Chapter 9

Adrian had sliced his nose clean off. Blood poured everywhere.

The man was convulsing, screaming, nose gone, just a bloody hole. Adrian was enjoying the view while watching the man struggle to death.

The other guy kept on shaking his chair. Two dead, only one alive. You can literally see the fear in his eyes.

Adrian wasn't done.He stood up and walked to his table. picked up a knife and a small wooden box.

First he grabbed the dead men’s hands and started cutting their fingers off. The sound was sickening, he was not blinking his eyes at all.

He dropped the bloody fingers and nose inside the box.

Then he took one of the bloody shirts, wrapped it around the box.

One look at Judy he immediately understood. He brought a paper and pen.

Adrian wrote a note himself.

-NEXT TIME YOU WANT TO SEE HER, COME YOURSELF. -

He folded the note and put it inside the box with the fingers.

The other man was vomiting from fear, Adrian wiped his hands with the mutilated man's own shirt.

"Untie him."

Charles cut him free. The man fell to the floor, holding his face, bleeding and screaming..

“ please don’t kill me “

"You will walk to your boss like this. . I want him to see you. I want him to smell you. You tell him: if he ever says her name again, I will cut off more than just a nose and fingers, understood?”

The man kept on nodding “ yes sir.

“Now go “

He crawled out, one hand holding the box that was dripping blood,

The warehouse floor was still wet with blood.

Adrian stood in the middle of it, his white shirt stained. He didn't even look at the two bodies.

"Take care of them," he said coldly to his men.

“ yes sir”

Then he paused. "Where is she?"

Jude stepped forward, head bowed. "Upstairs, boss. In your room."

He walked to the sink in the corner. He slowly washed his hands. Washed and washed, like the blood offended him.

He wiped them clean with a towel and dropped them on the floor, with that he walked upstairs

Outside Isabelle's door, Cole was standing, arms crossed, blocking the door.

Adrian’s eyes confused. "Why are you standing outside?"

Isabelle was sitting on the edge of the bed. Scared and confused. The moment she saw him, she jumped up. She was shaking. She started walking backwards step by step

And in her head, it was already happening.

Is he here to kill me? Is this how I die?

She could see it. Him pulling a gun. Him choking her. Her body on this same bed. No one would even know. No one would even look for her.

Questions were running too fast. Her chest was tight. She couldn't breathe. I don't want to die.

Then she looked at him, tears in her eyes, voice broken.

"Are you here to kill me too?"

He didn't answer immediately. He walked slowly to the chair near the table, sat down, crossed his legs. Calm but scary.

"Kill you ? Why would I kill you?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know!" she burst out crying. "I don't know why you are doing this to me! I don't know what you want from me!"

"I don't want anything from you." His voice calmed this time as if he didn’t kill somebody few minutes ago

"Then let me go! I want to go home”

"I can't let you go," he stood up “ because you already know about me and You've been marked too"

Isabelle froze. "Marked? What... what do you mean?" Her hands were shaking when she saw him walking towards the table.

"One, You already know about me. You saw my face. You know who I am. TWO, they know you. Janza and his people... they can wipe out your whole family in an instant."

"I don't understand! Marked by who? By YOUR enemies? Then go and deal with them ! What does that have to do with me ?!"

He poured water into the glass cup. He didn't even look at her.

"So you don't care about your family?"

Her voice broke. "I care about my family! Stop playing mind games with me!"

"Good."He lifted the glass and sipped the water slowly like he had all the time in the world.

Then he looked at her.” If you care about them, then I have a contract for you."

She blinked “ A…contract?