Chapter 48 THREATS AND SECRETS
“Luke!” Leah cried as she laid her eyes on him, almost rushing towards him to hold him in her hands as she beheld her battered lover.
The tears that had welled up in her eyes had begun to stream down her face like a broken dam and Leah blamed herself in her thoughts for what had happened to Luke— everything, to be clear.
Leah was so bitter at her own foolishness, fancy of her to think things would always go the way she wanted them to be and she wished for once she had not told Luke about her plans to help Lady Vanessa escape from the Devereaux mansion.
If she had not gotten Luke involved, he would have remained clueless and wouldn't have had to face such cruelty he was under from Santiano Rafael Devereaux.
“Should we start this conversation all from the beginning now that your little vixen is here, Luke?” Rafael asked, his voice breaking through the pitiful stare that claimed the regrets between both partners.
Rafael continued,
“Or would you—” He paused again, raising an eyebrow as he looked at both lovers who craved to rush into each others arms and comfort themselves if they could only burst free from the hard clench of the henchmen holding on to them tightly.
“Would you tell me where my Vanessa is?” He concluded, the lighter in his hand making a sharp noise of steel slam as he shut it close aggressively.
Leah's heart took a limp as it skipped on a single beat out of order at the sound of the steel slam Rafael had made, and she began to tremble slightly.
“Santiano, Leah has nothing to do with this.” Luke protested in her defense from the torture chair he was sitting on, hoping to make Rafael deviate his attention away from Leah but at him. He just wanted to protect his girl from his boss— but he was helpless.
“Hmm…” Rafael cooed, seemingly unbothered about Luke's cry.
“It was all me!” Luke cried at Rafael still trying to take all the blame for himself as well as the fall in place of Leah. “Just let her go, please… she's as clueless as a newly born child and remember, Santiano, I have been loyal to you all these years, wag my tail whenever you command me to, visit hell whenever you wanted me to, so please, take this into consideration and let Leah live, I beg of you!”
Rafael took a deep breath in, sitting up properly in his seat. He shifted his attention to the man holding the lever to the torturing plier, nodding his head a little for a signal and he said,
“The nails are not enough to inflict enough pain, are they?
The man shook is head, agreeing to Rafael's claim on switching to another torturing process, perhaps.
“No, don't!” Leah screamed.
“What I asked for are answers to my questions about Vanessa's whereabouts, not you pleading for mercy.” His cold voice lashed out at them dictating how unforgiving he could be at that moment.
“Rafael, please, you don't have to do this. Luke is innocent of all this. I brought him into this, it's just me you want and I will tell you everything I know and everything you need to know.” Leah cried, her throat burning already.
“No, Leah, this is nothing, do not mind it— just beg for your own freedom.” Luke rebuked. “You don't have to go through this, you don't have to say anything— none of this is your fault. I have made my own decision, Leah, save yourself.” Luke pleaded with her, struggling to get out of his seat again, but the men holding him overpowered him without breaking a sweat before he could break free.
Rafael gave a sadistic laughter as he watched the lovers display their affection and endearing love to each other; the words ‘save yourself' sounding more like a baby's plea to be cleaned up from the mess they had created in their pants to his ears.
He found it to be infuriating, stupid, and completely useless as they bawled their hearts out, pleading for mercy which he never would give in to considering how they had both had a part to play in the plot to have Vanessa separated from him.
It was too late from them and Rafael didn't care who they were or how much they were in love to show them what mercy looked like.
“Chop off his arm. Now!” Rafael commanded.
“Santiano…” Luke called in a stutter, breaking into cold sweat as he heard Rafael declare this.
“IT WAS YOUR SISTER!” Leah screamed at the top of her lungs, the room suddenly falling silent like it was a graveyard.
—
The news traveled far and fast through everyone in the old wine cellar, the room falling silent like it was a graveyard as everyone had suddenly paused at this revelation.
“Rachel Devereaux was the one who orchestrated the plan for Lady Vanessa's escape.” Leah continued, her tears still stuck to her face like a stagnant stream.
Leah's revelation seemed absurd to their hearings as no one was ready to swallow that hard pill she had offered everyone of them. Not even Luke could accept this as he had a look of doubt in his eyes.
Some were quick to jump to the conclusion that Leah had mentioned Rachel Devereaux's name just so she could bail herself out of Rafael's wrath if she put the right words he wanted to hear on a platter for him by making a story up that was convincing enough to buy her way out.
After what felt like an eternity, Rafael's gaze and demeanor suddenly turned cold and domineering once again. He got out of his seat, his gaze cold and calculating as he considered the possibility of truth in Leah's sudden confession inside his head.
But then again, Leah could be making up a lie and he had the right questions for her which she dared not try to defile because he knew what ways he would smoke out the answers he wanted from her.
If Leah's words were indeed true, then Rafael could understand why Rachel could be the one behind Vanessa's escape from him, after all, Rachel had not seen Vanessa as not only a competition but a threat to her existence in Rafael's life.