Chapter 34 Ruins of the past
CHAPTER 34: Ruins of the past
Vera
The address Damien sent last night had sent me to another part of the city…totally different from Silas's world. I ended up in a derelict industrial district, where the buildings stood like skeletal remains of a forgotten era.
While I could only hope that the driver who drove me here wouldn't inform Silas where he had taken me, I couldn't wait to get this over with.
As I stood, watching what looked like the decaying remains of an office building, my phone vibrated in my sweating palm.
Damien.
His voice, slick, mocking…annoyed, filtered through the speaker.
“Take the stairs by right and stop at the seventh floor.”
I looked up at the building, my eyes widening in horror.
“That's a lot of stairs, I'll take the elevator. It's working—”
“Don't,” he snapped, making me flinch. “Don't you fucking dare to get on that elevator,” he growled in that low dangerous tone.
Tears welled up in my eyes. It was as if I was back in the hell I ran away from. He derived pleasure in making me go through physical pain whenever I disobeyed him.
I swiped away the tears, and took the stairs.
Just a little more and it would be over.
Still on the line…relishing the sound of my panting and exhaustion, Damien gave me precise directions, guiding me up seven flights of creaking stairs and down a dimly lit corridor that felt like a tunnel into my own gloomy past.
After the last stair, I paused to catch my breath, wiping my sweaty brow with the back of my hand.
Moments later, with some semblance of control, I pushed open the heavy oak door at the end of the hall.
There he was.
He was leaning against a scarred wooden desk, smoking, the glowing cherry of the cigarette a sharp contrast to the gloom.
The acrid, biting scent hit me immediately, and I wrinkled my nose. I had always loathed the smell of cigarettes.
Before I could speak, Damien’s voice tore through the air.
“You're late, Vera,” he drawled, expelling a thick cloud of grey smoke directly into my path.
He watched me flinch, and try to ward off the smoke with my hands, a twisted sort of satisfaction on his face.
He scoffed. “But I suppose the wife of the formidable Silas Rutherford can take her sweet time.”
“I’m here,” I said, my voice sounding more courageous than I felt. “Please…let's get this over with.”
“Not quite yet.” He straightened, pushing off the desk, flicking ash onto the floor without taking his eyes off me. “We still have business to round off. Don't we?”
I didn’t reply.
He chuckled. He held out his hand.
“The phone, Vera. Give it to me so I can conclude the transfer. I don’t have all day to wait for my retirement fund,” he mocked.
I clutched my purse tighter, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. This was it. The moment of no return.
As soon as I gave him what he wanted, I'd never hear from him again. That was what I wanted.
Nonetheless, there was one question that had been rotting inside me, one truth I hoped he'd give me, honestly.
“Alright,” I agreed. “But before I give you anything,” my voice trembled, but was firm, “you’re going to tell me one thing…truthfully.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, suspicious of where I was taking this.
I shut my eyes briefly.
“That night,” I began shakily. “The man... the one you drugged me for… The one you gave me to. Who was he, Damien?”
I felt humiliated when he burst into laughter.
I fought back tears. “I deserve the truth. I deserve to know the man who chipped away the last bit of dignity I had left,” I pleaded, tearfully.
His expression darkened instantly, his jaw tightening as he took a final, aggressive drag of his cigarette.
“That's enough. You’re pushing your luck, Vera. Give me the phone.”
“No. I'm not giving you a cent until you tell me what I want to know—what I deserve to know!” I cried out, the desperation finally breaking through my composure and making me reckless. “I deserve to know whose child I’m carrying!”
No matter that Silas had claimed responsibility for the child in the eyes of the world, it didn't change the truth.
My baby had no father.
Damien let out a harsh, jagged laugh that set my teeth on edge. He stepped closer, the smell of tobacco and malice wrapping around me like a shroud.
I wasn’t expecting it when he shot out and grabbed my arm. I struggled to free myself, but my attempts were puny compared to his brute strength.
“Let go of me!”
“How pathetic, cosa mia,” he tutted, mockingly. “You think I keep a ledger of every suit I deal with? Whoever it was that knocked you up that night…I don’t remember.”
“No…”
He grinned. “Yes. He was just a mark with deep pockets and a desire for something…” he voice trailed off, as his gaze raked over me, appreciatively, “warm and…different. And you were just…perfect.”
“How could you treat me like this?”
He shrugged. “Don’t be overly dramatic. You were no virgin before that night. Besides,” he leaned in, and pulled me forward, his eyes gleaming with a cruel glint, “what does it matter now? You're married. Are you really going to go looking for the mystery man who knocked you up. I highly doubt Silas would appreciate the family reunion.”
“You're a monster,” I hissed, tears of frustration stinging my eyes.
“And you're a woman who’s running out of time," he snapped, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low hiss. “Now, give me the phone now, or I start talking to your hotshot husband.” A cruel smirk tugged on his lips “I wonder how he likes his secrets…rare or well-done?"
The threat hit me like a physical blow. I swallowed my indignation and with a numb heart, I reached into my bag and handed him the device.
He flicked away the cigarette, but didn't stub out the light.
I watched and waited as his fingers danced over the screen, authorizing the transfer of the five million dollars I had signed my life away for.
A moment later, he tossed the phone back at me and I managed to catch it before it could hit the ground.
“Transaction complete,” he announced, a triumphant smirk crossing his face. “You’re officially useless to me… again.”
“Never contact us again,” I whispered, my voice breaking. Please, don't bother us again. Don’t go near Lily. Just stay in the hell you came from.”
I didn't wait for an answer. I turned and fled, my footsteps echoing down the hollow hallway as I rushed toward the exit, feeling a hollow sense of relief that the debt was paid.
I consoled myself that I had the rest of the payment, and the other incentives Silas had promised to hold on to.
But most importantly, the ghosts I buried in the dark, would remain where they were.
I was free from Damien.
DAMIEN
I watched from the window as Vera’s car sped away, disappearing into the city traffic. I crushed the cigarette butt under the heel of my boot, a cold, predatory glint settling in my eyes.
Five million was a start, but it was nowhere near what I was going to get from her.
Vera was like a gift that kept on giving.
I pulled out my phone and smirked when I read the message I just received. Time to pay a visit to the Rutherford corporate headquarters—again.
My smirk widened into a jagged grin.
The game wasn't over. It was just getting interesting.
Finally, it was time to meet an old acquaintance.