Chapter 04

VALENTINA

After I agreed upon helping them, Agent Vitali lead me to the room which is right beside that interrogation room.

He asked me to rest and he went to talk to the seniors or whatever.

Where he has locked me this time is a plain room.

White room.

A white bed. White sheets. White floor. White attached door.

This is unbelievable. I am beginning to despise white color.

I sigh out and jog toward the bed before laying down over it. I have been unconscious for a whole day and when I woke up, I was already in that interrogation room, handcuffed to the table.

Before that…

I was out on shopping. I was allowed to go shopping only once in three months and many guards followed me around.

I don’t even know how they managed to kidnap me after dodging all those guards.

I just remember going inside the lingerie store’s dressing room. Before I could undress completely, another man had appeared in the room out of nowhere and he sprayed something on my face.

I fell unconscious after that.

To think about this…Was it Agent Vitali who kidnapped me? I don’t know…

I heave a heavy breath and stare up at the stark white ceiling.

As I stare at it blankly, my mind goes to the usual thinking again.

They took everything. Thorn Clan. They took everything.

How is it like to live without a soul?

How is it like to breathe without a life?

How is it like to scream without a voice?

How is it like to bleed without a wound?

It must be damaging, it must be hurtful, it must be brutal, it must be traumatic.

...It must be unexplainable.

Who knows it better than me? They made me face this everyday.

They made me live without a soul.

They made me breathe without a life.

They made me scream without a voice.

They made me bleed without a wound.

They took everything. My soul. My life. My voice. My wound.

And they kept it caged in a golden cage just like my body. I was left to be just a slave and a body...

A soulless, a lifeless, a voiceless, a woundless body.

They took everything from me. Thorn Clan. They took absolutely everything. But they couldn't take one thing from me. It was my wish to see them in ruins.

May their souls become their demons,

May their lives become their nightmares,

May their voices become their screams,

May their wounds become their ruins,

May they lose everything just like they made me lose it all.

These wishes kept my soulless, lifeless, voiceless, woundless body going.

These wishes are still making me keep living and I think they are going to come true now.

I desperately hope that, because this is the only thing keeping me alive.

***

MATTEO

I drive out of the intelligence agency. My mind is still caught up in her words. She seems to hate Thorn Clan too much.

Not just Nico but Thorn Clan.

I don’t need to ask why. I already know why she hates the Thorn Clan. I will deal with this hate.

But right now, I have another important thing to do.

I drive to my secluded house and stop the engine of the car. Heading to my house, I unlock the door and step instead.

“ Took you long enough. ” Leo pops out of the kitchen, his mouth stuffed with popcorns, suggesting that he is about to watch movies in my house again.

I move past him without replying and drop the coat on the couch, before plopping down on it.

‘ Monsters deserve no compassion…or loyalty.’ Her words have really impacted me.

“ What happened with Valentina? ” Leo comes and sits down beside me, before stuffing a handful of popcorns in his mouth.

Valentina. I think about her again.

Her porcelain soft baby skin is perfect for carvings but she chose the other option.

Her long auburn hair look good in a ponytail. It makes me want to do the forbidden things to her.

Her baby blue eyes are sharp and deep. She hides many secrets behind those round innocent eyes.

Her small button nose makes her look cute when she is taking deep breaths.

Her full pouty lips can attract anyone easily. Her lips make a man wonder about what magic her mouth can do.

She is a full package. A seductress without trying. She is like a Diamond in this coal world. She is different.

Now, I can understand why Nico fucked around but still kept her as his girlfriend. She is hard to let go and seems unreplaceable.

“ I wouldn’t have caught her and asked for her help if you had done your job perfectly, Leo. ” I shoot back at Leo, who stops chewing on the popcorns all of a sudden.

“ I have told you many times. I am a close man to your Nico, but I don’t stay with him all the time like Valentina does. ” Leo begins chewing after defending himself with the lousiest excuse ever.

“ Whatever. ” I rub my temples, my mind forcing me to think about Valentina all over again.

“ Is it time to bring down Nico with Valentina’s help now? What are you going to do about the agency? ” Leo asks questions after questions, causing me a headache.

“ Don’t ask questions, Leo. I don’t like questions. ” I warn him in a grim tone.

He falls silent after the warning.

I am not a very good or manageable person. Leo knows he shouldn’t infuriate me.

“ Nico and Intelligence agency will never know what hit them. When they will finally be able to see, I will be the head of Thorn Clan alone. ” I stare at the wall, before I turn to look at Leo who looks to be lost in thoughts.

“ You want to ask about Valentina… ” I voice out his thoughts and grab his undivided attention.

‘I want to destroy the whole Thorn clan.’ Her statement makes me sure that she hates Thorn Clan.

It will be better to say…

She is still holding onto the past incidents and she STILL hates Thorn clan.

‘ It doesn’t matter to you. I will help you but only if you are capable of bringing The Thorns down.’

I am skillfully capable of bringing down empires like these.

She wants me to help her tear down Thorn Clan in return of her help.

That’s never happening.

A King never tears down his own Kingdom.

Liars don’t like other liars. She is too wrong about this.

Liars adore other liars.

It’s a never-ending game of chase between two liars that makes them adore each other.

It’s the rush of excitement they feel to uncover the truth which pushes them to stay close.

It’s a stupid contest between two liars. It’s something like… Who is the better liar?! It keeps them on the edge.

I detach my gaze from the wall and pin my gaze on Leo, who looks curious.

“ Valentina was my little brother’s whore for half of her life… ” I whisper to myself, knowing that Leo is able to hear me too.

“ and now… ” I look up, my eyes displaying all sinister emotions perfectly.

“ She’s mine. ”