Chapter 29 CHAPTER 29: PLAYTHING
Warning: Violent content ahead. Read with caution.
THIRD PERSON POV
SITTING ROOM
Giselle stormed into the house, her heels clicking against the marble floor. She stopped when she saw Freya, who sat trembling with her back turned. Rage twisted on Giselle’s face.
She cracked her knuckles. As Freya turned around, Giselle’s hand snapped across her cheek. The sound echoed through the room. Freya stumbled backward, clutching her face, tears springing to her eyes.
“I warned you,” Giselle hissed, grabbing Freya’s hair and jerking her head back. “If I came here again, you’d be dead!”
“I—I didn’t see the messages!” Freya stammered.
Giselle sneered. Without hesitation, she slammed Freya’s face into the glass table. The surface shattered beneath the impact. Freya hit the ground limp, gasping for air as blood streamed down her cheek. Giselle only laughed—a cruel, maniacal sound that bounced off the walls.
“Bark!” she shouted.
Freya didn’t move.
“I said bark, you bitch!” Giselle screamed louder, fury twisting in her mouth. Freya struggled to her feet, shaking, her face a mess of blood and tears.
“No,” she whispered.
That one word made Giselle snap. She grabbed an empty liquor bottle from the counter, her laughter rising. “You can rot in hell, you ungrateful mutt.” She smashed the bottle against the wall and lunged forward.....
SPRAY!
“AHHHHH!” Giselle shrieked, clutching her eyes as the pepper spray hit her face. She stumbled backward, screaming, hands clawing at her burning skin. Freya stood there, chest heaving, her eyes blazing.
The door creaked open and heels clicked slowly against the floor.
Erica stepped out of the shadows.
Giselle was half-blind, still rubbing at her eyes when....
POW!
The first slap cracked through the room. Giselle’s head whipped to the side, her balance faltering.
Before she could recover—
POW!
The second slap landed harder. Blood splattered from her lip as she fell to the floor. Freya stood frozen, watching in stunned silence.
Diva lingered by the doorway, watching Erica with sharp, curious eyes. Now she understood why Aaron had spared this woman. Erica wasn’t pretending to be a devil—she was one.
“I’ll kill you!” Giselle screamed hoarsely. “I swear it, Freya, you’re dead! You think this will save you?”
Erica’s voice sliced through her fury, calm but dripping with venom. “Freya? You really think she’s the one doing this to you, Giselle? You have guts, I’ll give you that.”
Giselle snarled. “Who the hell are you?” she spat, digging her nails into the floorboards until her fingers bled. “You think you can hide behind this? Pepper spray? How petty. When I find out who you are, I’ll make you regret being born!”
Erica folded her arms beneath her chest, smiling. “And where will you run when you find out?”
“Show yourself, coward!” Giselle screamed.
Erica sighed softly. “Fine. But you might regret asking.”
She glanced at Diva. “The bat.”
Diva handed it over without hesitation.
Giselle laughed, wild and unhinged. “You think I’m scared? You think you can kill me? When I walk out of here, I’ll ruin every last one of you! Freya, you better pray: next time you cross the street, look both ways. You’ll never see the car that hits you!”
BAM!
The bat came down hard on her skull. The sound was sickening. Giselle’s laughter stopped instantly. Her body went still, collapsing to the floor in a heap. Blood trickled across the tiles in slow, dark streams.
“I—is she dead?” Freya whispered, shaking.
Erica exhaled and rolled her wrist, letting the bat drop. “Tch. Killing her now would be too easy.”
She stepped over Giselle’s motionless body, pressing her heel into her stomach before walking away.
Diva caught the bat midair with one hand, grinning. “She’s starting to grow on me,” she muttered.
Freya followed, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “She’s… badass,” she whispered.
Outside, rain drummed against the car roof. Erica sat in the passenger seat, her eyes hollow but focused. Diva started the engine while Freya climbed in beside Erica. The car rolled away into the night, taillights vanishing into the distance.
From the shadows across the street, a tall man emerged. He watched until they disappeared, then entered the apartment.
Giselle lay unconscious, blood pooling beneath her head. The man crouched, pressing two fingers under her nose. She was still breathing.
He pulled out his phone.
“How’s the situation?” a voice asked.
He hesitated. “Erica… she’s different.”
\---
HOSPITAL
Aaron’s eyes snapped open. Bright lights, staring at the white ceiling. For a moment, he thought he was dead.
Then something soft collided with his chest....Erica.
“Thank Goodness you’re alive,” she whispered, clutching him tight. His hands hovered midair before slowly wrapping around her back.
The door burst open.....His crew rushed in, their faces pale with worry. For a moment, none of them breathed, they had thought they lost him.
“I wouldn’t die that easily,” Aaron muttered, and their relief filled the room, until Diva walked in.
Aaron’s expression darkened. Without hesitation, he grabbed the silver gun beside his bed and aimed it straight at her head.
Diva froze.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, trembling.
Tee scoffed. “Boss, shoot her. Betrayal only has one punishment. Death”
Aaron’s finger tightened on the trigger. His eyes were cold....deadly.
Then Erica moved, stepping between them, shielding Diva with her body.
“If you’re going to kill her,” she said, “then kill me too.”
“Don’t test me, Erica. I will shoot you.”
“Then do it!” she shouted. “Because I’m willing to die for her!”
The room went still. Aaron’s eyes darkened further. His finger squeezed the trigger—
BANG!