see?" I breathed.

"Myself," he said simply. "You might hide those abysses from others, but I recognized them instantly. Because we're the same." He leaned forward in his chair, intensity radiating. "What happened to the body?"

I held his gaze, my pulse steady as a war drum. "There was never a trace of him because nature took its course," I said flatly. "That area had large predators. A corpse that far out wouldn't last a night."

He smiled, the flicker in his eyes leaving no doubt what he was thinking. "Fiona," he murmured, voice rough, "you have no idea how much that turns me on."

"You're truly sick, you know that?" My voice was cold, almost mocking, refusing to cower under his penetrating stare. "A goddamn psychopath—that's what you are."

"You'd know better than anyone," he teased with a sharp grin before turning toward a section of the wall I hadn't noticed. Only when he touched it did a narrow door reveal itself—flush, handleless. He entered a code; a soft hum sounded before the passage opened.

I was about to ask where he was going when he turned back. "Wait here. You can't leave anyway."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

He jerked his chin toward the hallway. "Elevator's locked. Stairwell too. After your little desk excursion, I wasn’t in the mood for a chase through the building."

"And the building management just plays along?" I crossed my arms. "Or are they already on your payroll?"

He grinned. "I am the building management."

"Hm?" I frowned.

His gaze swept the room, as if weighing how much to reveal. "The Obsidian—this tower—belongs to me."

My jaw dropped. Briefly. Then I shook my head in disbelief.

"I need to change," he announced.

"You’re half-naked. And change where exactly?"

"In my apartment, obviously."

My gaze drifted to the open door. "That door... leads there?"

"Yes." He looked at me with an expression that sent a flutter of unease through my stomach. "Come with me. If you're not scared."

I bit my lip. "I'll wait here."

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