Chapter 115: Locked

Roderick's POV

Seraphina's words kept replaying in my head again and again like a broken record. The more I remembered them, the more restless I became. I couldn't let her hurt Lif. Never! This had nothing to do with my plan; it was something different entirely. The thought of her hurting Lif made me more anxious than I had ever been in my life.

In that moment, I realized that Lif was more than just a sacrifice to me—she was more worthy than I had ever thought.

I stood abruptly from my chair and started pacing around the office, my footsteps heavy and frantic. Earlier, I had tried to talk to Lif, trying to make her understand the danger she was in, yet as stubborn as she was, she refused to listen.

Yes, I knew I had wronged her. I lied to her when I said I could find a way to break the curse, and I could understand how much she must have been hurt. But still, she should have listened; she hadn't heard me out before she walked away.

I moved to my desk, leaning on it with my head bowed as a depressing sigh escaped my lips. I was truly scared that something might happen to her. I couldn't let her be hurt or die. I had to make sure she was safe.

Then, a thought came through my mind: if I went to see her in her office, maybe she would listen. Even if she refused, I would have to force her. Her life was on the line, and she had to stay with me until I found a way to get Seraphina off her back.

I strode to the door, pulling it open and exiting the office. I headed directly to her office, hoping she hadn't gone home yet. When I arrived, I tried the handle and realized the door was locked. It could only mean one thing: she had left the hospital.

I stood still, racking my brain for a way to reach her. I pulled out her phone, which I had seized earlier, staring blankly at the dark screen. Then, the thought of calling her friend hit me.

The moment I turned on the phone, I realized she didn't have a password, which made it very easy to access her contacts. I scrolled down, trying to locate her friend's name, when a call came through. The name ‘Evil man’ flashed across the screen.

My brows rose in curiosity. Without much thought, I answered.

“Where the fuck did you put your phone? I've been trying to reach you for hours but it wasn't going through," a venomous voice boomed from the other end.

“Who—” I barely started when he cut me off.

“Meet me right now if you don't want to lose everything you have, including your friend. Because I'm going to kill her." His words sent a rush of adrenaline spiking through me. “I will send you the address. Meet me there in a few minutes or else—” His threat hung in the air as he cut the call.

I stood rooted to the ground, slowly lowering the phone while staring at the screen. Who was this man? How dared he threaten her? Had he been doing this all this while? Anger reverberated through me, my hand curling into a tight fist. If I got my hands on him, I would make him regret his very existence.

Soon enough, the phone buzzed. I opened the message and found the address.

“Alright, let’s see who it is. I will make sure he regrets everything he has done to her," I said with grim determination, heading for the parking lot.

Lif’s POV

The moment the words left her mouth, my heart leapt to my throat and began to pound louder and louder. Was she truly going to kill me? The question rang in my head like a broken alarm.

“Wait! You didn't tell me that you were going to kill her," Michael said to the woman. She shot him a murderous glare.

”You've helped us enough now, Michael. Why don't you carry your butt home and stop asking that bullshit question," she said, a sharp hint of anger evident in her voice.

“But I thought you only wanted to see her..."

“Go home, Michael, or else you will regret helping me tonight," she warned. Without another word, he rushed out of the room, throwing me one last, guilty glance.

“What are you going to do to me now?" the question slipped off my lips, my breath shaky.

“Didn't I just tell you?" She paused, taking a final stride into my personal space. “I'm going to kill you."

“Why?" I questioned, but she only scoffed.

“You are bold. Not even a vampire has the audacity to question me like you do." She grabbed my chin roughly, forcing me to look her in the eyes. “I'm the leader of the Vampire Council. You might not have heard about me, have you?" She didn't give me a chance to answer. “I can get rid of you any moment from now, but first, I want to play a little game with my brother." She jerked my head to the side.

“I thought you were dead," I whispered.

“As you can see, I'm very much alive."

“You must not have known how worried he was. How much he blamed himself over your death. How desperate he was to get rid of himself," I lashed at her, rage bubbling inside me. I truly pitied Roderick for all he had gone through—the suffering, the blame, the weight of it all.

“Is that my problem?" she retorted, shrugging. “Whether he kills himself or not, it has nothing to do with me. And the same goes for you, since he only lied to you, don't you agree?" She demanded a response, but I remained as silent as a horror-filled night. “Wait... don't tell me you fell in love with the man who was supposed to kill you? You are really unbelievable."

“Do you even know what love is?"

“Like I care? I'm a vampire, and all I care about is drinking blood and controlling the world." She grabbed a handful of my hair. “However, I expected to see a powerful girl since you are the Dagon, not some fragile, weak girl who only cares about love."

“Then after conquering the world, what next?" I demanded, staring at her head-on.

Our eyes locked, and I could see how frozen hers were, making me realize my question had hit her hard.

“What do you mean, 'what next'? Isn't conquering the world enough of an ambition?"

“You won't understand since you are just some heartless being who will never know the value of loving someone, or being loved," I spat. Instantly, her eyes turned a deep, bloody red. Before I knew it, she slapped me across the face.

I gritted my teeth in anger. If my hands weren't tied, I would have slapped her back—vampire or not.

“I thought you said you would go easy on her?" a familiar voice said. I looked toward the entrance and saw Peter. My brows lifted in shock.

“I tried to, but she's just a bitch."

“Now, what do we do?" Peter asked, his gaze shifting to mine.

“Call Roderick. Tell him we have his chick. Let's give him a little torture to let him know that going against the Vampire Council is not a good decision."

As I heard her words, anxiety spiked through me. The thought of them hurting Roderick made my heart ache in an inexplicable way.

“Don't you dare hurt him, you two!" I warned, but she only scoffed.

“Come and lock her up in the cell; she's a headache."

Immediately, two men—who I assumed were also vampires—dragged me from the room. They threw me into a cold cell, causing me to slump to the floor. They locked the gate and left.

The world spun around me. My body felt cold and my chest ached. At

that moment, I didn't care what they did to me; I only feared what they might do to Roderick.