Isidoro #2
I continue down the hall, then turn left, pressing a hidden sensor built into the wall. It unlocks a secret compartment inside the bathroom three doors down, and once there, I place the ruby in the glass case I’ve prepared for it. Only I can access it, and only I know where it is.
With the ruby tucked safely away where nobody will find it, I return to the stairs leading into the basement. It’s been a few months since I last used the room I’m headed to, but I know the way by heart around the maze-like layout of the sublevels in my home.
When I step into the interrogation room, Julian is slumped in his chair, hands chained to the restraint ring on the table and head drooped forward. He stirs the instant he detects my presence, snarling his handsome face at me.
“Took you long enough,” he quips, curling his lip.
I pull the chair across from him, its legs scraping the floor. The room is pristine white, featuring only the two chairs and the table. No windows, no speck of color, no sound other than the buzz of the fluorescent recessed lights. A few hours in here drives anyone crazy.
“Are you ready to talk?”
Julian scoffs, shaking his arms. It causes the chains to clank. “I don’t know. Did you bring tea and biscuits? Maybe some sandwiches?”
I flash my incisors at him. “If you wish to live, tell me where Andras is.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that. What’s to stop you from killing me the moment I do?” He scrunches his nose, pulling harder on the chains. It’s futile, the restraint ring won’t budge.
“Tell me what I want to know.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. They bore into me with such intensity, I fear they’ll burn me alive, but they are also kind of hypnotizing, hard to look away from. “No, unless you get on your knees, suck my dick and beg nicely.”
I slam the table with a fist, a reaction I can’t hold back. My blood thrums loudly in my ears, vibrating on its way up my neck. “Watch your words.”
My threat only makes his madman-like smile wider. “I don’t think so. You are the one who wants something from me, Isidoro. I hold all the power here. You better get that through that thick skull of yours.”
Before I realize what I’m doing, I shoot up from my chair and dart at him. My claws sink into the area under his chin as I tip his chair back as far down as the chains allow for. “I am your king. I will not tolerate—”
He cackles. Loudly and with his entire body.
“Oh, fuck you, asshole. You don’t wanna play nice?
Fine, suit yourself. But just remember, you’d better watch out.
I warned you already, but I will do it one final time—my father killed your bloodline and stole the crown.
He can do it again. Ruby or not, he will come after you and he will finish what he started.
You are as good as dead. So unless you start watching your words and show me the respect I deserve, you are on your own. Good luck.”
“You are in no position to make demands. I can have you killed—”
“Then do it. Kill me.” He bares his teeth at me, tries to shake my hand off too, but my firm hold is unforgiving. It doesn’t stop him from laughing like a lunatic again though. “You don’t have the balls, do you? I’m the only thing you can use against my father. Fucking coward.”
His words hit like shards of glass piercing my heart. Who is he to talk to me like this? A son of a thief. I am the king. His king. He should be at my feet, begging me for mercy, not threatening me.
“What happened? Cat got your tongue?” He scoff-snorts.
I glare at him, my hand already clutching his neck. But the smile doesn’t drop, the defiance doesn’t leave him. That big mouth of his is infuriating. Those fierce eyes of his don’t back down.
I hate it. I’m in control. I have the upper hand. His fate is mine to do with as I please. Yet, he’s not afraid. He’s pushing and pushing and he won’t stop, no matter what I say, because the truth is, he’s right.
As much as I want to be done with him, I can’t just kill him. I need him alive, because he’s the only thing that can lead me to Andras. Or save me from him when he strikes.
I snap my eyes to Julian’s neck, which has gone red where I am squeezing it.
This is not how my revenge was supposed to go.
Julian knows it, and he’s using it to get under my skin.
I can’t allow that. I need to calm down.
Maybe I can’t kill him, but I can still make his life hell.
I can break him, I can rip that impressive defiance right out of him.
And this room is only the start.
A deep breath, and I regain some of my composure.
I ground myself to the room, to its whiteness and the smell of cleaning chemicals that sticks to it.
Julian can bark all he wants, but he can’t win.
Victory is already mine; I just need to take care of a couple loose ends.
His father might be out there somewhere, waiting for his chance, but I will be prepared.
I’m not my parents. I’ve learned from their mistakes, their weaknesses.
I let go of Julian and return to my chair, steepling my hands together atop the table. He coughs a few times, the red flush gradually withdrawing from his face. I can’t believe I let him get under my skin. He caught me off-guard, pressing where he knew it would hurt, and I let him.
It won’t happen again.
“Okay.”
His eyebrows bunch together. “Okay?”
“You want to be difficult and do this the hard way? I’ll play along.”
He huffs out in dismissal. “Yeah, good luck with that. No matter what you try, I won’t tell you shit.”
“I don’t need you to figure out where he’s hiding, Julian. I’ve got access to all the resources and money I’d possibly need. I own your clan’s assets now, I can get CCTV, records, receipts. I will find your father, with or without your help.”
That’s the truth. It might take me longer, but I will find Andras Corvath. I’m a patient man, I have been for centuries. I just let my expectations, that taste of complete triumph when Niko called from the Gala, get the best of me. I got ahead of myself.
Julian pins his gaze on me. I can see the gears of his brain turning as he digests my words. Oh? Was getting my emotions in check all it took? Does he finally understand the position he’s in?
It’s about time.
I’ve seen this unfold before. Men losing hope as the realization of their helplessness sinks in. Some cry, others beg for mercy or try to take their own lives. Which one will he be?
Julian’s demeanor transforms. His shoulders tense up, and the wild spark in his gaze disappears. His lips form an O, and his brow tilts downward.
That’s it. I’ve got him now. He’s mine. I’ve won.
And then he laughs. A full-on manic cackling that echoes off the walls and the ceiling of the empty room. It reverberates through me, rattling my bones and ringing in my ears.
I watch him, speechless. He’s gone mad. Tears roll down from the corners of his eyes, and he wheezes as he tries to catch his breath.
“You think you’ll find my father? Good luck,” he says, voice scratchy and breathless. “Truly. Good luck. You’ll need it. When you fail, I’ll be waiting for you. Alive and well.”
I abhor this smugness of his. “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. I will keep you alive, but that doesn’t mean you get to live the way you’ve lived so far. I will take everything from you.” I pull out my phone, type a name in the search bar and show it to him. “Including Sanguine & Silk.”
He shoots up, or tries to, but the chains don’t let him get far. “Don’t touch—”
I snap my fingers, cutting him off. Ah, so that’s what finally gets a reaction out of him. His company. Samuel appears a moment later, bowing his head slightly. “Yes, Sire?”
“Take Julian to Mexico. He’ll stay there on his own.
I want all the staff relocated to my other residences.
Send P.I. Jefferson to question him, but after that he is not to have contact with anyone.
Use the drones for food and supply delivery.
Disconnect the internet and clear out all movies, games, sports equipment and anything else that might provide any form of entertainment. ”
“Understood. I will begin making the necessary arrangements.”
“Thank you.” I wave my hand and Samuel disappears. When I meet Julian’s gaze, it’s full of venom. A shiver rushes down my back, stretching my lips into a smirk.
“You can’t just—” He cuts himself off, expression falling.
“Yes, I can and I am. You will be kept alive, Julian, but you won’t enjoy it.”
He tries to stand, pulling on the chains and the ring as hard as he can. It amounts to nothing, just pain as the chain strains and yanks him back into the chair. His elbow hits the edge of the metal table, the sound making me wince.
Julian groans, then hisses at me like a rabid animal. He’s furious. I can see it in his eyes, in the set of his jaw and shoulders. He doesn’t understand what I am doing exactly, but his instincts seem to have caught on to the kind of torture I’m setting up.