Chapter 52
Kane's cheek scraped against the rough floor, splitting the corner of his mouth, but he didn't dare fight back. He couldn't even manage a loud cry of pain, only a series of muffled whimpers, his eyes overflowing with terror and despair.
As if simply stomping on him wasn't enough to quench her rage, Lilith suddenly lifted her other hand—the one still slick with blood, a jagged shard of the coffee mug embedded in her palm. Then, as Kane's eyes widened in horror, she drove the uneven, razor-sharp edge of the porcelain deep into his exposed shoulder.
It was the same spot where the hounds had mauled him, leaving a wound that gaped to the bone. Now, it was savaged anew.
This time, Kane couldn't hold it in. A guttural, blood-curdling scream tore from his throat.
The ceramic shard plunged into flesh, and blood instantly soaked through his tattered shirt.
Lilith, however, looked as if she were hearing the most beautiful symphony. A cruel, ecstatic smile twisted her lips.
She rotated her wrist, grinding the shard inside the wound, watching Kane convulse in agony, his sobs choking him.
"Please... please... Ms. Moretti... spare me..." Kane begged between ragged breaths, his voice a faint, desperate whisper.
"Spare you?" Lilith sneered. She finally yanked the shard out, pulling a fresh gush of blood with it. She tossed the blood-soaked piece aside like trash. "You worthless mutt. You can't even play bait properly. You ruined my plans, and you dare to beg for mercy?"
Enduring the searing pain, Kane prostrated himself on the floor, banging his head repeatedly. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Ms. Moretti... I was useless... Please, just give me one more chance... I... I'll do anything for you! Anything!"
"Anything?" Lilith narrowed her eyes, the pressure of her heel on his head easing slightly. "What could a pathetic creature like you possibly do? You're less useful than a dog."
As if grasping at a lifeline, Kane rushed to speak. "I... I can get close to Elizabeth! The woman who saved me! She... she helped me today! She doesn't seem like a bad person!"
"Get close to her?" Lilith laughed as if he'd told the funniest joke in the world. "You? The lowest bastard of the Moretti family, a half-dead mutt covered in wounds? Why would she ever give you the time of day? Out of pity?"
"No!" Kane struggled to lift his head, his face a mess of blood, dirt, and tears, but his eyes held a near-maniacal glint. "She saved me! She helped me once! People... people always feel some kind of... of responsibility or affection for those they've helped. They're more likely to help again! I can... I can pretend I have nowhere else to go, beg her to take me in, even as the lowest servant! As long as I can stay by her side, I can spy on her for you, find an opportunity... an opportunity to..."
He trailed off, but his meaning was crystal clear.
The mockery on Lilith's face slowly faded. She stared at Kane. Chronic malnutrition had left him emaciated and frail, but even growing up in this hellhole hadn't completely erased the pitiable, almost cherubic quality of his features.
He looked so much like his whore of a mother, born to be a seductive little creature.
But what Kane was saying... it actually made a twisted kind of sense.
Elizabeth had indeed saved him today. It might have been a moment of impulsive, so-called righteousness, but that act of kindness could be weaponized.
If Kane could successfully play on Elizabeth's sympathy, maybe even worm his way into her life, wouldn't that be the perfect mole to plant right beside her?
Every move Elizabeth made would be under her watch.
And maybe, just maybe, it would create the perfect opportunity for a fatal blow.
The thought made Lilith's pulse do that traitorous flutter. A vicious, exhilarating light rekindled in her eyes. The throbbing in her hand seemed to dull.
She slowly lifted her foot from Kane's head and crouched down. With her clean hand, she gripped his chin, forcing him to look up at her.
A smile that was a chilling blend of cruelty and temptation spread across her face. Her voice softened, which only made it more terrifying. "Oh? You really think you can do it? Get close to Elizabeth? Earn her trust?"
"I can! I know I can!" As if seeing his only path to survival, Kane nodded frantically. "Just... just give me a chance, Ms. Moretti! I'll do anything for you!"
Lilith watched him, satisfied by the absolute terror, the groveling, the desperate will to live shining in his eyes.
Perfect. A dog broken enough, desperate enough to do whatever it takes.
"Very well," Lilith said, releasing his chin. She stood, brushing non-existent dust from her hands, as if the person who had just been torturing him was someone else entirely. "If you can actually pull this off, get close to Elizabeth, and do exactly as I say..." She paused, her tone laced with the arrogance of a queen granting a favor. "I'll give you an apartment. You won't have to live in the damp, moldy storage rooms of the castle anymore. A real, small apartment in the city. With a window. How does that sound?"
An apartment!
A real place of his own, a roof over his head!
For Kane, who had grown up in the darkest corners of the castle, enduring endless abuse without so much as a proper bed, this was a temptation beyond his wildest dreams.
His eyes lit up instantly, filled with an incredulous, desperate longing. "Really? Ms. Moretti? You... you would really..."
"I keep my word," Lilith cut him off, her voice turning cold again. "But only if you're useful. If you fail, or if you even think about betraying me..."
She didn't finish the sentence. The icy, murderous intent in her eyes said it all.
"I won't fail! Ms. Moretti! I swear I won't disappoint you!" Kane fought through the pain, struggling to his knees. Ignoring the wounds on his shoulder and head, he pledged his loyalty with every fiber of his being.
Lilith watched his pathetic, groveling form, a triumphant smile playing on her lips.
Elizabeth, you thought you saved a poor, helpless dog today?
No. You saved a viper that will one day turn and bite you. My perfect gift, delivered right to your doorstep, by me, Lilith Moretti.
"Take him away. Get his wounds treated. Don't let him die," Lilith ordered a bodyguard, her voice reverting to its usual haughty tone.
"Yes, Ms. Moretti."
As the guard dragged him away, the fear in Kane's eyes was slowly replaced by a dark, resolute ambition.
Lilith watched them go, her gaze falling back to the shard of porcelain still stuck to her bloody palm. Her smile twisted, becoming more grotesque, more beautiful.
Elizabeth, our game had only just begun.
And this time, I would ruin you. I would grind you into dust until there was nothing left.