Page 247 of Corrupting Camille
Joaquin moves instantly, signaling silently to my men. They roll in the heavy, metal barrel, dull and rust streaked. Luis’s head snaps toward the sound, his eyes widening into sheer horror as he registers the cement mixer churning steadily behind it, slow, thick, relentless.
“Kane…Christ…no!” Luis’s voice shatters, raw panic splintering the quiet. He tries to scramble away, but my men areon him, hauling him upright with merciless efficiency. “Please, fuck…please, Kane! I fucked up, I know…”
“You did,” I say calmly, watching as they force him roughly into the barrel. The metal clangs hollowly, echoing his screams back at him. “But you knew the consequences.”
Luis struggles wildly, his cries growing frantic, incoherent. I step forward, hands steady, taking hold of the cement hose. It’s heavy, gritty beneath my grip, loaded with symbolism and finality.
“You wanted my empire, Luis?” My voice slices sharp and quiet through his pleading. “You thought you could drown me in what I built?”
He thrashes violently, trying to claw his way out, eyes wild, lungs heaving. Joaquin presses his palm against Luis’s shoulder, holding him brutally still, like an executioner awaiting my final judgment.
I twist the lever. Wet cement surges forth, thick, gray, mercilessly permanent. It gushes into the barrel, rapidly swallowing Luis’s legs, climbing higher, drowning him inch by excruciating inch.
His screams turn ragged, choking, gurgling as he claws desperately at the barrel’s rim. Cement rises to his chest, pressing his breath from him, crushing his ribs. His face contorts with animal terror, body jerking violently against Joaquin’s unyielding grasp.
“P-please…” he sputters, eyes rolling wildly. “Kane…I beg you…”
“Begging?” I tilt my head, watching him with ruthless detachment. “That’s fucking pathetic. You knew the price.”
I flood the barrel faster. The cement creeps steadily upward, thickening, relentless, swallowing his neck, pushing against his throat. Luis gasps raggedly, mouth open wide, straining desperately for air.
I pause briefly, crouching once more, leaning in close enough that his strangled breaths brush my cheek.
“You tried to bury me,” I whisper, voice deadly quiet. “Consider this poetic justice.”
Luis’s eyes bulge, panic erupting as cement spills over his lips, choking off any final pleas. Joaquin releases his hold, stepping back as Luis sinks slowly beneath the heavy gray surface. His screams vanish abruptly, swallowed by silence, leaving only a smooth, featureless grave.
I stand slowly, calmly brushing dust from my hands. My pulse remains steady, the monster beneath my skin satisfied.
Luis chose betrayal.
I chose punishment.
Now every man who ever dares to cross me will understand the price.
Permanent. Ruthless. Unforgiving.
***
I leave the warehouse, silence trailing me like a ghost. Joaquin says nothing, just watches quietly as I slip into the back of the car. He shuts the door firmly, sealing me into a darkness I welcome.
“Home,” I say flatly to the driver.
The car hums to life, sliding smoothly through empty streets bathed in shadow. The silence presses down, heavy, suffocating. I stare at the city lights blurring past the tinted windows, trying to feel something, guilt, remorse, regret.
But there’s nothing. Just cold, satisfying clarity.
Luis got exactly what he deserved.
I flex my hands, knuckles bruised and raw beneath the surface. Still steady. Still clean. Violence pulses beneath my skin, calm and certain. Necessary.
My thoughts drift to Camille, waiting at home. Softness amid brutality, warmth in my ruthless world. A dangerous need grips me, fierce and sudden, overriding everything else. I pull my phone from my jacket pocket, dialing without thinking.
It rings twice, three times, then her voice, sleepy and soft, breaks through the darkness.
“Kane?”
Something clenches tight in my chest, the ice thawing slightly at the sound of her. I exhale slowly, closing my eyes. “I woke you.”
