Page 111 of Love Bleeds Red
We follow him down a long hall full of oil paintings of probably dead men. All of whom I’d hope didn’t share Alfred’s same fucked up values. I want to ask about Ms. Harrington. It was rare that I’d go five minutes in the main house without seeing her severe frame haunting the room. Her absence feels wrong. Either Alfred sent her away before we arrived, or something worse happened to the woman who brushed my hair and tried to teach me table manners while her boss systematically destroyed my soul. Can’t say I’d mourn her, even if she was most likely manipulated by Alfred too.
“You know, Leon,” Alfred chats as we walk, “I always wondered what it would take to awaken your true nature. Turns out, it just required the right motivation.”
I hate his voice. It makes me sick. That calm, pretentious tone he used when he wasteachingme how to be grateful. How to be compliant. How to be perfect for his warped vision of what Leon needed.
Leon’s hand squeezes mine, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. This is all wrong, Alfred is literally insane. But we have to play along. We have to get to his mom.
Finally in a dark corner at the very back of the estate we reach a door I’ve definitely never seen before. It looks like it’s made from heavy steel and has a large electronic lock on the outside.
He pulls out a key card from his pocket and faces Leon with a smile I wish I could claw off his face. “Before we proceed,” he says, “I want to be clear about what you’re agreeing to. This isn’t just about taking over operations. It’s about understanding that sometimes we have to make choices that others would consider distasteful.”
I watch Leon’s face carefully. He’s gotten better at hiding his emotions, but I can see the rage simmering beneath the surface. The muscle in his jaw ticks once, and it’s barely perceptible, but I know him well enough to catch it.
“I understand,” Leon lies smoothly.
“No, Leon! Don’t do this!” I add, trying to make his act more believable. “There’s other ways.”
Alfred’s eyes dart to me, and he smiles like he’s just won a prize. I guess in his mind, he has. “It’s touching that you’re still holding on to that strong moral compass, Bailey. Keep that. It’ll be of good use to Leon someday.” He sounds so condescending, it takes everything in me to keep playing into the act. “But Leon is finally learning what it means to be a man. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good.”
I let my voice crack. “He’s not like you. He’ll never be like you.”
“Doubtful,” he says. “He’s already crossed a bridge he can’t uncross. Killed, tortured, committed arson. Tell her, Leon. Tell her how you’ve changed.”
Leon’s grip on my hand tightens. A silent warning that what he’s about to say will sting.
“He’s right.” His voice is laced with ice. “I’m not the same person I was eighteen months ago.”
When he meets my gaze, I blink up at him.Neither am I.
“Excellent,” Alfred says, scanning his card. The lock disengages with a soft beep. “There will be plenty of time to talk once I retrieve the paperwork. But first, a promise is a promise…”
The heavy door swings open, revealing a narrow staircase that descends into darkness. My stomach lurches, anxiety pulling at my chest, screaming at me to run.
“It looks ominous, I know,” Alfred jokes. “Quite less inviting than the rest of the house. But don’t worry, Bailey. Very few people get taken down here. Only the ones who refuse to comply. You were always my good girl. Not like that friend of yours, Polly.”
An involuntary sound escapes my lips as he speaks Polly’s name. Oh God. She was sent down there.I can’t go. I won’t.I know I shouldn’t reply. I shouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a response but I can’t help it.
“What happened to her down there?”
“She served her purpose, darling. Just as everyone does, eventually. After you,” he says pleasantly, gesturing for us to go first down the staircase.
“You first,” Leon says, giving my knuckle a quick brush with his thumb.
Alfred raises an eyebrow, clearly amused by Leon’s attempt at control. “How gentlemanly. Very well.”
He starts to go down, one step at a time, into the darkness. I don’t want to follow, but I also refuse to leave Leon’s side. So I go next, keeping my hand securely wrapped around his.
The walls somehow feel narrower with each step, or maybe it’s just me, but it’s definitely cooler down here, more damp too.
My breathing becomes shallow as I picture Polly being pulled down these stairs. How scared she must have been. How alone.
Focus on Leon. Focus on getting out of here.
At the bottom of the stairs, Alfred flips a switch and harsh fluorescent lights flicker to life. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust but once they do, I have to clutch Leon’s shoulder to keep my knees from buckling.
A windowless hallway stretches in front of us, lined with two doorways opposite each other. They have similar looking doors as the one leading down here, metal with some kind of locking mechanism. The difference is, these doors have a small round window at eye level.
This place is a prison meant to break people. Polly… I can’t believe she survived this place.
