Chapter 9: Sniffing Rat

Cesare’s Point of View~~~

“I won’t repeat myself again, Charles,” I said, leaning back in the chair. My voice was calm, almost casual.

Calm was always scarier than shouting. Calm meant danger was inevitable.

I cracked my knuckles slowly, letting the sound fill the small room. “Instead, you’ll be speaking to my fist.”

Charles’s entire body trembled. His wet hair plastered to his forehead from the iced water I’d dumped earlier.

His lips quivered, and his eyes darted around the room like a trapped rat searching for an escape.

“P-please… I don’t—I can’t—”

I tilted my head slightly, watching him, a slow smirk spreading across my face. The bastard thought he had options.

How dare he.

Before he could even finish his plea, I slammed my fist into his jaw.

The impact was satisfying, the crunch of cartilage and the choked gasp escaping his lips like music to my ears.

His head jerked sideways, a line of blood dripping down the corner of his mouth.

“Ahhh! P-please, stop!” Charles groaned, his entire body jerked against the ropes tying him down.

I stood and dragged the chair closer until my face was inches away from his.

My fist clenched again, and I let him see it, let him see just how close it was to smashing his face in again.

“You should’ve known better than to poke your head in anything that’s mine.” My voice dropped, dark and low.

“Rosette Jenner is mine. Her life, her every breath. You follow her, you follow me. And I don’t tolerate rats sniffing around my things.”

His face twisted in pain as he whimpered. “I swear, I didn’t mean any harm! I was just paid—”

“Paid?” I cut in, my hand gripped his hair and jerked his head back so he was forced to meet my eyes. “Then spill, or you die tonight. Simple choice.”

His chest heaved, panic flashing across his face as he squirmed. His lips trembled, but no words came out.

I sighed, disappointed. “You always make the wrong choice.”

I slammed my fist into his face again, this time harder, feeling his teeth scrape his lips as blood spurted from the split skin. He groaned in agony and his eyes watered.

“You know,” I said conversationally, shaking the sting off my knuckles, “you’re wasting my time. And I hate when people waste my time. You’ve got one chance left. Talk. Or…” I leaned close, “…I’ll break your jaw and you won’t be able to talk even if you want to.”

He trembled violently now, sweat and blood mixing down his face. Finally, after a long silence, his voice cracked.

“Blake… Blake McCain! It was Blake McCain!”

I stilled, then slowly pulled back, raising an eyebrow. “Go on.”

Charles swallowed, coughing up blood. “He… he paid me to find her. To… to report her every move. Who she meets, where she goes. He… he wanted to know if she was dating someone…or even married. And If the person was the father of her child.”

My fist tightened against my thigh.

So Blake already knew Rosette had a child. And the bastard thought the kid belonged to another man.

“Months…” Charles continued weakly, his eyes pleading. “I’ve been searching for her for months. I only found her a few days ago. I swear, I wasn’t going to hurt her—just… just follow and report—”

I crouched in front of him, gripping his chin so tightly his teeth ground against each other.

“How much do you know so far?” My voice was deadly calm and my stare bored into his bloodshot eyes.

Charles hesitated. But before he could even decide to spill, I punched him again. This time square in the cheekbone. His head whipped to the side, and he let out a strangled cry.

“Have you forgotten what I said, Charles?” My tone was sharp as a blade. “I’ve been watching you. You’ve been following her for three days now. You’ve seen something. Now talk.”

“Okay!” he blurted between gasps, spitting blood onto the floor. “So far, all I know is that she’s not what Blake thought she was. She’s wealthy. Powerful. Whatever money she has—it’s hers. Not the father of her child’s.”

I leaned back slightly. “Good boy.”

Charles sagged in relief for half a second—too soon.

I tightened my grip on his hair, jerking his head up to meet my gaze again. His breathing hitched as he stared at me, terrified.

“Now, listen carefully, because your pathetic life depends on it. You’re going to go back to Blake. You’ll tell him Rosette is married. Not only married, but happily living with her husband and child.”

His brows furrowed, confusion mixing with panic. “B-but… that’s not—”

I slammed my fist into the table beside him, making him flinch violently.

“I don’t care what’s true. You’ll say exactly what I told you. And then, you’ll disappear. Vanish. Because if I find out—” I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a whisper that made his entire body stiffen.

“If I even hear the faintest whisper that you didn’t do as I said, I will find you. And when I do… you won’t beg for death. You’ll wish for it.”

Charles nodded frantically, tears mixing with the blood on his face.

“Y-yes. I swear, I’ll do it! I’ll say everything you said! Please… just don’t kill me.”

I stared at him for a long moment, letting the silence stretch. Letting his own heartbeat drown his ears.

Finally, I released his hair with a shove, making his head drop forward.

“Good.”

I stood, grabbed another bottle of iced water from the fridge, and poured it slowly over his face. The cold water washed away some of the blood caking his eyes, making him hiss in pain as it stung his cuts.

“Consider this a gift,” I said, setting the bottle down on the table.

Charles nodded shakily, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion and fear.

I crouched down once more, my face inches from his.

“And Charles?”

His breath hitched as he raised his head slightly.

“If you ever think about following her again… I won’t use my fists next time.” I tapped the edge of the tool shelf lightly, letting his imagination do the rest.

He paled further, nodding quickly. “Never again! I swear.”

Satisfied, I grabbed a clean rag from the shelf, wiped the blood off my own knuckles, then reached for a roll of duct tape.

I sealed his mouth shut, ensuring he couldn’t say anything stupid even by accident, then re-tied the ropes tighter around his wrists and ankles.

The lights in the room dimmed as I walked to the door.

I turned back one last time, my expression blank.

“Get comfortable, Charles. You’ll be here for a while.”

And with that, I turned the lights off completely, plunging the room into darkness, before stepping out and shutting the door with a click.