Chapter 605
By the time the chaos had subsided, the scene was beyond recognition, thick with the stench of blood. A few men lay gasping for breath in pools of their own making.
Ricardo gazed down at his dagger, its original color indistinguishable beneath the grime. He wiped his cheek with a finger, smearing the blood that had splattered on his face.
The silence was deafening as if they were sealed in a vacuum.
He nudged the man at his feet with indifference and turned around, reluctantly avoiding Brielle’s gazę, Her eyes were so beautiful. It would be a shame if they showed fear. He’d hate to have to gouge them out.
She was probably just like that other woman, terrified of him, regarding him with disbelief and revulsion. Pity. He had wanted Brielle to live a bit longer, but old enemies had a way of revealing one’s true nature.
His lips curled into a smile as he turned to look at Brielle.
She stood a few meters away, blood slowly creeping toward the tips of her shoes. She stepped back, and Ricardo felt the gesture like a knife to his heart. So, the promise of sunlight was a lie after all. It was just a momentary fib he had foolishly believed.
If that were the case, then nobody would be spared tonight. All must die.
His hand was already moving with the dagger when he saw Brielle step forward, pushing him aside and pulling the trigger. The man who was barely hanging on to life was now unmistakably dead.
Frozen, Ricardo watched as Brielle approached the other two men, stepping on one’s chest and firing from a position of authority.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
After three shots, the faint cries for help were silenced; they were all dead.
Brielle tucked away the gun and turned to Aubree. She lay on the filthy, narrow bed motionless, her body covered in marks–bitten, kissed, a chaotic map of abuse.
Brielle looked on, her heart twisting in agony as she removed her clothing to cover Aubree.
Aubree’s pupils, previously dilated, slowly focused, and she managed a weak smile. “Bri…”
Brielle bit her lip to keep from crying.
“Cough, cough, cough.” Aubree’s cough brought up more blood.
Tears rimmed Brielle’s eyes as she picked up a tooth that had been knocked out of Aubree’s mouth. Her hand trembled uncontrollably. The simple act of picking up the tooth was nearly impossible.
Chapter 605
She dared not recall in detail what had happened to Aubree in the last two hours. Wiping away her tears, Brielle took a deep breath and tried to clean the blood from the tooth against her clothing.
Aubree watched silently, weakly, as Brielle fumbled and fretted over the blood–stained tooth. It wouldn’t come clean. Like her, it would never be clean again.
Aubree should have been feeling sorry for herself, falling apart, but the sight of Brielle, now deprived of all strength, made her feel pain deeper than the abuse she’d endured.
“Stop it.” She reached out to grab Brielle’s hand.
Brielle finally looked up, embracing Aubree and shaking with sobs. She clung desperately, as if releasing Aubree would make her vanish from this world.
Aubree was in too much pain to speak, each breath searing through her. She wanted to comfort Brielle, but she had no strength left. She could only offer a weak smile, wrap her arms around Brielle, and let her own tears fall.
All the injustice and despair became silent as mournful tears soaked Brielle’s clothes.
Brielle was shaking with cold and fear. She wished it had been her who had suffered all this. She seethed with hatred for the mastermind behind this, for all those who used such acts to humiliate women.
Brielle hated herself, too.
Dark thoughts crossed Brielle’s mind as she glanced at the bodies on the floor. No need to guess–Tessa certainly sent them.
Only Tessa would stoop to that level to use such cruelty on Aubree.
Tessa. If she were here, Brielle would use that gun again without hesitation. But death was too good for Tessa. Brielle wanted that woman to lose everything, to pay dearly for today’s actions. “Aubree, she won’t get away with this. I’ll make her suffer, make her pay for everything you’ve been through.”
At that moment, Aubree cried out loud, clinging to Brielle.
