Chapter 97 Chapter 97
LISA'S POV
I ate the sandwich, ravishing the sweet bread, veggies, and egg. The bacon was crispy, and everything melted so deliciously in my mouth. I had not requested it, but she had also added a glass of juice.
By the time I was done, I felt unusually refreshed. Food had contributed to the problem. And then I realised that if Damien was going to interrogate all those men, they would need food by the time he was done.
After all, they weren't traitors; they had not asked to be kidnapped, taken against their will, and interrogated by the opposition.
"Do you think we can get some food for the men who just returned? I mean, I don't know what the plan is, but those men would be no use to us if they are dead." I asked.
Elena looked doubtful for a second. "Maybe you should shower first, and once Mr. Paulo is done, we could set up something for them to eat." She suggested. She and I had a lot to catch up on, and I had not had time to stay back because something was always happening.
"Okay," I replied and turned to leave."Thanks for the sandwich and juice." I said and walked out. After a hot shower, I put on a navy colored rock band t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, which were among the clothes Damien had fitted into my wardrobe.
I sneaked down to the underground chambers to check out the interrogation routine, so I could prepare some food and clothes for them, but upon getting there, what I saw made my heart sink down to my stomach.
The man who was currently being interrogated was placed in an electric chair and was being forced to share information about his interrogation.
The man looked in his late thirties, but he could have been older.
"I swear, I've told you everything that happened, boss, that is all that happened. I swear on my little girl's grave." The man shook violently against the restraints on his arm.
"I don't believe you." I turned to look from where the voice spoke and found that it was Damien. He held a cigar in his mouth, and the smoke had made his voice sound hoarse. There was a darkness to his demeanor.
"But boss, I'm telling the truth, that was all they asked. This information is not within my level of clearance in the organization, I could not tell them anything."
"So what then did you tell them that is within your clearance in the organization?" Damien asked again. The man's eyes widened in shock. His mouth fell open in confusion.
"Duke," Damien commanded, and Duke turned on the remote controlling the electric chair, and the man was electrocuted over again. His screams filled the room, deafening me momentarily. I turned away from the sight of it.
Tears welled up in my eyes. Damien had gone too far. He was far beyond redemption at this point. This was his world, and no matter what I did or how I tried to make him see reason, he would always be what he was, a dangerous man.
"Stop. Get the next person in, and if he doesn't speak by the next time he is brought in here, kill him." My heart clipped in my chest.
"No, no, please, Boss, I'm telling the truth! I'm telling the truth!" The man continued to plead as he was dragged out of the room.
Damien walked out of the room, his eyes were pinned on me as he approached where I stood, as if he knew I had been standing there all along.
"Are you enjoying the show?" He asked, sneering at me. We had already been on the wrong foot. It was funny how we could be on the same page one minute and then, the next, trust was hanging in the balance.
"What you're doing there is cruel. What if they are genuinely telling the truth? Those people have families. Would they just risk it all for a lie?" I asked, tears blurring my eyes as I ranted.
"You are too soft for this world, Lisa. You think that the very reason you feel they shouldn't lie isn't the same reason they actually lie? Do you know how many threats they receive on a daily basis? How many lies they tell daily to keep their loved ones safe?" He asked, his eyes narrowed on me.
"Yes, but you're their boss..."
"I am first a human being. I am first a person building an empire that people want to destroy on all sides. They are first protective of themselves before they are of me."
"And if you think that even for the slightest second they cherish me over their own selfish benefits, then you are more delusional than I thought you were."
His choice of words hit me like a slap to my face. He called me delusional? Why? Because I thought his world was shedding too much blood, bent on ruthlessness that was not necessary at certain times?
"I know that these men value their lives too much to lie to you. But most of all, they fear what would happen to them if they told the truth to you. Tell me, Damien, what would happen if one of them actually cracked?"
"What happens if they had really done what they had to do to survive? Would you forgive them? Or would you kill them just because they were scared shitless and you believe it makes them not cut out for this world?"
Damien regarded me speculatively. His eyes didn't say much, but it did tell that I was right. I had made my point. The wild look in his eyes told me the man in front of me was beyond forgiveness. He was hell-bent on revenge.
Suddenly, a message entered his phone. He unlocked it to read the message. I looked at it, Alexander. He was asking to meet. I stepped back to observe him, but just then, another notification dropped.
Damien opened it with a crease in his forehead, and suddenly, the blood drained from his face. If I had ever seen Damien look pale, it was now.