Chapter 2

Two Hours Ago

The dusty air stank and reeked of raw gasoline and crushed up burnt cigarettes. A loud screeching scream echoed within the silent walls of the warehouse.

He ripped out the dagger from his right shoulder blade, then he plunged the bloody dagger in his left shoulder blade. The prisoner screamed in sheer agony and immense pain, and instantly fell to the dirty rough floor.

“Hold him up.” His commanding deep monotone voice cut through the air like a cutting edge knife.

Two guys rushed toward the prisoner and forced him up on his feet.

“No, please... I beg of you! I made a mistake!” The prisoner who was only a young boy of nineteen pleaded desperately. He had fat tears in his eyes, wetting his entire face and also soaking his bloodstained sweaty t-shirt.

The 6'3 tall man who flickered with the dagger between his long fingers like it was a toy. A brooding monster with a dark aura, fierce tattoos around his rigid neck and hands. His silver orbs loved danger and the smell of blood.

“You didn't just commit a mistake. That word is fucking annoying to me.” He spoke calmly but also irritated at the same time and launched the same bloody dagger in the young boy's right sided chest with a gripping force.

The boy screamed like a little girl, his eyes expanded like giant saucers and he could do nothing but watch his master kill him slowly.

A crazed glint formed on the tall man's lips as he watched and enjoyed the boy's misery. He derived pleasure from drawing blood out of others. A fucking turn on.

And he wanted more.

In the next minute, he slowly twisted the dagger inside his chest and pulled it out with such force that another loud scream ruptured out of his mouth. The two guys who were holding him let him go and the boy instantly fell back to the floor and clutching his chest that was now bleeding profusely, his blood smearing the floor.

“I'm sorry! It... It wasn't a mistake! I committed a crime, boss. A crime!” The boy squeaked and didn't stop trembling while on the floor, almost lifeless.

The boss walked around him and stopped right behind the boy. His gaze a little hard but the glint still stayed on his mouth.

“I like that. So you admit that what you did was a crime, not a silly mistake. You fucking stole from me. You stole my money and a gram of my merchandise. No matter how small it might look, you still have to pay, little kid.”

With that said, he plunged the dagger in his right buttocks and not a sound was heard from the boy at this point. His lack of response to the pain shattered and bruised the boss's ego pretty badly.

“You aren't playing with me anymore, little kid. What a bummer. Hold him up again! And let this be a lesson to every fucking imbecile.” He ordered angrily and once again the two guys lifted up the boy who was still alive but almost dead anyway. He couldn't lift up his head and his entire shirt was completely bloody and he was still bleeding.

Without hesitation, the boss launched the dagger straight into the boy's heart. Blood instantly gushed out everywhere like it was from a spraying can, even splattered on the boss's face. But the boss didn't stop there. He pulled out the dagger and plunged it again inside the boy's chest. He continued to stab the already dead boy's body with the dagger multiple times before he finally shoved the bloody-dripping dagger deep into the boy's throat.

By the time he was done, his entire face, his hair, his white crispy shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his loose tie and his suit pants were fully covered and painted in dark crimson. Blood was splattered everywhere, in every corner of the warehouse, including smearing of the walls.

He inhaled the foul stench of blood that was now oozing up into the air, and his lips curved up in a satisfied smirk. Like he had just smelt his favorite perfume. The scent of an afterkill. Always so refreshing to the senses - He always quoted.

Just then, the garage doors automatically opened with a loud rustling noise. A tall shadow emerged from outside and then a man walked into the warehouse. The moment he walked in, his expression immediately squeezed up in disgust.

“Jesus! What's that damn smell!?” The man hissed uncomfortably and quickly took out a napkin from his pants pocket and immediately covered his nose. Then his eyes circled around the warehouse that had now become more of a blood bath. There wasn't a single part of the warehouse that wasn't splashed with blood, even if it was only a drop or two.

Then the man's eyes turned and positioned his gaze on the slightly taller man standing in the middle of the warehouse, fully doused with blood.

“For fuck's sake, Anatoly. What the hell?” The man continued to wear a disgruntled expression on his face while trying to avoid even looking at the dead body next to his boss, who was also his cousin.

“What do you want, Vladimir?” Anatoly asked, irritably, as one of his men rushed towards him with some clean towels.

“What am I doing here? Have you forgotten that tonight is your engagement with the politician's daughter, which already started a couple hours ago. Your father is wondering about your absence.” Vladimir replied, clutching the napkin tightly around his nose. Though he was born in a criminal family, Vladimir never found pleasure in spilling out unnecessary blood and slow torture. To him, a clean straight bullet to the head was the done deal for him.

Anatoly suddenly recalled staring at Ivanova's photo for the first time only a few days ago. His brother, Nikolai had sent him her recent pictures where she had now turned twenty-two. And he liked the match his father had already arranged for him when he was just nineteen.

Ivanova was pretty and looked innocent in the photo. But Anatoly knew better than to believe and put his trust in a mere photo to be the truth. To him, every human was deceptive and they would one day eventually show their true tracheous nature.

The reason Anatoly liked Ivanova was because she was beautiful no doubt. But also because her body was groomed and would definitely be able to give birth to his heirs and also satisfy his every sexual cravings. That was her only job as his wife and if she didn't do it right, he would have to teach her but in a very difficult and hard way.

Anatoly blindly trusted in his father's choice for him. Since the day he'd heard from his father that his marriage had already been fixed, he never bothered to look at the girl or even find out anything about her. His father must have done all of the work. But a few days ago, he just had to see the girl he was going to marry and put under submission to him, and he had to admit. His future wife was drop dead beautiful.

He wiped himself clean with the towels - His face and tattooed hands.

“You know what to do with the body. Burn everything up, but after you've chopped off his head. Then hang his head on one of the streetlight poles in the North part of the city. Let this be a message to those who want to think of betraying my organization and also steal from me.” Anatoly gave out the specific strict orders to the two of his men before he headed toward the exit of the warehouse.

He walked past Vladimir who followed right behind him while still covering his nose.

It was already the blue hour and the sun had fully set when Anatoly walked out of warehouse.

“So, has my future wife already arrived to the engagement ceremony?” Anatoly asked as he entered one of the two cars parked outside after the backseat door was fully opened for him by one of his underdogs.

“Yeah, Anatoly. Niko already informed me about it. Her whole family is at the party. You are just the one missing.” Vladimir replied and quickly entered the passenger seat with his nose still sealed under the napkin, before the driver started the car immediately and drove out of the dark alley.

The car reached the Kiseleva estate, but instead of zooming in through the front entrance, the car drove into the estate through the back entrance.

The driver immediately rushed out, and pulled the door open for Anatoly. And when Anatoly stepped out of the car, he ordered Vladimir.

“Get my suit ready. I'll take a shower in my study. I have some pending work to complete.”

“Work? Right now, Anatoly... But everyone is waiting for...” Vladimir clammed his mouth shut once Anatoly gave him a glare that sent chills down his spine.

Then a smirk suddenly played on Anatoly's face.

“Let my future wife wait a bit longer for me. I want her to realize that she doesn't make the rules nor controls me in this union. I am the one who is in control and her master.”

No matter how beautiful Ivanova was. To Anatoly, she was a woman who was only meant to worship and serve him as a dutiful wife should. To only yield to his commands and obey his every order down to the last letter.

He entered his study office and immediately got down to his work. Stacks of documents from the company waited for him on the table. He lit up a cigarette and whistled out the nicotine from his nostrils and lips into the air. Immediately, he kick-started on his work.

Not only was he leading the mafia, but he was also crowned the head of his family's legal businesses. Both blood money and white money intertwined in his world.

His clothes for the ceremony were brought into the study. After an hour and a half, Anatoly shut down his work and walked straight into the bathroom to have a shower and wash off all of the dried up blood on him.

Shortly after, he stepped out of the bathroom, completely stark naked and without a towel. Water droplets clung onto his glistening tanned skin and his damp raven hair constantly threw out tiny droplets everywhere.

His clothes were neatly folded on the table and he walked behind his table to start getting dressed up when a tiny rustling sound quickly caught his attention.

He had been trained very well, and his ears could easily and sharply pick up sounds, no matter how subtle. His eyes quickly turned and gazed out the window behind him.

Outside his window, a feminine figure stood there, in an oversized gown. He couldn't really see her face because there was barely any light where she currently stood. The only thing that he could make out was that she was wearing a blue oversized gown and wasn't tall at all. Maybe a 5'1.

“Who's out there?” Anatoly demanded in a rough tone.

Then, an abrupt knock came on the door, distracting Anatoly for just two seconds as the door to his study office opened and Nikolai sauntered in.

“Aren't you yet ready, brother?”

And when Anatoly turned his gaze back to the window, there was no one.

The girl had disappeared.

More like she had ran off, taking advantage of him getting distracted.

Very clever. He thought to himself.