Chapter 86: Bloody Night, Causing a Commotion
The women's cries and pleas rose and fell. I pointed my gun at them. "Shut up."
The smart ones immediately closed their mouths. For those who weren't smart enough, I had to give them a bullet.
The effect of using force to intimidate was clear—the crying died down considerably. The women shut their mouths and covered their children's mouths, staring at me with eyes full of fear and hatred.
I didn't have time to think too much. Even though my people plus Alfred's men looked numerous and impressive, with Gale's support arriving soon, this was the Gambino family's territory, and these men and weapons were far from enough.
Once someone came to their senses and counterattacked, I'd have no choice but to retreat in defeat. That wasn't the outcome I wanted.
Among the six male hostages, a young man shouted at me, flipping me off with both middle fingers. "Let me go right now! Fuck you, how dare you make trouble on the Gambino family's turf. If you get on your knees and apologize, then let me have some fun with you—"
Before he could finish, Adrian walked over and kicked his knee. He fell to his knees, his forehead slamming hard against the floor. Blood instantly gushed out, streaming down his cheeks.
I stared at the skull rings on both his middle fingers and the wolf head tattoo on his right wrist.
Five years ago, on that bloody, painful night, my two cousins were raped and murdered. More than one man violated them, and they filmed videos and posted them on the dark web.
Marcus paid a fortune to have hackers delete all the videos, but once you've seen the content, you can never forget it.
The ringleader's voice was young, very similar to the voice of this man provoking me now. Though the man in the video didn't show his face, he wore two skull rings on his hands and had the exact same wolf head tattoo on his wrist.
I looked at Colin. This guy hadn't said a word when the young man cursed at me. I said, "Some people have mouths that would be better off not having them. Adrian, cut out his tongue."
Adrian froze. "Yes!"
This time, Colin reacted. "Stop!"
Adrian grabbed the young man's hair, forcing his head up, pulled a sharp military knife from his boot, and shoved it into the man's mouth, stirring it around.
The muffled screams made everyone's skin crawl. Adrian let go, and the man collapsed to the ground, spitting out several bloody chunks of flesh.
Someone couldn't help but throw up.
The crying among the hostages became almost inaudible. The huge estate fell dead silent.
Colin's look at me changed from wariness to deep dread.
"Isabella, I advise you to think about the consequences of your actions!" Colin's wrinkled face was extremely grim.
"How I do things is not for you to teach me." I glanced at the time and reminded him, "Five minutes have already passed."
Colin's expression grew even darker. "Whatever grudge exists between you and Amelia is your private matter. Don't involve innocent people, especially don't involve children!"
"Innocent? Children?" I laughed, my laughter full of cold killing intent. "Five years ago, when the Sorelli family was wiped out overnight, among the dead were a seven-month-old baby, eight children under ten years old, and twelve young people between ten and fifteen. Didn't anyone beg you to spare those children then?"
The viciousness in my eyes grew more intense. Colin's face changed dramatically. "So, you're not planning to let us go tonight?"
"No, I told you, just hand over Amelia." I smiled calmly. "I came for revenge. If I got my revenge all at once, where's the fun in that?"
Colin's nostrils flared, clearly furious at my arrogant attitude.
A few seconds later, his tone weakened slightly. "Amelia isn't here. Let these children go first, and I'll definitely help you find Amelia. How about that?"
"Don't negotiate with me!" My tone was ice cold. "Either make Amelia appear immediately, or watch these people die one by one in front of you!"
I glanced at my watch. "Nine minutes have passed."
Colin gritted his teeth, turned around, and roared at the house behind him, "Where's Michelle? Her daughter made this mess—get her out here to clean it up!"
Michelle rushed out.
She wore an expensive dress, her makeup was perfect, and her hair elegantly pinned up. Seeing the scene in the courtyard, a flash of panic crossed her eyes. She forced herself to stay calm as she walked to Colin's side. "Colin, I don't know where Amelia is either!"
"Your daughter's doing!" Colin glared at her angrily, though his tone softened considerably.
Michelle looked at me. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Cole reminded me, "Ten minutes are up."
I asked the men, "Have you chosen who dies first?"
All five men pointed at the young man lying on the ground, moaning in pain.
"Alright then, him it is." I felt somewhat regretful, not wanting this guy to die too easily.
"Adrian, kill him," I ordered.
"Yes," Adrian responded, pointing his gun at the target. I stopped him. "Wait, don't waste bullets."
"Let me!" Alfred volunteered. He picked up an iron baseball bat, dragged the young man to an open area, and began beating him, one strike after another.
The bat hitting flesh made dull thuds; hitting bone made sharp cracks.
The young man was beaten bloody, his whole body stained red with blood. At first, you could hear his screams, then the sounds gradually faded, then came vague groans, and finally, nothing at all.
Colin shouted "Stop" twice. I couldn't help but mock him. "Do you really think my people will follow your orders?"
Colin's face turned ashen. In the end, he could only take his anger out on Michelle. "Where the hell is Amelia? Tell her to get back here immediately!"
Michelle tried to negotiate with me, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I interrupted her again. "Another ten minutes have passed. Beating someone to a pulp really takes time."
Michelle's face went deathly pale, her hands clenched into tight fists. I began selecting the next hostage. The people I'd captured fell into complete chaos, begging for mercy one after another. Even a dozen people hiding in the house rushed out, pleading with me to release the hostages.
"Michelle! Hand over Amelia quickly! Are you going to make all these people die for your daughter?"
"If my son dies, I'll never forgive you, mother and daughter!"
"You mother and daughter are jinxes! You got Kirk killed, and now you want to kill all of us!"
A flood of accusations surged toward Michelle. She was scolded until she couldn't lift her head. "It's not that I want to protect Amelia! I just can't reach her at all!"
She publicly dialed Amelia's number, but the phone only gave the busy tone of no one answering.
"I don't care what method you use, I just need to know where she is." I hadn't forgotten that Lucas was still in Amelia's hands. I believed Amelia would never kill Lucas, but Grace's delaying tactics gave me an unclear, indescribable sense of crisis.
I had to find Lucas quickly!
"I can track Amelia's location!" Michelle suddenly shouted. She bit her lip and suddenly dropped to her knees, her kneecaps slamming heavily on the stone slabs with a dull sound.
Her face was covered in tears, just like when Amelia acted, crying very beautifully. She begged me, "I'll tell you where Amelia is, please spare my family, spare the innocent children!"