Chapter 61 - Murder
Present (2018)
"Did you have fun this time?" Shadrach asked, placing a kiss on my forehead.
"Yes, except the times you 'accidentally' tickled me," I replied, rolling my eyes.
"Now, now, don't get me started again," Shadrach winked, and I closed my eyes shut, ready to cry. He chuckled, placing another kiss on my forehead, as he proceeded to untie my hands.
"Thank you," I muttered, hugging myself, feeling free.
"You're welcome," he smiled sweetly at me. "Round one is done."
"Excuse me?" My eyes widened, and I looked at him, literally horrified.
"Yeah, I'm gonna tie your hands behind your back now," Shadrach grinned.
"No, you're not," I replied, sternly. "You've done that once already. Remember when you kidnapped me?"
"I didn't touch you back then!" Shadrach defended himself, looking offended.
"I know. But that was enough. You're not tying me up now," I replied.
"Well you don't really have a say in it, you know," he whispered dangerously, trailing his fingers up and down my arm. "You're still trapped under my body, and your feet are tied to the bed."
"I'll scream my lungs out," I warned, but he clasped his hand across my mouth.
"Now what?" He asked, leaning in close to my face. "Now what will you do, my little Butterfly?"
I tried to speak, but it came out muffled. So I sighed in defeat, knowing there was no way I could fight him off. Might as well co-operate.
"That's like my good girl," he smiled, removing his hand from my mouth. He pushed both my hands behind my back, while staring straight into my eyes. I blinked, feeling slightly turned on. "I love you," he said softly, and pressed his lips against mine. I hummed and kissed him back, realizing how he let go of my arms and wrapped his around my waist. I didn't wrap mine around his neck, unsure of whether he'd like it, but he took my arms himself and place them on his shoulders. That was my cue. I arched my back up, pressing my naked body tightly against his.
The ropes around my feet were annoying me, and I pushed him away.
"My feet," I said, and he instantly untied them for me.
"Why do you keep threatening me all the time?" I asked him, once again wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I like it when you give in to me," Shadrach replied.
"Hmm, you're a sadist," I slapped his chest lightly.
"Yeah, I've been told," he laughed, before making me lie down on the bed again, on my back. He got on top of me, hovering over me, holding himself up by one hand so he wouldn't crush me under his weight. "But you're in love with this sadist, aren't you?"
"Couldn't help it," I replied honestly, shrugging. "This sadist changed his ways for me," I said softly, trailing my finger down the side of his face, feeling his light stubble prick at my skin.
"Hmm, that's true," he whispered, nudging his nose against mine.
"You're so beautiful," I said softly, caressing his cheeks.
"Look who's talking," he replied. I giggled, inching my neck up and kissing his lips. He kissed me back, smiling.
"Can we g-" I began, but I was interrupted by Shadrach's phone ringing.
He frowned, and picked it up, checking who it was.
"I thought I told Simon not to disturb me," he muttered, before picking it up. "Hello?" He asked, getting off of me. He looked bored, then he frowned, then pissed, and then he got up from the bed in a hurry. "I'm coming," he said, rolling his eyes, whilst he grabbed his T-shirt from the couch.
"What happened?" I asked, sitting up as well, as he hung up on the call.
"Nothing, Butterfly. I'll be back in half an hour or so. I'm not going anywhere, just need to check out the basement, alright?" He replied calmly, but I knew something was off.
"Are we being attacked again?" I asked, worried. I didn't wanna be kidnapped again. Last time gave me too many physical wounds and they had literally healed completely a week ago.
"No, no," he shook his head. "Seriously, it's nothing, my Queen. You relax and wait for me. I'll be here in half an hour at most."
"Okay," I nodded, and he left. But something was not right. I was suddenly getting an off vibe, and things had been going too amazing anyway. Too good to be true. It was weird honestly, since with Shadrach, there always had to be drama. If there wasn't drama, something was missing, or hidden.
And I needed to know what he was hiding.
- - - -
Four Years Earlier (2014)
It had been a few days since Shadrach had picked me up from school, and thankfully, things were going good again. He was being as nice ad ever, co-operative, and same was the case with me. I would keep finding ways and excuses to see him, since I had grown pretty attached to him. If anything, I knew my feelings for him had enhanced, and although it scared me, I was happy.
Genuinely. Happier than I had ever been before.
"So you think you're smarter than I am, huh?" Shadrach asked me, making me purse my lips.
"I didn't say that, you did," I replied, turning on to my side, moving my phone from the right ear to the left.
"Oh, so you don't just think that, you're trying to act that way too," he replied, making me giggle.
"I didn't do anything," I replied, smiling.
"Oh yeah you didn't," he laughed. "I think I'll have to teach you a lesson when I see you next."
"I didn't even do anything!" I laughed.
"No, no, you're being too-" he started, but stopped suddenly. "Come in!" He shouted, making me frown. "What?" He snapped, after which I heard some incoherent voices in the background. "Tell him to manage it," he replied. There were a few more sounds, after which I heard him sigh. "They shouldn't have done that," he muttered slowly, and I could tell he was pissed off. "Get my men ready," he ordered.
"Shadrach?" I said softly, trying to remind him that I was still on the phone.
"Yeah, I'll talk to you later, Butterfly," he said, and just hung up. I blinked, frowning, placing my phone down on the bed.
"Weird," I thought. I was about to pick up my phone to text him, when my Mom barged into my room.
"Aliza!" She yelled, making me drop my phone.
"What is it?" I asked, taking in her worried features and agitated posture.
"Katie called me just now," she said softly, looking frightened.
"Aunt Katie? Why? Did Klara do something?" I asked. Klara was a troublemaker after all, I knew it better than anyone else.
"No. It's Klara's father. He's been murdered," she whispered, and my eyes widened. I instantly stood up, covering my mouth in shock, as tears blurred my vision.
"What?" I whispered in disbelief. Klara's father was a good man. He didn't deserve to be killed.
"Yes. He has been shot thirteen times in the chest, once in the head, and once in the leg," she told me, her voice cracking as she began to sob. I rushed to her, hugging her, as cries erupted from my mouth too.
"We should go there," I whispered, wiping my tears.
"Yeah, your father is getting the car out."
- - - -
All of us immediately rushed to visit Klara and Aunt Katie, also picking up Rachael on our way. We may not have been at amazing terms with Klara, but that did not mean we would leave her alone when she needed us the most. We knew she would be traumatized. Anyone would be. I couldn't even imagine what kind of a sick, psychotic person would kill someone like that, so brutally, in such a cold-blooded way.
We reached their house and weirdly, no one else had showed up for consolation yet. Klara sat on the sofa in their living room, quiet and horrified, not even crying, while her mom paced in the room, probably using her sources to find a way to get justice.
Rachael and I immediately rushed to Klara, while Mom rushed to Aunt Katie.
"Hey," I said softly, pulling Klara's numb body into a hug.
"He's gone..." She whispered, as a tear fell from her eye. "I can't believe this. He's just gone."
"We're here for you," Rachael said softly, rubbing her back.
I looked over at Mom and Aunt Katie. "It was an asshole belonging to a rich, corrupt family. Killed him out of spite. The police are searching for him. I've filed a complaint against him, and I'm gonna find the best lawyers in the city. That bastard is going to pay!" She said, her voice cracking as a tear escaped her eye. Mom pulled her into a hug, and she broke down completely.
"Aliza, please go get some water for your Aunt," Mom told me, and I instantly obliged. As I filled up a glass with water, I heard the doorbell ring. I didn't bother to go check, since it wasn't my house, and the living room was just beside the entrance so I figured Ash would get there faster anyway. I took my time to come back from the kitchen, still trying to process what had happened. I was extremely shaken by the incident, and I could hardly hold the glass still. With trembling legs, I walked back to the living room, but something seemed off. There were voices coming from the room, a few unfamiliar ones.
I stood outside, hidden from the view of whoever wad inside, and eavesdropped.
"Here's the thing, Love. You have no idea who my brother is, and he'll destroy your whole fucking family if you don't take this complaint back. Drop the case against my son, or we're afraid, we could hurt you, or tour daughter," I sucked in a breath, shivering.
"You can't do that! I'll call the police right now!" Aunt yelled, and I heard a few guns click.
"You do that and everyone in this room dies."
I gulped, realizing I was the only one who could do something, since they didn't know I was here too. I slowly tried to tiptoe away from there, to get to the landline phone, but before I could take even two steps, someone grabbed my arm in an iron grip, making me drop the glass on the floor. The man dragged me into the living room as well, a revolver pressed against my temple.
"She was outside," he announced, and a scream escaped my mother's lips.
"Let her go!" Dad yelled, and tried to rush to me, but he was held back by two of the armed men.
"Now, now, we might want to relax," the man who was speaking earlier said. He got up from the sofa, and made his way to me.
"Aren't you a beautiful little girl," he said, grabbing my chin. "Now, we wouldn't want to hurt this fragile little flower, would we?"
His other hand travelled towards my face as well, and he was about to touch me, when an all too familiar voice stopped him.
"Get away from her."
- - - - - -