CHAPTER NINE: THE MONSTER WITHIN ME

"What is the meaning of this, Bryan De Luca?" I demanded angrily.

My voice echoed through the cold basement.

I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed.

Rena was dead.

The same Rena Wene who had laughed at me, insulted me, and made my school life miserable was lying motionless before me.

And Bryan?

He was smiling.

"This is what I wanted to show you, Doll," he replied innocently. "Do you like my surprise?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Shut up, Bryan!"

His eyebrows rose slightly.

"Why are they here?" I demanded, pointing toward Ella and Bella.

Bryan glanced at them as though they were unimportant objects.

"I believe these are the girls who bullied my Doll."

I remained silent.

"They're also responsible for ruining your beautiful blonde hair with red paint."

He stepped closer.

"So I brought them here to apologize."

I almost laughed.

Apologize?

Was this man's definition of an apology watching someone get murdered?

"Did I ask for your help?"

"No, Doll."

"Then why did you bring them here?"

"Because nobody hurts what belongs to me."

My stomach tightened.

I hated those words.

I wasn't his property.

I wasn't a toy he could protect or punish people over.

"And why did you order your men to kill Rena?" I asked.

Bryan shrugged.

"She was making too much noise."

I blinked.

"Noise?"

"Yes, Doll. I hate unnecessary noise."

He said it so casually that I felt sick.

"You killed someone because she was screaming?"

"She should have been quiet."

I stared at him.

This was the same man who had given me a beautiful necklace just minutes earlier.

The same man whose smile had made my cheeks warm.

And now he was talking about murder as though he were discussing the weather.

"You're completely insane," I whispered.

Bryan smiled.

"Only for you, Doll."

Before I could respond, a trembling voice interrupted us.

"Carla... please."

I turned toward Ella.

Her face was wet with tears, and her body shook against the chair.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry for everything."

I stared at her.

Ella Benson.

The girl who had made my life miserable since school.

The girl who enjoyed humiliating me before everyone.

The girl who insulted my late mother.

Now she was begging me for forgiveness.

"I promise I'll never bully you again," she cried.

For a moment, I felt something soften inside me.

Her apology sounded sincere.

Or perhaps she was simply terrified of dying.

I couldn't tell anymore.

I turned toward Bella.

Unlike Ella, she wasn't crying.

Her expression was filled with anger and hatred.

"Aren't you going to apologize, Bella?" I asked calmly.

She lifted her chin.

"I'd rather die than apologize to you, Car Midnight."

I stared at her.

Even now?

Even after everything that had happened?

She still couldn't bring herself to say my name correctly.

"You're really brave, Bella."

She smirked.

"Braver than you'll ever be."

I felt something strange move through me.

Anger.

Pain.

Memories.

Years of humiliation suddenly rushed back.

I remembered the laughter.

The insults.

The students filming me.

The red paint dripping down my hair.

And Dylan standing beside Ella, watching me suffer.

I had spent years crying because of these girls.

Years wishing someone would defend me.

Now they were sitting helplessly before me.

And for the first time, I was the one they feared.

"You should understand something, Bella," I said quietly.

"I'm not the same Carla you knew yesterday."

Bryan chuckled behind me.

"Ace, bring me a chair."

"Yes, Boss."

I turned toward him.

"What are you doing?"

He smiled.

"I want to watch my Doll."

Ace brought a chair, and Bryan sat down comfortably.

His green eyes remained fixed on me.

"Go ahead, beautiful."

I looked back at Bella.

"One last chance. Apologize."

She spat at my feet.

"Never."

My jaw tightened.

I glanced toward the table beside us.

Several objects were arranged across its surface.

I reached for a knife.

"Carla?" Ella whispered fearfully.

I ignored her.

Bella's confident expression finally changed when she saw what I was holding.

"What are you doing?"

"Teaching you something you should have learned a long time ago."

I stepped closer.

"Respect."

Before she could respond, I drove the knife into her leg.

Bella screamed.

The sound echoed through the basement.

My hand trembled.

For a moment, I couldn't believe what I had done.

I had hurt someone.

Deliberately.

And the frightening part was that I hadn't stopped myself.

"Are you going to apologize now?" I asked.

Bella glared at me through her tears.

"You... you monster!"

I laughed bitterly.

"Monster?"

I leaned closer.

"Funny how you suddenly remember that word when you're the one suffering."

"Please, Bella!" Ella cried. "Just apologize!"

Bella shook her head stubbornly.

I looked at her in disbelief.

Even now, she refused.

"Listen to your best friend, Bella."

"I'll never apologize to you," she muttered.

Something inside me hardened.

"Fine."

I turned toward the guards.

"Bring me the acid."

Ace immediately looked at Bryan.

"Boss?"

Bryan smiled.

"You heard my Doll. Get her what she asked for."

One of the men approached with a container.

"Here you go, Boss Lady."

I accepted it.

"Thank you."

I turned back toward Bella.

"Now, where were we?"

Her eyes widened.

"Carla, don't."

I smiled coldly.

"Oh, so you remember my name?"

She swallowed.

"Are you apologizing or not?"

Bella clenched her jaw.

"No."

I poured some of the liquid onto her exposed foot.

Her scream filled the room.

Ella began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Please, Carla! Stop!"

I stepped backwards, staring at Bella.

The girl who once frightened me was now terrified of me.

I should have felt satisfied.

Instead, my chest felt strangely empty.

But I refused to acknowledge it.

"You're very stubborn, Bella Anderson."

She struggled against the ropes.

"Please... it hurts!"

"Then apologize."

Her lips trembled.

"I..."

I waited.

"Go on."

But she looked away.

Ella cried harder.

"Carla, please forgive her! She'll never bully you again!"

I turned toward Ella.

"Are you speaking for her now?"

"She's my best friend!"

I laughed bitterly.

"Best friend?"

The words hurt more than I expected.

I had spent my entire life wishing for a friend.

Someone who would stand beside me.

Someone who would defend me.

Yet these girls had used their friendship to make my life miserable.

"How wonderful," I whispered.

Ella stared at me.

"You have someone willing to beg for your life, Bella."

I turned back toward her.

"And you still can't say one simple word."

"Sorry," Ella cried. "Please, Carla, we're sorry!"

Ace stepped toward Bryan.

"Boss, I think Boss Lady should stop."

Bryan looked at him.

"Why?"

"She's losing control."

Bryan smiled.

"I like it when my Doll loses control."

I heard them, but I didn't turn around.

My attention remained fixed on Bella.

"Are you apologizing?"

She lifted her head.

"No. I'd rather die than apologize to you, Car Midnight."

I stared at her without expression.

Something inside me finally snapped.

I turned toward Ella.

She was still crying, begging me to stop.

For a brief moment, I remembered how she had laughed when I cried in front of the entire school.

How she had mocked my mother.

How she had made me feel worthless.

My anger overwhelmed everything else.

I moved toward her and threw the remaining liquid at her face.

Ella screamed.

"AHHH! MY FACE!"

Her cries echoed through the basement.

I stood frozen, staring at what I had done.

Even I couldn't believe it.

Ella Benson.

The girl who once ruled Queen's University.

The girl everyone feared.

Now she was screaming because of me.

"Why did you do that?" Bella shouted.

I slowly turned.

"Excuse me?"

"She apologized! Ella apologized to you!"

I laughed bitterly.

"Oh, so now you remember my name?"

Bella struggled desperately against the ropes.

"Carla, please! Help her!"

I tilted my head.

"She apologized for your sins, Bella."

Ella's breathing became uneven.

"Bella..." she whispered weakly.

Her voice frightened me.

"I... can't..."

Bella began crying.

"Ella! Please don't die!"

I looked between them.

For the first time, Bella's arrogance had completely disappeared.

She was terrified.

Not for herself.

For her friend.

I felt an uncomfortable tightening in my chest.

But I pushed it away.

"Look what your pride has caused, Bella."

Bella stared at me with hatred.

"You'll pay for this, Carla."

I stepped closer.

"How?"

She remained silent.

"You're tied to a chair, Bella. You can't even protect yourself."

"I hate you!"

I smiled sadly.

"That's nothing new."

"You don't deserve to be called human!"

Her words struck something deep inside me.

Human.

Hadn't I spent years wondering whether I deserved to be treated like one?

Hadn't these girls made me feel less than human every single day?

I looked at Ella, who had become frighteningly quiet.

Then at Bella.

"You and your friends bullied me until I wished I could disappear from this world."

My voice trembled.

"You laughed when I cried. You insulted my mother. You made me afraid to come to school."

Bella stared at me.

"And now you're calling me a monster?"

I shook my head.

"I don't care what you think of me anymore."

I turned toward one of the guards and took the axe he was holding.

Bella's eyes widened.

"Carla..."

I approached her.

For a moment, I hesitated.

I could still stop.

I could walk away.

I could leave everything behind.

But the anger inside me was louder than the small voice begging me to think.

"Goodbye, Bella Anderson."

I swung the axe.

Bella's scream ended abruptly.

Her severed head fell to the floor.

The room became silent.

I stood motionless, breathing heavily.

My hands trembled around the handle.

I had done it.

I had killed someone.

Not because Bryan ordered me to.

Not because someone forced my hand.

But because I had allowed my anger to control me.

I stared at Bella's lifeless body.

The satisfaction I expected never came.

Instead, a strange emptiness spread through my chest.

What had I become?

I slowly released the axe.

It fell to the floor with a heavy sound.

Then I turned around.

Bryan was standing.

His beautiful green eyes were fixed on me.

There was no shock in his expression.

No disappointment.

Only pleasure.

As though he had just witnessed something wonderful.

He walked toward me slowly.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't speak.

He stopped directly in front of me and gently lifted my chin.

His thumb brushed against my cheek.

I stared into his eyes, searching for something human.

Something that would tell me what I had done was wrong.

But Bryan only smiled.

Then he leaned toward my ear and whispered possessively:

"You are truly made for me, Doll."