Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“One must be careful as he or she embarks on the quest of revenge.
As sometimes we become the very thing we hate in the first place.
Except…
It means certain sacrifices as well to achieve what you want.
And they are impossible once you find the one thing that means more to you than any revenge ever could.”
Levi
Lavender
Something cold splashes on my face, and I move my head to the side only to cry out when a piercing pain envelops my whole scalp.
I raise my hands to touch my forehead, but they seem glued together, and that’s when the cold concrete or ground beneath me registers in my brain.
Another cold splash hits me, followed by ice-cold water soaking me from head to toe, and despite the pain, I open my eyes and gasp in shock at the sight in front of me.
I’m in a small, dark basement, it seems, with a rusty bed, a small table, and a kitchen sink from which water drips drop after drop, grating on my nerves.
One bulb flickers on in the ceiling, brightening the hideous place, and I cough at the rotten smell that makes my eyes water.
Judging by the small door that’s ajar, there is also a bathroom, but all in all, the basement reeks of desperation and death.
I notice my shoes are missing, and several cuts mar my skin, while a rope ties my wrists together, and my headache only intensifies.
That’s when the memory of the crash comes back. I must have hit something.
Is this one of my nightmares again?
I count to ten, hoping it will all disappear and I’ll wake up somewhere safe, only to freeze when someone speaks up. “You’re finally awake.”
I look at the man who wears a perfectly tailored suit that fits him like a second skin, his dark hair neatly cut, his brown eyes watching me with distaste.
He’s tall and lean. Most women would probably find him handsome.
However, the cruelty shining in his gaze speaks of his horrible nature.
“You are very ugly.” He takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and throws it at me.
“The bruise on your forehead is bleeding. Wipe it away. Imperfections make me nauseous.”
Still confused about who this man might be, but cautious enough to play his game, for I’m in his territory and, as such, need to stall for time, I pick up the handkerchief and press it to the wound, finding the source of my pain.
The smell around me makes it almost impossible not to gag, though. Still, I study the man who huffs at me.
He presents such a contrast to this basement because he clearly grew up with wealth and has been spoiled, as his comment alone suggests.
I rack my brain, wondering why he seems so familiar, mentally running various media outlets through my mind, but coming up blank.
“I do not understand.” His nose twitches in distaste.
“You’re old and ugly. What does he see in you?
” He huffs in annoyance and that’s when I notice several small knife scars on his palms and wrists as if he cuts himself open on a regular basis.
“Then again, that little piece of shit always proved to me I should have killed him a long time ago.”
Terror washes over me as I realize the man standing in front of me is Levi’s biological mother’s rapist.
He found me after all.
“Robert?” I croak through my dry throat, and slide back a little, hitting the wall behind me and wincing as the pain ricochets all over my body. The accident must have really done a number on me.
His sadistic laughter echoes in the air. “My real name is Jonathan.”
Another truth hits me then.
That’s why he was so familiar.
He’s an heir to a billion-dollar company after his parents died in a plane crash almost ten years ago.
He’s considered one of the most eligible bachelors on the market, but no one wanted to marry him because of the rumors about his less-than-stellar temper and cruelty toward his staff.
The only reason I know of him is that he tried to hire Scarlett to represent him around a month ago, and she told him to take a hike after he yelled at her secretary. I witnessed the entire thing, so I remember how he almost got violent there and barely controlled himself.
“That’s why the little shit couldn’t find me all these years.
He was searching in the wrong places, and it was so entertaining to watch him find clues that led nowhere.
” He barks a laugh. “I thought he died, but then he made his first public appearance, and I knew. He was his mother’s spitting image, just in a male form.
Plus that fucking scar.” So much sick affection coats his voice.
I swallow past the bile in my throat as this perverted man kidnapped and raped a child. “I couldn’t hate anyone more.”
“Because his mother loved him and hated you.” Anger flashes on his face, and he reaches me in two strides, slapping me across the face so hard that my cheek burns, but I hold back the groan.
I won’t give him the satisfaction of my pain, for to him my pain is Levi’s, and he had hurt Levi enough to last a lifetime.
“Shut up, you stupid bitch. My Nastenka loved me.” He grabs my hair, pulling at it so hard it’s a wonder he doesn’t rip it out. “She was just confused. She couldn’t accept our fate.”
“She wasn’t your Nastenka. She was your victim and captive.”
Another hard slap follows my words, and my mouth fills with blood since I bite on my lower lip to still my cries.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.
We were destined to be together.” He lets me go and steps away, and that’s when I notice him taking out a rosebud from his suit jacket.
“She was a ballerina dancing so beautifully at her rehearsals. I saw her through her school’s window, dancing all gracefully with her blonde locks and blue eyes that spoke to me on a level I didn’t understand.
” He shrugs and rubs the bud while pacing back and forth.
It’s becoming harder and harder to control my gag reflexes.
He’s just like Jade, who thinks his distorted reality is some love story.
“She’d smile at me and wave whenever I stopped by to take her dance teacher on a date. Hated her. Too old. My Nastenka was thirteen. The perfect age to my twenty.”
Oh my God.
Sick, sick man.
“She was a child, you sick pervert.”
He ignores me and keeps talking. “I’ve had other girls before who satisfied my needs, but my interests were fleeting. Plus, they’d cry and die, disappointing me. There was no substance to their character.”
My hands curl on my knees, and I count to ten again at the acid threatening to come up my throat as this man just admitted to raping and killing girls before Anastasia, although I shouldn’t be surprised.
Monsters like him always have many victims, and he’s the most dangerous kind.
For he wears a mask of pretense, having all the riches in the world at his disposal, and no one would think he does something this hideous behind closed doors.
And that’s why he was able to get away with it all for such a long time.
“My Nastenka was different. She came from a wealthy family that invested in her looks and intelligence. She was my perfect match who would give me a perfect little girl to spoil.”
I still at this, hoping he will spill more details about her past so once this nightmare is over, Levi can find his birth family.
No matter what, I just need to survive until Levi comes. I know he’ll find me.
“She wasn’t happy when I brought her to my land, away from all the prying eyes. I couldn’t introduce her to my family because they wouldn’t approve. I knew they’d change their tune once a granddaughter was involved. They always wanted a little girl and instead had me.”
“You expected a child to be happy you kidnapped her?”
I deliberately ruin his fantasy because pretending like she was his sets my blood on fire.
“She wouldn’t listen to me and tried to run away several times.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to lock her up so she would learn her lesson.
” He crunches the rosebud in his grip. “She was difficult and stubborn, and I hated it.” He seems to be in the zone, so I look around for any sharp object to untie the knots.
I also wiggle my toes to check if I can move my legs.
“And had a mental breakdown every single time begging for her father to find her.”
Father? I thought Levi mentioned an uncle?
“He couldn’t. You probably made sure of that.”
If their family is as powerful as he claims, he’d have to fake her death or something for them to stop looking. Besides, I still wonder if that was the case at all or just a fantasy Anastasia made up in her head to cope with her trauma.
She needed to believe someone would save her, and I understand that well.
“Of course. Nastenka wasn’t happy with him anyway. He had all these rules for her that she had to obey.” He huffs. “After two years, she got pregnant, and that one stuck. I made sure she wouldn't cause another intentional miscarriage.”
“Levi.”
“Yes. The minute I saw it was a boy, I wanted to get rid of him, but she begged me not to. Before that…she never begged me for anything and fought me on everything. Him, though…she loved instantly, and I hated him. It was a chore keeping him alive whenever he whined, and she’d rush to him.”
Yes, he couldn’t handle her loving Levi.
However, his psychotic nature saw this as an opportunity to finally control her spirit via the child, so he indulged in it for years.
Levi kept her alive.
“Afterward, she did everything I said as long as her stupid boy lived. She loved me though.”
“Nobody in this world loved you, including your parents.”
It’s a wild guess, judging by all the vague comments he made earlier. It hits the mark, though, as rage fills his eyes once again, and he takes a step toward me, but stops. “You’re testing the limits of my patience, Lavender. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Or what? You’re going to kill me just like you killed Anastasia?”