Chapter 68 Chapter 68
“That’s horrible. Do you know… who it was?” Valerie asked, already having a suspicion in her mind, but she didn’t want to believe it yet. It couldn’t be true…
“Only the last name of the victim was released by the police, that being Arnold,” she answered, confirming Valerie’s suspicion.
She swallowed, her hands clenching so hard that her fingernails dug crescents into her palms. “It was Uriel, no doubt about it.”
Now it was Hope’s turn to be shocked. She couldn’t believe her ears, staring at Valerie in pure astonishment. Her mouth fell open. “What? Your ex? What was that asshole doing at Regal Enterprises?” she hissed hatefully, remembering what a bad person he had been. Her horror about the crime faded, and she no longer felt sorry for the murder victim.
“He worked there,” Valerie whispered. “I met him in the building.”
“Why haven’t you told me? Did he do anything to you?” Hope yelled, grabbing her friend by the shoulders.
“Not really? I mean, he taunted me… and threatened me, but he’s done much worse in the past, so it wasn’t that bad.”
“Not that bad, huh? Your perception of what’s okay and what isn’t is completely messed up because of that asshole. Sorry to say this, but it’s true. Neither he nor anyone else has the right to threaten you. You need to understand this, Valerie,” she said, trying her best not to yell at her friend again, but she was overwhelmed by anger at Uriel, and it was hard to hold herself back. Hope did not have infinite patience, especially not when that abuser was involved. She despised him.
“I’m trying,” Valerie whispered. Hope sighed and put an arm around her friend's shoulders, hoping to comfort her. She knew it wasn’t easy for Valerie to speak about her ex, but sometimes it was necessary. They had to figure out what had happened.
“Assuming that Maxwell was the one who killed Uriel, what motive would he have to do it?” Hope asked, meeting Valerie’s distraught gaze. “Did he know about what Uriel did to you? Was he with you when you met him?”
Valerie lowered her head to glance at her restless hands. “He knew. I told him after he witnessed me panic a few times,” Valerie explained. “He was also there the second time I met Uriel in the building.”
“That’s interesting. How did he react?”
“He was livid. I haven’t seen him so furious, ever. It was scary, and I was glad when we were out of there,” Valerie said.
Hope raised her eyebrows, hearing this. “That confirms it. He killed Uriel.”
“But why? What would he gain from it?” Valerie mumbled, running a hand through her hair.
“I don’t think it’s that hard to explain,” Hope answered. “Demons are known to have a strong obsession with revenge. When you piss them off for whatever reason, you’re done for. Maxwell must have been angry because he found out what you went through, and I can’t blame him. I was angry too when I learned about it.”
“But did he have to resort to such an extreme level of violence? Murder?”
“Demons don’t deal with problems the same way we humans do. They obliterate the reason for the problem, even if that means taking someone’s life. Mercy and forgiveness are foreign to them,” Hope replied, her eyes hardening.
“What if he hurts other humans, too? What if he kills them?” Valerie whispered and hid her face in her hands. It should have been obvious that Maxwell didn’t care for the lives of humans and had no issues with erasing them, but she had blocked it out, never thinking about it. However, now she was confronted with the truth, whether she liked it or not.
“I highly doubt that he would hurt someone for no reason. It’s easy to see that he was taking revenge.”
“That doesn’t excuse his actions. He committed a severe crime, and on top of that, he didn’t just kill Uriel but also tortured him. It unsettles me,” Valerie said, rubbing her teary eyes. “And he’s probably furious at me for leaving without telling him first. He must have noticed already. I don’t want to go home!”
“You can’t run forever, though.”
“Yeah, but I need time to get used to the fact that he killed my ex. If that isn’t freaky, I don’t know what is. I don’t feel sorry for Uriel, but I don’t get why Maxwell would go so far just to get someone like him out of the way. Why does he even care? I don’t understand.”
Hope pursed her lips, thinking for a moment before she answered. “Maybe… it has to do with your bond?”
Valerie was unsure, not knowing what to think of this. “I mean, yeah… could be true, but it’s one of many possibilities.”
Just when she had started to warm up to him and to trust him, he killed a human in such a cruel way that she wanted to turn her back on him and run. She had forgotten who she was dealing with because she hadn’t seen his violent side in a while. He was cruel, he was vicious, and he couldn’t be trusted. She had to remind herself to keep her distance, to stay away from him.
“Valerie, maybe you should talk to him about it,” Hope suggested.
“Talk? To him? I know how that’s going to end. He’s either going to throw a fit or he’s going to mock me.”
“Perhaps you’re wrong,” Hope countered. “You shouldn’t keep him waiting too long.”
“Are you throwing me out?” Valerie sighed.
—
Valerie reluctantly left her car and locked it, leaning against it to stare up at the house, at the windows of her flat. It was deadly silent in the area, and she was more than a little uneasy about her return. She hadn’t thought about this when she had left earlier… now, how should she face him, knowing he had killed Uriel?
She couldn’t say that she was completely fine with it, even if her ex had been a shitty person. The idea of someone being tortured to death horrified her and caused her stomach to turn on its head. She was terrified.