A Love Restored

Felix Poy

“Felix,” Dad urged quietly. He looked at me, his eyes asking me to calm down.

I was very calm, though. I hadn’t ever felt calmer.

I looked at Blue. “Bring him to the shelter. We’ll deal with him there.”

Blue nodded.

not too many people knew about. A dungeon, of sorts,

The shelter was where we liked to keep all the men who had wronged us. A secret location not too many people k maybe. Sam would enjoy his stay there. I’d make sure of it.

The damp air clung to me like a shroud, the flickering torchlight casting dark shadows on the rough–hewn stone walls. The stench of mildew and fear hung thick in the air, a fitting welcome for the monster I had come to face. Sam, sat huddled in the corner of the makeshift dungeon, a pathetic figure bound to a rusted metal chair. Blue had done well. Sam already had a black eye. He’d look a lot worse when I was done with him

The rage that had been a constant simmer ever since I found out what he’d done to Flora threatened to boil over. But I shoved it down, forcing a semblance of control. This wasn’t about blind fury. This was about getting answers, about making him pay in a way that would etch the memory of his crimes into his very soul.

And make him pay I would.

Slamming the heavy iron door shut with a resounding clang, I watched him flinch. His bloodshot eyes darted around the cell, searching for an escape that wasn’t there. Good.

He looked around the room, at ceiling, at the floor. He couldn’t meet my eyes. Bitch looked like he’d piss his pants any second. It was hilarious to look

“Look at me, fucker” 1 commanded, my voice a low growl that reverberated through the damp air.

His head snapped up, his face a canvas of fear. “Please,” he croaked, his voice hoarse. “I… I didn’t mean to…

A harsh laugh ripped from my throat, devoid of humor. “Didn’t mean to? That’s a convenient excuse.” 1 stalked closer, the torchlight glinting off the glint of steel in my hand- a wickedly sharpened hunting knife I’d brought for… emphasis.

Sam whimpered, his gaze darting around the dark corners of

of the cell as if searching for escape. But there was none. I had made sure of that.

“You think you can just disappear after what you did to her?” I pressed, my voice laced with a dangerous calm. Think again.” I hefted the knife, the cold metal catching the meager light. The light hit his eyes, and he flinched, clenching them shut.

“No! Please!” he shrieked, tears streaming down his filthy face. “I’ll do anything! Just don’t hurt me!”

I paused, a cruel smile twisting my lips. “Anything, huh?”

His head bubbed frantically. “Yes! Anything! III leave, I’ll never bother her again, I swear!”

I circled him like a predator sizing up its prey. That’s too easy, a voice snarled in my head. Flora deserves more than just your absence. She deserves for you to die. Painfully.

And he wasn’t just my enemy. My father would have his turn, too. After all, this man had killed the woman he had loved.

“Listen,” he parted, “You already have her. Keep her. Do whatever you want. I’ll disappear. She’ll never see me again.”

I snorted, “You really think I’ll let you go? Damn, you’re a fucking idiot, Samuel.”

The tip of the knife hovered inches from his face, the glint of metal catching his terrified reflection. “So, here’s the deal,” I continued, my voice dropping to a chilling whisper. “You can stay here, in this little hole I’ve so thoughtfully provided. You can rot in the darkness, a constant reminder of the pain you’ve inflicted. Or,” I paused, letting the silence stretch for an agonizing moment, “you can tell me everything Names, dates, everything you did to her.

Maybe, just maybe, then you’ll earn a quicker end.”

His body convulsed with a sob. He knew there was no good option. But between a life of slow, agonizing decay and a potential, swift end, the choice was clear.

“In any scenario, you die.” I grinned. “You can choose how.”

Til tell you,” he choked not, the words thick with fear and resignation, “Everything. Just please, don’t hurt me.

The smile on my face was slow and predatory. “Good choice,” I said, my voice dripping with a promise far more terrifying than any threat. The dungeon walls seemed to close in, the air heavy with the weight of the twisted buguin struck. The hunt for answers had begun, and I, fueled by a love as fierce as my rage, intended to see it through to a very blondy end.

The fear on his face intensified as Sans slumped further into the chair, his bravado thoroughly shattered, I guess he was coming to terms with his fate now. He knew what was coming for hips,

“Ascensio, 1 repeated, the name a foreign yet chilling presence on my tongue. “Who is be?”

Sam swallowed audibly, his Adam’s apple hobling, almost shivering. “I he’s… he was a business partner of mine,” he stammered, his voice barely a whisper.

My grip tightened on the knife handle, the urge to carve the truth out of him a constant battle with the need for information. “Business partner, huh? And what kind of business involved hurting my Flora?” cocked my head to the side, “All your business was with us. How the fuck did a strange men come into the picture?”

Π

Sam flinched at the mention of her name, his eyes flickering with a semblance of something akin to shame. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that,” he mambled, his voice harely mulille.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

“What wasn’t supposed to happen?” I mared, the sound echoing off the stone walls. “Tell me everything, Sam. Every fucking detail.

He whimpered, his gaze darting and the dark corners of the cell. But there was nowhere to nan, nowhere to hide.

I reached out with my knife, und pressed the tip, slowly, very slowly, into his check, till I saw blood. He hissed in pain. “I… had debts,” Sam choked out. “Bad debts. And he offered me a way out…and moncy.and power…” He trailed off, his face contorted in a grimace of regret. I didn’t know what he regretted. Killing his wife and abusing his daughter. Or being found. “He was a in rival gang.”

“A way out?” I pressed, my voice tight with a growing sense of dread.

“He saw her as a way out,” Sam mumbled, tears tracing muddy trucks down his grime–caked checks. “Te… he convinced me to help him… to take her, to hold her for ransom.” He looked up at me, “We knew your father…would pay any amount.”

A wave of nausea washed over me. “And then what?” The words were a rasp in my throat.

“There was… an accident,” Sam stammered. “She… she wasn’t supposed to…” His voice broke, replaced by choked sobs.

My blood ran cold. This fucker. Had killed his wife. By neeldent.

“It was just supposed to be a kidnapping. And then…I shot her. And he threatened me, that he’ll tell the Corsings everything. So I took Flora and man.”

“Ascensio,” I growled, the name a curse word on my lips. “Where is he now?” I didn’t know this man. I didn’t know what he looked like. But in my head, I already had my hands around his throat, choking the life out of him. I would kill him with my bare hands.

Sam’s eyes darted up to meet mine, a flicker of defiance momentarily replacing the fear. “I don’t know,” he rasped. “He disappeared after… after what happened. I haven’t seen him since.”

Whether he was lying or not, it was hard to tell. But one thing was clear – Ascensio was the key. He was the answer to Flora’s pain, the reason for the nightmares that haunted her sleep. And I wouldn’t rest until I found him, until I made him pay for the devastation he’d wrought on Flora and her

You’d better be telling the truth, Sam,” I wamed, my voice a low growl. “Because if you’re lying, this little cell becomes a whole lot less comfortable.”

The fear returned full force to his eyes, a silent promise extracted. I knew I wouldn’t hesitate to make good on my threat. Ascensio was out there, and i would find him.

“I don’t regret a bit of it” He blurted. “I’m happy I killed that bitch.”

The air grew

thick with a suffocating silence after Sam’s choked confession.

“Why?” I spat, the word a guttural growl ripped from my throat. I was disgusted by him. “That woman loved you. She was the reason you had the life you did. You got lifted off the streets because of her.”

–

Sam flinched at the loudness in my voice, but a flicker of something else crossed his face a twisted defiance. “She…” he began, his voice dropping to a low mumble, “She never stopped talking about him. Your father. And him…God, I saw the way they looked at each other. I was a cuck. Always comparing me, making me feel like a second–rate replacement.”

My stomach churned. Jealousy, a petty, pathetic excuse for taking an innocent life. ‘So you look it out on her?” The words were laced with disgust.

“And her,” he spat, a venomous glint replacing the fear in his eyes for a fleeting moment. That girl… Flora. She looks so much like her. Same stubbor spirit, same fucking face.”

He sneered, a grotesque parody of a smile. “Don’t regret it one bit. Got rid of the problem and kept Flora in her place while I had her.”

The world dissolved into red. With a roar, I lunged across the cell, the rusty chair groaning under Sam’s weight as I slammed my fist into his face. The sickening crack of bone echoed off the stone walls, a primal scream ripped from my throat

He crumpled against the wall, blood blossoming on his broken nose, a whimper escaping his cracked lips. The fucker deserved far worse, but for now, this would have to do,

I forced myself to take a shuddering breath, fighting the urge to unleash the full fury raging within me. There were more questions, and I needed answers, not mindless violence.

“Ascensio,” I growled. “You mentioned a rival gang. Who is he with?”

Sam, whimpering, clutched his face. “He… he’s with the Valerio family.” He coughed, a spray of blood staining his chin.

The Valerios. They were a small family. Controlled a small drug racket. And had a fighting rink. They had never been a threat to us. Not now, not then. So we’d left them alone.

Ah, but, now…

I smirked to myself.

“And what did he promise you? Riches? Power? The truth was starting to form, a picture painted in blood and betrayal.

Sam nodded weakly. “He said… he said he’d make me rich, give me a place in their family. Capo. All I had to do was tell him your secrets, their money routes… anything I could get.”

A wave of nausea washed over me. Sam, had betrayed his family just for some power in a rival gang, dooming his wife and condemning his daughter to

life of fear. The depth of his depravity was staggering.

“You’ll regret this, Sam,” I said, my voice a low, dangerous rumble. “More than you can ever imagine.”

And the Valerios. I’d enjoy finishing them off. One by one.

I left the room, slamming the door shut behind me. Nick was standing right outside. He looked at me, and I nodded gravely. “We’ve got some shit to do.” I told him. “Get Blue. I’ll let you know the details. Then we find Ascensio. He’s in the Valerio family.”

Nick raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Are you sure? They have barely any power.”

I nodded. “That’s what he said. But we’ll check on our own, too.” I smiled at him, “Let’s get to work.”