TEN

Madeline's eyes widened with fear at her situation and the dark look on the faces of the men in front of her. "Why am I here?" She asked whimpering. "Hurting someone that is dear to us." Alistair said, lighting a new cigarette. "I never hurt anyone, I don't know who you are talking about." She said, her voice filled with fear. "Kayla." Eliot said.

Alistair exhaled a long stream of smoke, his eyes never leaving Madeline's trembling form. He leaned down to look right into her eyes.

"Don't play dumb, she may not have told us all you did to her but the ones we saw. You are going to be very sorry." he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"I didn't mean to." Madeline cried. Before she could finish, Victor backhanded her with a hard and brutal force. The sound of his hand meeting her cheek echoed through the room."Lies, if you are not here, you will see want to do the same thing over and over again." Elliot said. He stepped away from her to a table that contained lot of equipment, skimming through them, he decided on a pair of pliers.

He stared at Madeline's hands that were held down by the strap of the chair. "You seem to like using this hand, let me take it off for you." He said.

Madeline's eyes widened with terror as she saw the pliers in his hand. "No, please, no no."

Elliot ignored her pleas as he held her hand with a vice-like grip. He clamped the pliers on her thumb. "Take a deep breath." he said mockingly and yanked it off in one swift merciless move.

A bloodcurdling scream tore from Madeline's throat as she thrashed in the chair, blood oozing out of the spot her thumb once was.

"That is just the start." Alistair spoke in a calm manner. inhaling another puff from his cigarette. "We're just beginning now, darling."

Madeline wept uncontrollably, her breaths coming in

tattered breaths. "I apologise! I’ll do anything! Please just stop!" She screamed.

Victor chuckled ominously, resting against the chair. "Oh. Are you willing to do anything? That’s adorable. However, we are not interested in your remorse. We are just here to teach you a lesson."

Elliot gestured to Alistair, who then approached the table and grabbed a blowtorch. The blue flame burst into existence emitting a haunting light throughout the space.

Madeline's cries shifted to frantic, fearful screams.

"Absolutely not! Please! I will never go near her again, I promise!"

"You're correct." Victor remarked with a grin. Since after this evening, you will never see her again."

Alistair held the flame perilously near to her arm, the heat burning her skin. Her cries resonated throughout the room as the odor of charred flesh ascended into the air.

When Alistair finally pulled the torch away, Madeline was limp in the chair, blood, sweat and tears all over her body. Her arm was so burnt that it wasn't bleeding again.

"Please, let me go." She whispered, her voice gone from all the screaming.

"You will go, but not so soon." Victor said. He waved his hand and two men standing in the shadows moved and unchained Madeline. They tied her hand together and raised the rope over a beam that she was standing on her toes.

"She is all yours." Alistair said. A woman stepped in with a wicked grin on her face, adjusting the gloves on her hand that had metal parts meaning each punch will be so painful.

"Of course." The woman grinned. "Enjoy, Doris." Elliot said and the brothers left the room as loud screams began, echoing down the hall as they walked away. "Make sure that body is never found."Alistair said to Evans.

The left the building and walked back to their car to drive home.

~~~~~~~~~

Kayla woke up early and she saw that she had enough time to get ready for her classes for the day. Today is Friday, meaning the last day of working at the café for the week. She could not wait to go to the library on the weekends.

After showering. Kayla got dressed and styled her hair in high puff using a drawstring, best for her hair. She fluffed it out and laid her edges. Once her hair was done, Kayla dressed into a simple jeans and t-shirt and one of her new coats bought by the Kings brothers. She packed her stuffs into the new bag, picked her glasses and phone and left for her class.

Since she had enough time, she got a breakfast sandwich to go. Kayla walked down the campus pathway, enjoying the crisp morning air as she nibbled on her breakfast sandwich. The campus was slowly coming to life, students scattered around, some hurrying to early classes while others lingered with coffee in hand. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked faster to get to her hall. Even though everyone is busy, some of them still always stare at her.

Kayla got into the class. She took her seat and finished the rest of her sandwich. She cleaned her hand so the grease won't get in her notebook and laptop. Few minutes later, the class was filled up and rowdy.

The door opened and Alistair King walked in. His strides were so empowering and confident as he walked up to the podium and dropped his briefcase on the desk.

He moved to the board and wrote something on it. "POP QUIZ" Majority of the students began to groan. Kayla just sat quietly, although she did not read much yesterday, she could still write something outstanding.

Alistair turned to face the class, his sharp eyes scanning the room. "Good morning, everyone. I hope you’re ready to put those brains to work." His tone was calm, yet there was an edge to it that commanded silence. The room fell quiet almost immediately.

Kayla sat up straighter, her heart beating a little faster. She wasn’t nervous, but Alistair’s presence always had a way of unsettling her. There was something about him—his aura, his intensity—that made it impossible to ignore him.

He walked down the aisles, passing out papers. His gaze briefly locked onto Kayla’s, and his lips curved into a faint, knowing smirk. "Good luck," he said softly, just for her to hear before continuing down the row.

Kayla’s stomach fluttered, but she quickly pushed the feeling aside. Focus, she told herself. She glanced at the quiz paper. The questions weren’t too difficult. She exhaled in relief and started writing.

Minutes passed in silence except for the scratching of pens on paper and the occasional shifting in seats. Kayla was deep in concentration when she felt Alistair’s presence nearby again. He walked slowly around the room, pausing occasionally to glance at a student’s work. When he reached Kayla’s desk, he stopped for a moment longer than necessary.

"You’re making good progress," he said, his voice low but clear. His eyes lingered on her paper before meeting hers. "Impressive, as always."

Kayla nodded politely, not trusting herself to speak. Why did he always have this effect on her? She couldn’t tell if he was simply being a good professor or if there was something more in his gaze—a hidden meaning she wasn’t quite sure how to interpret.

When he finally moved on, Kayla let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Determined to shake off the distraction, she focused back on her quiz and finished it with time to spare.

As she handed her paper in, Alistair gave her a small nod with a smile. "See you after class, Kayla," he said quietly, his words hanging in the air like a promise—or a warning.

Kayla’s pulse quickened again. What could he possibly want?

"