THE TORMENTOR 2
THE MASKED
The Masked - Episode 15&16
( Where•are•you, Ixora? )
Book 2 in the Mindf+ck Trilogy
_________________________
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or reposted in any form, or by any means without a written permission from the author.
Copyright © 2025
_________________________
The guards heads stayed bowed, and the warfront paused as the tension of power seized the atmosphere.
Galina is still on her knees, clutching weakly at her bleeding stomach.
Akem and Kol are still at each side of her, and the shock is still prevalent in their wide eyes.
Anfisa drew cold breaths into her lungs, then she staggered, holding herself back with the side of her feet.
Konstantin fell to his knees, his butchered body looking like a sacrifice to the gods as he smiled drowsily at Nadine.
The guards already let go of her, so she rushed to him with Anfisa, but she got there first, and Konstantin passed out in her arms.
"Konstant! Konstant!!" She shook him with trembling fingers.
"Konstant?" Anfisa knelt beside the two, taking him from Nadine.
"Is he dead?" Nadine asked fearfully, but Anfisa just heaped Konstantin on her own back, then she began running to the guild park.
Nadine gave Madden and Adeline another look before running after her.
Five minutes later, the lawn turned empty.
Galina's belly was left to continue bleeding as she stayed on her knees at the widest hall in the guild.
She's on all fours cos her palms are resting on the ground too.
Kol is kneeling beside her, had Akem is standing behind them, unable to hide his fear.
Madden and Adeline are seated on a sofa in front of them, both scenting like carnage and darkness.
"Galina Barinov... I've been hearing of your escapades since two years ago. Story of your ruthlessness and heartlessness how you take lands forcefully, hijack and hack properties, but I never paid any attention to it cos you never trespassed to my territory, but then I got a task from my grandson. The best friend of his fiancee is here?" Madden rigidly spoke, his voice still holding the steel-like intensity.
Galina looked up with a breathy gasp. "Nadine? I never knew she's the best friend of your grandson's fiancee! I've always avoided anything connected to The Bratva, which is why I've stayed relevant till now, I wouldn't knowingly shove my head into a beehive!" She said shakily.
"So I came here, and I expected to meet a giant woman—Goliath-Level, but I'm disappointed, you're nothing but a blur" Madden mockingly continued, and Galina's head went back down.
The blood from her stomach is wetting the ground in sprinkles, and she's starting to stutter as her lips is paling out already.
"Kol Barinov" Adeline said, and Kol looked up.
"Yes,... godmother" he gulped.
"Heard you're like the wife, and she's like the husband. You only do whatever your wife tells you to do, is that why you watched her kidnap the girl from Cali, brought her here and sent her parents away only to cage her in a doorless room. You could have killed the parents who stole your funds, but taking the girl as hostage? Low" Adeline continued.
Then she faced Akem who's behind.
"And you...the loverboy who wants the son" she nodded.
Akem almost entered the ground, and Madden stood.
"Here's the verdict, you hijacked 65 land properties from your surrounding districts, and they're the top properties of your conglomerate, return them to their owners with interest. A million per year" he said, and Galina looked up.
"No...that's....
Adeline shot again, and Galina got hit on the arm this time.
The woman fell on the ground, rolling and groaning.
Kol and Akem's shakiness doubled.
"Also, you're to find the girl's parents and kill them if you're hungry for blood. Satisfy your bloodlust with theirs, and as for your son and daughter, they're to come to Russia anytime they want to, and make choices on their own." Madden continued.
Adeline tucked her gun back into her straps, then she brushed her grey hair back before speaking.
"And the girl... Nadine. Any day you feel like the world is a cruel place, and you wanna die, then you can go after her"
Those were her last words before she walked out of the hall with Madden, both descending the stairs together.
Old ages got nothing on them, they're still as agile and strong as ever, and their grey hair already took a large portion of their heads, but thanks to dye, their hair is black.
Madden curved his arm on her waist, and she looked up with a charming smile which was met with a small but priceless one from him.
Together, they got back in their Gallardo, then they rode out of the guild.
--
[A Hospital]
Konstantin woke up before they even arrived at the hospital, but Anfisa insisted that his wounds be treated nevertheless.
He's laying on his chest on the bed, and too many doctors are behind him, tending to his bloody body.
There's painkiller in his system, so he's not even feeling the stings as he received stitches on some of the wounds and treatments on some others.
Nadine and Anfisa are behind the ward, and Anfisa is currently trying to book them flights out of Russia.
"You should get yourself treated too" Nadine said.
Her own head has already been treated and plastered since she got wounded there by the guard ehi heks her hips earlier.
"My wounds? They're not painful" Anfisa replied.
Nadine looked inside the ward, taking a glance at Konstantin before looking at Anfisa again.
"Who are those two powerful people earlier? The seem like they're the president of this country and his wife" she asked, and Anfisa looked up.
"Nah, but they have almost as much power as the president though. That was Madden Smirnov and his wife... Adeline Smirnov. They control the Bratva" she explained.
"Bratva?" Nadine blinked.
"The Russian mafia" Anfisa explained again.
"Oh .." Nadine nodded.
"You'd have to learn Russian at this rate, you'll love it" Anfisa said.
"I guess" Nadine replied, glancing at the ward again.
The doctors are done attending to Konstantin.
"Oh...our flight tickets are ready, tomorrow morning" Anfisa announced, and at the same time, Konstantin came out of the ward shirtlessly with several stitches.
"Where are you going?" Nadine asked, but he just began strolling out of the hospital, barefoot.
"You should take sedatives and rest before the flight you jackass! Konstant!!" Anfisa shouted.
"Here!" A doctor gave her the sedative shot, and she didn't wait to hear prescription before rushing after him with Nadine.
Nadine was almost breathless before they got to the park and entered the car with him.
Konstantin gave no reply to their questions as he sped out of the hospital, and they had to quickly strap their belts.
A ten minutes drive brought them back to the guild, and he left them in the car, rushing inside.
The two went after him, calling his name, but he's not answering.
It's like a force is pushing him.
He picked a cutlass from the bloody lawn and proceeded inside.
The guards are all at a standstill, expecting what he's gonna do as he looked around as if searching for something.
He held the cutlass tighter when he saw who he's looking for.
The guards who held Nadine by the hips earlier.
He ran to him with mad intent and wild speed, and when he got to him, he cut off his two hands.
The hands fell from his body to the ground, and his scream was agonizing as blood began soaking the lawn again.
Anfisa's eyes widened, and Nadine couldn't even breath as Konstantin came back for her.
He took her hand and began pulling her out of the guild with himself, his stitched body looking scary.
Two of his stitches already tore, and he's bleeding again.
Nadine couldn't suppress her tears at this point. She cried as she watched the bleedings, all because of her
Anfisa followed behind, rushing at their heels.
When they got back in the car, she loaded the syringe and needle and drew the sedating shot into it.
She nearly jammed it into Konstantin's neck, but he stopped her.
"I'm not gonna sleep" he said.
"But you need it" Anfisa replied.
"Dump it" Konstantin replied, driving off.
"Give me" Nadine said, exposing her neck.
Anfisa didn't argue, she injected Nadine with it, and Nadine was already sleeping before she saw the label on the body of the injection.
~The strongest shot, 2ml is required for a deep sleep. Above 2ml might cause delusions after awakening.
"Shit! I gave her 4ml!" Anfisa gasped.
Konstantin didn't reply, but when Nadine's sleepyhead fell on his laps, he adjusted it and continued driving.
--
[California, Monty's Place]
Tina's burial is tomorrow, and Monty looks like a ghost as she sat in bed, draping the covers on herself and sorrowing in regrets.
Maybe if she hadn't left the house to trace Bronx, maybe Tina wouldn't have left the house too.
Maybe the cult wouldn't have killed her cos obviously...they killed her.
What other evidence is needed?
She hates herself so much right now, and her bitterness just increased as her tears entered her mouth.
Bronx entered the room with a cup of water for her, but she pushed it away and punched him in the face for the tenth time tonight.
Bronx got another wound on his face, and even as it bled, he didn't care.
He got mop stick and began sweeping the glass shatters.
He hasn't left Monty since Tina's death.
For the fear of the cult. They already said Monty is next, so he gotta do his best in protecting her.
Monty's phone rang, but she didn't bother to look, so he took it to see Mrs. Quinns calling.
"It's Tina's mum" he said, and Monty snatched the phone from him.
"Hello ma'am?" She got down from the bed, wiping her tears.
"Tina's phone, is it with you? It wasn't found at the crime scene" Mrs. Quinns said, and Monty raised her lashes.
"No. I don't have Tina's phone, and it's not here. Her phone is missing?" She said.
"It's switched off too when we tried her line" Mrs. Quinns replied.
The call ended, and Monty walked up to Bronx.
"Tomorrow night, take me to your cult hideout" she said.
"I can't" he replied.
"What do you mean you can't?" She locked his shirt.
"Their location already changed, and I don't know the new one. They started seeing me as a betrayer when I hesitated to kill you and Tina, so they never carry me along in their deeds anymore, they only send me threats" he explained.
Monty pushed him away and walked away from him, fingering her hair with her fingers.
"But...I think the cult didn't really kill Tina" Bronx said, and Monty faced him.
"Are you trying to cover for them right now?"
"No. Tina was shot on the chest according to what I saw in the news, and the brotherhood members never shoot in the body, they shoot the head—forehead. And they never use more than one bullet to kill, but Tina was shot twice" Bronx explained.
Monty dragged breaths into her lungs, then she sat.
"So...who killed my best friend?" She looked up.
"Probably the person who took her missing phone, maybe there's something on the phone?" Bronx replied.
Monty stood and left the room, Bronx followed.
--
[Romeo's Mansion]
"The cops are finally gone" Bethel said, lowering the cuurtains on the window she's standing at.
They've been attending different cops interrogation since some hours ago, and everyone is exhausted.
"Finally, I was tired of hearing their sirens" Clover replied from the couch.
"Who could have killed Tina in front of our place? How? Why? Tina is just a colourful, cheerful, real girl who had no problems with anyone in ILC so why?" Bethel said, having her seat.
"Enemies could come from just anywhere, we don't know her that well" Romeo replied and stood.
He has been texting Ixora even before Tina came earlier, but she hasn't been replying, but he texted again.
Romeo: How are your knees faring? Are they healing better?
Still, she didn't reply, so he threw off his phone and went upstairs frustratingly.
"Tina's case apart, Bethel you're dying, you should tell Romeo. Are you just gonna die?" Clover shifted closer to her.
"Tell him? So he'd do what?" She replied.
"You're battling with chronic cirrhosis, and you need a liver transplant." He said.
"I've been on the waiting list at the hospital since two years ago, there's no match" Bethel replied, applying lip gloss.
"Are you crazy or just dumb? Romeo is your brother, of course he'd be your match. He can be your donor." Clover said, and bethel scoffed.
"Brother?"
She just stood and left the room, going upstairs too.
Clover stood and almost followed her, but he gave up and sat back.
"Everyone's weird in this area" he muttered.
--
[Creed Family House]
Warren already left with the guys before midnight, and it's past midnight right now, but Elder Creed is still up.
He's on his wheelchair, sitting tiredly at the balcony.
Lydia is behind him, silent.
"You did well, sire" she said, and the old man grunted.
The wound he got from Warren's punches are still on his face. He refused to let Beatrice treat them, so there's dried blood on his skin from the wounds.
"You said my confession is gonna lift his hate, but here it is...it only deepened it. I'm surprised he didn't kill me" He said.
"That only shows he's dealing with his insanity very well. He's mentally stronger than you think" Lydia replied.
"You usually say brown eyes is the legacy of the Creed family, and that's why the creed family crest is brown, cos everyone inherits the brown eye colour. Even your wife Doreen was brown-eyed" she said again.
"Yeah, and?" Elder replied.
"Then why does Warren have dark eyeballs?" Lydia asked.
Elder Creed kept silent for a beat before speaking up.
"Maybe because he was born different? We can't all be the same" he said .
Beatrice is by the balcony entrance, listening silently
"And that reminds me...change the family Crest to black, fortify the entrances of this compound, and follow Warren around secretly, not to spy on him, but to protect him. I act like I'm not scared of Maureen, but I actually am" he continued.
"Will do that" Lydia replied.
--
[Stonia's Mansion]
Elsa returned home in the dead of the night, and the doorman was kind enough to open the door stealthily for her.
No one cares about her in this place, so she just went to the maids quarters and entered her room.
Mykel's ring is away from her fingers right now since she can't risk it being notice. She put it inside her pocket.
Immediately she stepped into her room, she received a text from Dr. Fat.
Dr. Fatty: Check your WhatsApp.
She switched to WhatsApp immediately, and she saw he has sent some female faces to her....ten faces actually.
She typed a text...
Elsa: I don't get.
Dr. Fat: My doctor friend from Itaewon, those are the faces he did reconstructive surgery for since last year. Problem is he doesn't have pictures of them before surgery, so Evelyn's new face might be one of the faces I sent.
Elsa switched back to WhatsApp again, but everything suddenly went black...her eyes.
It's like her eyes momentarily can't see, and she had to blink twice before her sight came back.
She frowned before concentrating back on her Whatsapp.
She began viewing the faces one by one, carefully...
Till she got to one particular face.
She smirked and looked up, smirking again.
"For real?" She smirked for the third time, then she stood and dialled Dr. Fat.
"Seen Evelyn?" He asked.
"Seems like it" she replied, leaning on the wall.
"Nadine will return tomorrow or in two days, and by then, we can plan...mum is signing her headquarters over Serena soon, I'd like to steal she show" she said.
"Anyhow you want it" Dr. Fat replied.
--
[Satan's Heirs Hideaway]
The guys left Warren to his own solitude when they arrived.
They stayed in the living room, and Warren entered his own room with his mother's ashes.
He actually brought the urn with him from the family house.
He set the urn on the bed and stood in front of it, staring at it with an eye.
Even that one eye is starting to dim.
His mother—Doreen, made a mistake, and it's unforgivable.
She shouldn't have stubbornly given birth to him. She should have aborted her when everyone was warning her.
How could she waste her life just to bring a lunatic like him alive?
How could she birth a bastard who knows no different between right and wrong?
How could she birth a devil-on-earth?
How could she???
As he stared at the urn, his hatred for himself grew, and he slowly sat on the bed, opening the urn and bringing out the golden name tag inside it.
Doreen Creed.
"Why the f+ck didn't you abort me? You f+çkin... strong-head. You should have seen what you gave birth to...an unfortunate bastard" he muttered, his veins shaking in his flesh as he wrapped his palm around the tag.
"I f+ckin hate you....I hate you for wasting your life for a delinquent, for nothing"
He removed the flame necklace on his neck and dangled it in front of the urn as if Doreen can see him.
"She loved me, but I ruined her. Iconic, yeah?" He smiled, removing his eye patch so his blood dripped on the white urn.
"Nothing has ever been more iconic. An iconic bastard" he muttered.
His phone rang in his pocket with "ChicAgo" on the ID, but he didn't even bother to pick up.
Downstairs, both Capri and Ashton are drinking like fishes, but Ashton has his phone in hand though, reading every info he could lay his hands on.
He's still after Bronx's cult, and there's still no lead.
No trace job has ever been this tight for him all his life, so he's frustrated as hell.
"Are you still after the sick cult?" Capri asked.
"Are you still avoiding your sister?" Ashton replied with another question, and Capri fell on his couch.
"Wanker, at this point we'll never be able to make a comeback. Everyone is facing his shit, man" he said.
"And where the hell is Falsus? Haven't seen that dude around" Ashton muttered.
--
[5AM, U-turn Bar]
Rafael never went home nor went to Stonia's place.
After he left Stonia's place last night, he came straight to this place, drowning himself in alcohol till now.
There are several empty bottles of alcohol in front of him, and there's still a full one which he's pouring int a cup presently.
Thankfully, the bar us exclusive, so they serve till daybreak.
The bartenders just stared at him in awe.
Rafael drinks alcohol, but he never gets drunk, so this is new.
He lifted the glass to his lips and had a large drink, sniffling.
That girl at home can never be his daughter, she only has her face.
"Easy, you night burst your bladder at this rate" a cool voice said as someone sat with him.
Rafael looked up from his cup, and when he saw the face, he grunted.
"Aren't you...I know you. The mafia man... Thorne" he said, and Mr. Thorne nodded.
"Was on my was back from info-hunting, so I branched here to drink, then I saw you bathing yourself with alcohol" he said, ordering alcohol too.
"Info-hunting by this time? It's almost daybreak" Rafael drunkenly said.
"No time limit in the underworld, we do what works for us no matter the time it falls in" Mr. Thorne replied, drinking too.
"I'm guessing you have a problem too, everyone has their burdens" Rafael sniffled again.
"You're not really drunk" Mr. Thorne gave him a suspicious look.
"I might be insanely drunk, but I'm still in my right senses. Alcohol's hold on me is not always strong" Rafael shook his head.
Then he drank again...
"My newfound daughter doesn't feel like my daughter. She has her face and body, but personality-wise? Nah" he said.
"Similarly...I have a son who doesn't look like me nor my wife, but I can't even trace his birth cos the hospital he was born at has been shut down. You feel powerless when you can't get what you want, especially when it's at your closest reach." Mr. Thorne replied.
Rafael patted him on the shoulder.
"Stay strong, you're a man!" He said.
Mr. Thorne looked at the shoulder he's patting, then he lifted his cup.
They clinked glasses and drank.
--
[Next Day, Mykel's Place]
Mykel's mansion is not very far from his parents island.
It's starting to get dark, and the news of Tina Quinns death is still swirling around the city.
It hit si hard that ILC declared an holiday today, so students stayed home.
Mykel was searching his head for ways to invite Elsa to dinner tonight as he climbed down the stairs
His brown eyes stayed on his phone screen as he tried to form a text.
Mykel: Hey, wife-to-be. Wanna go eat dinner together tonight? You can just sneak out of the mansion again.
He was about to hit SEND when his doorbell rang, and he descended the last stair with a frown.
He opened the door, and he was surprised to see Romeo.
"Hey" he signed.
"You don't like Ixora, do you?" Romeo asked straight, and Mykel frowned.
"Now that I think about it, the jacket you wore at the concert had the conjunction of your name and hers... MYK-XORA. Are you crazy?" Romeo said, and Mykel smiled simply.
"I can remember how you were following me around the campus, stalking me when you wanted me to be a part of your gang, but now you have the guts to come to my house to ask this?" He signed so fast.
"Do you like Ixora? It's a simple question" Romeo said darkly.
"Yeah, I do. I've loved her for a very long time, and I even came to ILC cos of her" Mykel signed, and Romeo revealed the hammer he's holding.
Mykel shifted back.
--
[Stonia's Mansion]
"Are you really sure you wanna spend the night at your father's place? He doesn't even trust your identity" Stonia said, feeling uncomfortable as she led Serena out of the house.
Serena smiled, knowing there's nothing Stonia would say that'd make her change her mind.
She has to spend the night at Rafael's place so she'd run the hypnosis.
"I'll be fine, maybe he just needs to feel me more to know I'm real" she replied.
Elsa came out of the maids quarters, ready to follow her.
"You're to stay home, and wash the undies I gathered in my bathroom, especially the one I menstruated with, make it sparkle" Serena told her.
"Heard that?" Stonia rolled eyes at her, and before Elsa could give her response, the doorman opened the gate, and a car drove in.
The car didn't get to the park before it stopped, and Nadine literally jumped out of it.
Elsa's heart leapt immediately, and her body wants to fly to her so much, but she had to hold herself back and glue her legs to the ground so she won't move.
Her cutie is back!
Serena's eyes widened a bit, but other than that, she showed no reaction as Nadine began walking slowly to her.
"The daughter of the scammers? Heard you were caged in Russia, how are you back?" Stonia said with an eye twist.
"Nadine" Serena said, letting out fake tears from her eyes.
Nadine's eyes are drowsy as she continued her slow walk to Serena.
She actually woke up on the plane, but the sedative overdose is still in her system.
"I thought I was never gonna see you again, Nadine is this really you? My gawd" Serena widened her arms and ran to her.
Nadine breathed out heavily when Serena hugged her, and Serena's tears wet her neck.
"I missed you so much, I missed you..." Serena sniffled.
Nadine took another deep breath, as if preparing for something.
And strangely, she's not hugging her back.
"Tell me they didn't torture you in Russia...they didn't, right?" Serena cried louder.
Nadine took the third deep breath, and the next thing she did was sinking her teeth into Serena's neck, biting her so hard that she drew blood.
"Fûck!!!!!" Serena's shriek was baffling, and both Elsa and Stonia's eyes widened.
Konstantin and Anfisa came out of the car at this point.
Serena was able to push Nadine away from herself, and Nadine came for her again with those drowsy eyes.
"How dare you pretend to be my best friend? You're not Xoxo, you dry imposter!!! Where is your dignity? Where did you come from!!!!" She pulled Serena's hair crazily, dragging her down.
"Ixora!!" Stonia began running to them, but Elsa just stood there, watching.
"The label didn't lie, she's deluding" Anfisa muttered and was about to go get Nadine when Konstantin held her back.
"Let her be" he said suspiciously.
"Get off my daughter!! Get off her!!" Stonia pushed Nadine away from Serena, but the moment she did that, Nadine grabbed Stonia's hair.
"What the...you crazy thing!!" Stonia yelled.
"You should be ashamed!! I'm ashamed on your behalf, You don't know your daughter? Huh? She's not your daughter you fuckin dumbass!!! She's not your daughter!!" Nadine poured saliva on Stonia's face, then she proceeded to dragging her hair to the back.
"Call the cops Ixora!!! Call the co...argh!!" Stonia tried to fight her off, but the overdose made her too strong, so she could do nothing.
"She's not your daughter, open your damn eyes blindnia!!" Nadine shouted crazily, then she inserted two of her fingers into Stonia's nose, dragging it hard like it's some elastic, together with her hair.
Many strands of her hair got uprooted from her scalp, and they fell to the ground as Nadine's tiny fingers continued dragging her nose.
Stonia saw array of stars, then the whole galaxy all together.
"Mum!!!!" Serena screamed.
"Mum? Shut it!! Nadine poured saliva on Serena's face too.
'That's my girl' Elsa thought, smiling.
TBC.
No comments