My breath hitched in my throat, a sob threatening to erupt. How could Felix do this?

He returned a second later, a small water bottle in his hand. He gave it to me, hesitantly, and I uncapped it, pressing it to Dad’s lips, He drank the water like a quenched man. He probably was.

“Let him go,” I demanded Felix, my voice laced with a fury colder than the draft in the cell itself “He doesn’t deserve this, no matter what he’s done.”

Felix’s expression hardened, his jaw clenching. “Flora, you don’t understand.”

“Don’t I?” I spat back, tears blurring my vision. “All I see is you taking revenge on a poor man. Is that the kind of person you want to be?” My words hume

hung heavy in the air, a challenge and a plea rolled into one. But Felix seemed immovable.

“He has information,” he finally growled, frustration evident in his voice. “And Flora he…admitted to things.”

“What kind of things?” I pressed. I looked at my father, who has staring at the two of blankly.

Felix hesitated, glancing towards my father, then back at me. He seemed to be wrestling with himself, a silent battle raging behind his bright green

eyes.

Suddenly, he turned towards my whimpering father, his voice laced with a dangerous edge. “Sam,” he growled. “Tell her the truth. Tell Flora what you did to her mother.”

My world tilted on its axis. My mother? What did this have to do with her? Confusion and dread coiled in my gut, a suffocating knot threatening to rise into my throat.

Ascensio killed her. Not Dad. It couldn’t be..

Dad flinched at the sound of his name, his bloodshot eyes darting between me and Felix. “… I can’t,” he stammered, his voice

harely a rasp.

*You will

will,” Felix countered, his voice leaving no room for argument. Tell her everything

Fresh tears streamed down my face, a silent plea for an answer. My gaze flickered between the two men, desperate for any shred of clarity in this horrifying nightmare.

“Flora,” my father croaked, his voice shaking. “Please… don’t make me.” The raw fear in his eyes mirrored the terror that had gripped me since childhood. He stared at me head on, his voice suddenly firm, and tender, “Come on, baby girl. Tell your boyfriend to let me go.”

Taking a shaky breath, I forced my voice to steady. Tell me, I whispered, my voice barely audible. Tell me what you did to my mother.”

In that damp, fetid dungeon, bathed in the flickering torchlight, I braced myself for the truth.

The silence stretched taut, punctuated only by the slow dripping sounds of unseen water somewhere in the cell.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Dad’s gaze darted between Felix and me, a cornered animal seeking escape. Finally, with a choked sigh, he confessed.

“It was an accident,” he began, his voice hoarse. “We… we needed money, Ascensio, he had this plan… to take your mother, bold her for ransom.”

A cold dread seeped into my bones. Ransom? It wasn’t an accident. This this was a calculated act

of cruelty.

“But something went wrong,” Sam habbled on, his words rushed and desperate. “She… she panicked, tried to fight back.” He choked back a sob, but his eyes gleamed with a chilling indifference.

And you… My voice was barely a whisper. “You killed her.”

le didn t deny it. Instead, a twisted smile played on his bruised lips. “Had to. Couldn’t risk them finding out.”

The kindness, the sliver of empathy Id felt for the broken man on the floor evaporated. This wasn’t a weak shell of a father. This was a monster in disguise. Rage, hot and searing, burned away any remnants of affection.

“Tell her what you told me.” Felix growled. I looked up at him. What more was left to say?

Felix took a step toward me. He gently took my hand, interlacing our fingers.

“I fucking hated her,” Dad snarled, “God, I fucking hated the both of you.”

“You ha

hated her,” I questioned softly, but even as I said it, I knew the words were a bitter truth.

stopped talking about him

, fucking Corsino.

His smile widened, a grotesque parody of affection. “More than you could ever know, Flora. She never st Always comparing me, making me feel like a fool. Like a cuck.”

My breath hitched. Felix’s father? I had known that she loved him once. But my mother had loved my father terribly. She had been ready to leave her life of comfort, her riches for him. She had been a good wife, and there was no question to that.

“So you… you killed her?” I spat, disgust clinging to my voice. “You took your jealousy out on her?”

“And you,” he added, his gaze hardening Just a constant reminder.”

The revelation slammed into me like a physical blow. The reason for the constant tension, the underlying resentment, it all made a horrifying kind of sense. My entire life had been tainted by this man’s hatred.

“Why didn’t you kill me, too? Why did you keep me around

He shrugged. “Needed leverage in case these fuckers found me again.”

Tears no longer offered solace. There was only a cold, hollow fury where any a

affection for him had once resided. He deserved to rot in this dungeon, to face the darkness he’d inflicted on our lives.This belongs to : ©.

“You’ll regret this, Flora,” he croaked, a desperate plea laced with venom.

But the threat held no weight. He had already taken everything from me. The only regret I felt was for ever seeking an ounce of compassion from a man who harbored none.

Felix stood silent, his gaze a stormy mix of anger and concern. But his presence offered a sliver of comfort in this oppressive darkness. Turning to him, my voice steeled itsel

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, my gaze flickering back to the broken man on the floor. There’s nothing left here for me.”

With a final, cold glance at Sam, I turned away, my heart a leaden weight in my chest. As we climbed the damp stairs and emerged into the dark, the world seemed to have shifted on its axis.

I looked at Felix. “Do whatever you want with him. I don’t give a fuck.”

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