Chapter 47 Forty Seven
Tonight was one of the nights Salvatore Corvin looked forward to most.
The nights when he didn’t have to pretend.
The nights when he was free to indulge the darkness, while Antonio quietly cleaned up whatever was left behind.
“F-Fuck…” the man wheezed, his voice breaking. “Why are you doing this to me? Is it money? I’ll give you anything. Please… make it stop.”
Blood pooled beneath the chair, dripping steadily from the bullet wound in his thigh.
Salvatore sighed, rolling the knife lazily between his fingers.
“I’ve had a very long…” he glanced at the trembling man with complete indifference, “…very irritating week.”
He stepped closer until the man had no choice but to look up at him.
“So I’m not in the mood for mercy.” His voice never rose. It didn’t need to.
“All I want is the answer to one question.”
The man nodded frantically, his body shaking so violently the chair creaked beneath him.
Sweat streamed down his face, mixing with the blood staining his skin. His clothes were soaked, his breathing ragged, every inch of him trembling beneath Salvatore’s unblinking gaze.
Salvatore crouched in front of him, resting his forearms on his knees as though they were having a casual conversation.
“Good.”
A slow, chilling smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Let’s see if you’re smart enough to leave here alive. Where are they?”
The man broke into another fit of sobs, shaking so violently he could barely stay upright.
Salvatore drove the knife into his thigh as the man screamed
“Less crying.” His voice was cold enough to freeze the room. “Where are they?”
“I-I don’t know!” the man stammered. “I swear to God, I don’t know where they took them! I was just hired to bring them here. That’s all I did. I got paid, and that was it.”
Salvatore studied him for a long, silent moment.
Then his fist crashed across the man’s jaw, sending the chair skidding across the concrete floor.
“You call that ‘all you did’?” Salvatore asked, stalking toward him. “They’re children.”
The man spat blood onto the floor, his eyes wide with terror.
“I didn’t touch them! I swear! I was just the driver!”
Salvatore grabbed a fistful of his shirt and hauled him upright until they were face-to-face.
“You delivered children to monsters for a paycheck.”
His jaw tightened.
“That makes you one of them.”
He released the man with a shove, disgust written across his face.
“So I’ll ask you one last time…” His dark eyes locked onto the man’s. “Who hired you?”
The man’s eyes darted wildly around the room, searching for a way out that didn’t exist.
“I don’t know his name,” he cried. “I swear! We weren’t supposed to ask questions.”
Salvatore tilted his head. “Wrong answer.”
“I-I’m telling the truth!”
Antonio, who had been standing silently by the door, checked his watch before looking at Salvatore.
“Boss.”
Salvatore held up a finger without taking his eyes off the man. “One minute.”
He crouched again, his eyes hardened.
“You know what the funny thing is?” he said quietly. “People always think lying is what gets them safe.”
The man swallowed hard. It isn’t.”
Salvatore leaned in until only inches separated them. “It’s wasting my time.”
“I-I swear on my mother’s life!”
“I don’t care about your mother,” Salvatore yelled
“I have a family!” The man begged
“So did those children,” Salvatore said coldly
Silence settled over the room.
The man’s breathing came in panicked gasps as Salvatore simply stared at him, letting the weight of the silence do the work.
“There was a phone call,” the man blurted.
Salvatore’s eyes sharpened. “What phone call?”
“I never met the buyer. Everything went through one man. We called him Priest.”
Antonio looked up. “Priest?”
The man nodded frantically.
“That’s all anyone knew him as. He wore a silver cross around his neck and… and had this raven tattoo on his hand. He paid in cash. Said the kids were being moved before sunrise.”
Salvatore’s jaw tightened. “Moved where?”
“I don’t know!”
The man saw the disbelief in Salvatore’s eyes and rushed on.
“I swear! But… but I heard one of the guards mention the old Saint Gabriel Orphanage before they loaded the van.”
Antonio’s expression darkened. “The orphanage burned down years ago.”
“Exactly,” Salvatore muttered.
His voice had gone eerily calm. “It’s abandoned. It’s the perfect place.”
Antonio slipped his phone from his pocket. “I’ll get the cars ready.”
Salvatore gave a slight nod, never taking his eyes off the trembling man.
“If you’re lying…”
“I’m not,” the man choked out. “I swear to you. Please… spare me.”
Salvatore rolled his neck, the muscles popping one after another. A low groan escaped him.
“Christ. It had been a long fucking day.” He muttered to himself
“Cool.” He slipped the knife back into its sheath. “Thanks, man.” He said casually like he hadn’t been torturing him slowly for the past four hours.
The man’s breathing finally slowed.
Hope flickered across his bloodied face, shining through his tear-filled eyes.
Salvatore almost laughed.
“Y-You’re… letting me go?” the man asked, staring at him like a stray dog that had finally found kindness.
“Sure,” Salvatore replied with an easy smile. “You told the truth.”
Relief flooded the man’s face.
“All you have to do is stand up and walk away,” Salvatore said, his eyes never leaving him.
“I…” His voice shook. “Please… can you help me? I can’t feel my legs.”
Salvatore stared at him for a long moment before another smile spread across his face. “Sure.”
He reached out a hand; the man grabbed it without hesitation. Salvatore pulled him to his feet, steadying him as his legs buckled beneath him.
For one brief, beautiful second, the man believed he had survived. Then Salvatore’s smile never wavered as a blade flashed between them.
The man froze.
A thin line appeared across his throat.
His eyes widened in disbelief before he instinctively clutched at his neck. Blood seeped through his trembling fingers as he tried to speak, but nothing came out except a wet gurgle.
Salvatore caught him before he collapsed completely, easing him to the floor with unsettling calm.
He looked down at the dying man without a trace of remorse. “You abduct children,” he said quietly.
His voice was flat. “And you actually thought I’d let you live.”
The man’s eyes slowly lost their light. Salvatore rose, slipped the knife back into its sheath, and adjusted the cuffs of his black shirt.
“Antonio.”
Antonio looked up from the doorway. “Yeah, Boss?”
“Clean this up.”
Antonio glanced at the body before looking back at Salvatore.
“You know…” he said with a sigh, “you did promise to let him go.”
Salvatore didn’t slow his pace. “I did.”
Antonio frowned. “You slit his throat.”
“After he stood up. I gave him one last time to stand before sending him to hell.”
Antonio let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. “That’s some twisted logic.”
Salvatore reached the door, his hand resting on the steel handle. “He sold children.” He said. “Men like that don’t deserve mercy. I hope he burns in hell”
Without another word, he pushed the door open. The heavy steel door slammed shut behind him, leaving Antonio alone with the body.