Page 3 of Severance

Clenching my fists, I stare down at Aliana, feeling the rage slowly taking over me.

“She isn’t here, is she?”

Aliana glances up at me with red, tear-filled eyes. Her bottom lip quivers, and I’m sure it’s not from sadness. She swallows hard and lightly shakes her head.

I don’t know what answer I wanted. I shouldn’t even need answers, because there shouldn’t even be any questions to ask.

I failed her… again.

Spinning on my heel, I storm out of the foyer, leaving Aliana on the floor alone.

???

“GODDAMMIT!”

My voice echoes like thunder throughout the house as I slam my bloody fists onto the marble countertop. Leaning on the counter, I hang my head and squeeze my eyes shut.

Where the fuck is Dahlia?

Feet shuffle across the tile floor as Aliana gingerly walks in and sits down at the island in the kitchen.

Picking my head up, my gaze is hard and ice cold as it penetrates her emotionless eyes. She wears her mask well, appearing unaffected. Deep down, she’s terrified because she knows the truth.

She knows that I’ll kill her without a second thought.

She knows she means nothing to me.

And that will either work in both of our favors… or not.

“I tracked her phone here. Where is it and where is she?” I demand.

Aliana sighs and folds her hands on the counter. “It’s in the trash, Kai. I destroyed it already.”

Stepping back from the counter, I cross my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes at her. “Why did you have it?”

She shrugs and leans back, mirroring my actions and crosses her arms over her chest.

Slamming my palms back onto the counter, I lean across, scowling at her. “Why the fuck did you have Dahlia’s phone?”

The bitch has the audacity to lean forward and get in my face. “Because I do what your daddy says.”

In a flash, I’m on the opposite side of the island with Aliana’s head pulled back and a steak knife pressed underneath her jaw.

Her hand slips, knocking her phone from the counter as she gasps loudly and the blade bites her flesh as she swallows hard.

She’s compromised, under my hold, and she knows it.

“Tell me what the fuck is going on,” I whisper harshly in her ear.

“There’s nothing to tell.” She sneers. “What’s done is done and there’s nothing you can do.”

What the fuck has been done?

Applying more pressure, the sharp knife breaks through the skin covering her throat. “If I were you, I’d start fucking talking, unless you want to bleed out on the floor like a stuck pig.”

Aliana scoffs. “You won’t do it, not when I hold the answers to all of your questions.”

She’s calling my fucking bluff.

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