THE TORMENTOR 2
THE MASKED
The Masked - Episode 23&24
( Where•are•you, Ixora? )
Book 2 in the Mindf+ck Trilogy
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[Monty's Place]
Since the brothers told Monty the name of the killer, she has been planning on how to strike, but at the same time... they're the only ones who can help.
They're the only ones who knows him in an out, so figuring out his meeting place with his cult members should be aided by the brothers, but it seems they're not very ready.
They're probably preparing themselves, and she's impatiently waiting for their call.
She's sitting in front of a table which has her phone on top of it, and she's expecting it to ring with their call anytime soon.
But instead of a call, a buzz came, indicating a notification.
She quickly picked up the phone, and then she spranged up.
Tina's phone just came on!
And the person with it is currently on the move.
She tapped the person's location, and after she was sure of where, she connected her phone with the systems and began trying to hack Tina's phone.
She moved fast like she has been practicing for this day, and within two minutes, she was able to hack into the phone, spreading everything on it on her screen.
If Tina was killed because of something on the phone, it's either a video or audio, so she went to her gallery first, but she found nothing.
She left the gallery and clicked on videos, but she still found nothing, and she nearly lost it as her head is already in disarray.
She calmed down, took a deep breath and checked audios, and she was surprised to see a video file there.
Tina saved a video under her audios? The strangeness was enough to make her click it fast, and the video that played made her breaths seize.
It was recorded during the freshman party.
Evelyn and Nadine left before Ixora, and as Ixora's driver, Romeo is entitled to get her home since she's so drunk already.
She got another bottle of alcohol and hugged it to her chest.
When Romeo tried to take it from her, she pulled back, sadness in her eyes.
"You don't drink, what's up tonight? Should I be scared?" He asked, and she shook her head...
"The boy I testified against in court, I think he doesn't deserve it" she said, and Romeo blinked.
"You're drinking cos of him?"
"I just feel... like I did wrong" she replied, finally trying to pop the champagne bottle.
"But you're already drunk" Romeo took it.
"Open it and give it back, I'll go home after drinking this" she waved her hand.
"Promise?" Romeo said, and she nodded, so he opened the champagne, but secretly... He added a pill before handing the bottle to her.
Ixora took it and downed it fast, but her eyes never remained the same afterwards.
She began unbuttoning Romeo's shirt, acting according to the influence of the pill he added in the champagne.
"I get it" Romeo hoarsely said, lifting her into his arms.
He carried her outside...
To the dark park...
Into her car where he...
Monty couldn't watch the rest, but the moment moans and groans started, she stopped the video and played the next nameless audio, then Tina's last moments played.
Tina actually recorded it, and it contained her voice and Romeo's.
"Tina!!!" Romeo yelled.
"F+ck you, dog" Tina replied, and then a second later...
"Rom...me..." She stuttered.
"I'm sorry" Romeo whispered.
Followed by two gunshots.
Monty let out tears as she listened to Tina's gasp and groans, and she screamed out, nearly going berserk on herself.
She looked back as if someone is there with her, her eyes glossy with tears and coloured with redness.
So... Tina had this rape video all these while and refused to show her?
Romeo definitely killed her cos of it. The fact that she died in front of his place!
Well... everything has to start falling down as from tonight, like now.
She returned to the video and cut out the s+x part.
She uploaded the part where he added the pill to Ixora's drink on all her blogs, including ILC blog.
Then she posted the shooting audio too, on the blogs.
After she uploaded, she left the house.
--
[Hello Hospital]
Bethel is even starting to pray for the death to come fast at this rate.
Why is it taking too long? The pain is too much, and she can't handle it any longer.
Her eyes are closed as Romeo rushed into the ward, his clothes completely soaked with the blood pouring from his neck.
"Bethel! Bethel!" His eyes were wide as he stirred her in bed, and her eyes opened.
"You're always getting in trouble...what's that blood covering you?" She drawled, her eyes barely opening.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me you were sick! Why!!!" He yelled, and a nurse entered.
"Cirrhosis, last stage" she briefly explained, and Romeo gasped, tears falling from his eyes..
"No...no" he shook his head.
"I'll miss acting like an older sister, and I'll miss my money-loving self" Bethel drawled again, her voice painful.
Romeo rushed to the nurse, holding her by the arms so tight that it hurts.
"I'll be her donor! Do something she can't die!!" He yelled desperately.
The nurse shook him off.
"She entered her last stage since last year, so it's pointless. Even if she's not in her last stage yet, you're not her biological brother so..." She said, and that was when Romeo remembered..
It was Mr. Ford—his father, who adopted Bethel when she was still working at a charcoal site at the tender age of 7.
No family, no friends, nothing. And that's why Mr. Ford took her in despite his poor financial status.
Romeo took her as his real sister since then too, but now...
Romeo turned back to Bethel in bed, and more tears fell out of his eyes.
Bethel smiled with her eyes closed...
"Take... care... And let go of...Ixora." She said her last words, taking her last breath at the same time.
Her monitor reader went from green lines to flat red ones, beeping a straight sound, and Romeo began rushing back to her bedside, but before he could get there, cops poured in... Four of them.
"Romeo Ford, you're under arrest for the murder of Tina Quinns, and the raping of Ixora Rhodes" they revealed their arrest warrants, and Romeo's eyes widened so much.
He stopped on his tracks, and Bethel's straight monitor sound played in the background as Monty came in after the cops.
She walked to him and searched his body, finding Tina's phone in his back pocket.
She brought it to the front to show him, and his eyes widened again.
After killing Tina that night, he had searched her body and car, but he didn't find her phone.
When the cops started investigation and reported her phone missing, he was more than happy that at least it's out of reach, but now...how is it in his pocket?
He was still breathless when Monty handed the phone to the cops.
"Contains the two evidences" she said, and then Clover came in.
He's covered in blood just like Romeo, and he barely escaped alive from Chicago. Only mild hope of life is left in his mouth as his knees are almost on the ground.
He's almost crawling as he walked to Romeo and landed him a punch with his remaining energy.
Romeo staggered, falling on Bethel's dead body in bed.
"When I and Bethel found Tina's body outside that day, I saw her phone below her car tyre, and I took it curiously, thinking maybe her killers killed her cos of something in that phone, but what I didn't expect is that it'd be you! You killed her cos she has a rape video of you and Ixora? So that's it? I'm not a saint, but you don't get to ruin the lives of girls the way you like and expect me to be cool with it! You raped Ixora, killed Tina, and you killed Bethel too!!" Clover cried, taking a peek at Bethel's dead body on the hospital bed.
Romeo was crying profusely.
"Yeah...you killed Bethel, cos if you had paid attention to her instead of being a lustful fool! You'd have noticed since last year and you'd have taken her to a better hospital or flown her out of the country before it got worse! She wasn't just a money-loving girl for nothing, she was actually saving for her surgery you bastard!! She has a money saving box in her room but it was too late for surgery when she gathered the complete money!!" Clover punched Romeo again.
"I didn't know!!! I didn't know I swear!!!" Romeo cried again, and this time, it was Monty who punched him.
Romeo fell to the ground.
"Of course you wouldn't know! How would you when all you think about is Ixora's body! How would you!!" She yelled, punching him again and again.
His neck wound bled more, and he's already at the verge of losing consciousness.
"I'd have loved to kill you myself, but nah. You deserve to go through the pain Bethel went through in silence, you deserve to be raped the way you raped Ixora! You deserve to be shut up the way you shut Tina up! You'll go to jail, and even if it means using all my money, I'll make sure you rot in there for life!" Monty kicked him.
Romeo was finally handcuffed and hauled up, but he kept looking back at Bethel's body as he was pushed out of the ward.
Monty squatted, covering her streaky face with her palms.
Clover sat on the bare ground, staring at Bethel's body as he bursted into tears again.
--
[Function Hall]
The signing over ceremony switched to criminal-nabbing ceremony real quick, and Serena is still on the floor in front of the hall, unconscious after Ixora beat the crap out of her.
Her split lips is the most iconic, it was bleeding as she continued laying there like a log of wood.
Reporters surrounded her body on the floor, but no one even tried calling an ambulance.
Cops are on their way though, and the smell of her decaying face filled the hall.
It's bad.
Ixora and Nadine are currently hugging, and Nadine's body is completely tangled with Ixora's, so hard that letting go would surely be a problem.
They're not talking, just staying in each other's arms for how long they've missed each other.
Rafael is smiling as he stared at them, and Stonia?
She's sitting on the hall stairs, looking like she just got dumped as she stared at them too.
Everything is over.
Everything is.
The granny from Serbia is currently getting questioned by reporters too, and Dr. Fat slowly came to Serena, covering his nose with an hanky.
"It's only just the beginning, her face will rot and still produce maggots. I know what I did" he said.
"Your licence could get revoked if this gets out" Rafael replied.
"I only taught her a lesson. Why would a girl want another girl's face just because she wants the mother to be hers. What sickness is that? I didn't reconstruct her face, I only plastered it" Dr. Fat replied.
Rafael sighed, but then he noticed people are staring at their phone.
The cops arrived with an ambulance, and Serena was taken away on a stretcher, hands cuffed.
Ixora dropped Nadine, and they noticed how guests are staring at their phones too.
"This is you, right?" One of them showed Ixora the circulating video of how Romeo spiked her drink at the freshman party.
Ixora swallowed, and Nadine couldn't close her mouth.
When Rafael saw it, he quickly rushed to Ixora and took her hand, leading her out of the hall.
Nadine ran after them, all leaving Stonia who's still sitting hopelessly on the steps.
--
[Mykel's Place]
Since it's closer than the hideaway, everyone came here after the road fight, and they're currently tending to their wounds.
Anfisa and Chicago are wearing only their bras, and all the guys are shirtless.
Lydia is the only one with few wounds, so she's the one tending to them one by one.
Warren is on his phone, following the news back to back.
Romeo raped Ixora?
His hand fisted the phone, and he stood, rushing out of the house.
"War!" Konstantin and Anfisa called at a time.
He didn't respond till he slammed the door shut.
Mykel rushed out of the house too, but he didn't go after him.
He went his own way, to the Thorne Island.
He was still shirtless as he entered the house, meeting Mariya and Aleksandr in each other's arms in the living room.
Seeing his wounded body, Aleksandr grabbed his gun, standing.
"Say the name" he said.
"Who the hell did this!" Mariya grabbed her gun too, both ready to go full blown.
"I have something to tell" Mykel replied with sign language, and the couple lowered their guns.
"At the Creed family house" He signed again, and confusion settled deep.
--
[Cat Eye Brotherhood]
Truly, the cult changed their location from the temple to another dilapidated temple.
Thanks to their leader, they have enough locations in this city, and it's another meet night tonight, but there's no on the table.
Inside the cage, there's a dove though—Falsus.
The bird just sat quietly in the cage, looking like it payed for that new house.
It got captured some days ago when it was hunting out, and it has been waiting for the perfect opportunity since then.
"Put the dove away, there'll be no lady for the take tonight" the leader said, and the cage pushed under the table.
"Why is Monty still alive?" The leader asked. His mask is intact on his face.
"Bronx hasn't left her side since Tina's death. We'd have taken Bronx down with her, but you warned to not touch him" a member replied.
"Let them be for now then, and stop the threatening messages. He needs to think we're off his neck" the leader addressed, she everywhere went silent.
"And at the meeting tomorrow, I want a lady on the table" the leader said, to which they all bowed.
--
[Police Station]
Romeo was immediately locked in the criminals net when the cops arrived with him, then they began arranging the documents of his case.
His interrogation will soon start.
His neck has been treated to avoid contamination...he needs to stay alive till the trial.
Romeo held the metals by the door, staring at the wall in front of him with his eyes still teary.
Two hours ago, he was preparing for his fight with Mykel and Satan's Heirs, but now he's in the police net, preparing to go to jail.
How fast the night changes.
Thinking of Bethel's dead body in that hospital bed is killing him inwardly.
The guilt started too fast, she now he can't fight it. He could only sit and watch it eat him like cancer.
The thought of what Ixora would think of him when she sees the trending video is also choking him, and his lungs are gumming.
And then Tina...he had killed her just to gatekeeper his secret, but the secret is out anyways, meaning he killed her for nothing.
It's the end of the horsemen, the band, his drug business, even his life.
He couldn't sit inside the net, he couldn't blink, he could move.
Stonia entered the station, smiling as she approached the cops tables.
"Mrs. Martinez?" Two cops blocked her.
"I'd like to see the guy who raped my daughter" she smiled again.
"I'm afraid you can't see him till court" they told her.
"C'mon, he was once her driver, so I'm just gonna have a quick talk with him. Take my bag" she dropped it on their desk.
"Lead me" she smiled again.
Reluctantly, Stonia was led to Romeo's net.
A cop stayed with her, and she waved at him through the gate metals.
"Hello, handsome"
Romeo's hand fell from the metals, and he slightly moved back.
"Have you been wondering why Rafael and I are still so darn young despite having a 21 years old daughter?" Stonia said, her voice stable.
"It's because we were both fifteen! We were fifteen when I gave birth to her! Rafael and I started dating in elementary school, and we were so in love. We already had our future planned out, which included getting married and all that, but he knew about my hatred for kids. I hated kids cos I was scared of childbirth. And him? He was scared of being childless, but he loves me, so he had to impregnate me forcefully and also forced me to have the baby!!"
Her voice is starting to rise.
"I gave birth to her and dedicated my whole life to raising her! But then...that same child became a vessel for the Ortega family to use...she was hypnotized, made to testify against her will, and that guy came back from jail, terrorized her the whole time, tormented and sent her to jail!!"
Her voice rose higher.
"She was kidnapped in jail and taken away from this country by her own cousin who wanted me as her mother, and I was in coma for months" she sniffled.
"Serena came back as Ixora, but yunno what? I found out within the first week that she wasn't my daughter, but I had to force myself into believing she was! I wanted to believe she was Ixora and turned blind eye to everything else cos I was scared to believe she was gone. But then tonight..."
She laughed at this point.
"Tonight...my real daughter appeared, and that same tonight, it was revealed that you actually raped her? Why?" She hit the metals.
Romeo was starting to cry again.
"Why!!! Is she the only girl existing? Why!!!!!! Why are you so cruel? Why are you so... diabolical? Why!!!!" She yelled.
Romeo couldn't form a sentence as Stonia broke down in front of him, crying so much.
"Why her again!!!" She yelled once again.
"Time up, ma'am" he said.
"Not yet" Stonia replied, laughing.
"I haven't delivered my gift" she said, and before they could get it, she lifter her blouse and drew out a gun from her skirt band.
Gunshots sounded like crackers, and they're all directed to Romeo's body without pause.
The cop had to call for backup and they began trying to pull her away from there, but she already used all the four bullets in the gun on Romeo.
She literally shot him to hell, and she was laughing as she got pulled. The gun fell from her.
At the same time, Warren entered the station with that same intention.
He stopped by the door when he saw what's going on, and his bones calmed.
Not killing him by himself is his only regret.
He turned back to leave, but he suddenly held his stomach, groaning as he held the wall with an hand.
He reached for his pocket ti take the pill bottle, but the fight and wounds must have weakened him.
He fell and crashed in front of the station, passing out.
--
[Rafael's Mansion, Midnight]
Rafael is not available.
He's outside for Stonia's case, so it's only Nadine with Ixora in bed.
Ixora is laying on her side, and she's behind her, wrapping her arms on her comfortably.
"It's my fault, I should have stayed with you that freshman party night. I shouldn't have left you alone with Romeo" she said.
"Are you blaming yourself right now?" Ixora replied.
"Stop it, what's meant to happen would surely happen. I'm just pained that I've been seeing it as drunken s+x since the start. I'm just pained...that I lost my virginity to rape. And I lost my testimony to hypnosis. Feels like everything I own has been stolen from me" Ixora replied.
"But you're still alive, and your enemies are down, that's what matters. You just need a break" Nadine said.
Ixora went silent, then Nadine took her fingers, checking out the engagement ring.
"Are you really getting married?" She asked.
Ixora sat up, and Nadine sat up too, both facing each other.
"I chose me" she said.
Nadine held her hands.
Ixora removed the ring, placing it in bed before sighing out.
"I want to be on my own. Finish school, be a curator like I've always wanted, help my parents with their companies, and live my life. I don't need anyone except you, dad and mum. I'll adopt a child in the future if I need one" she said.
Nadine smiled, pulling her into a big bear hug.
"Anything you want, baby. Anything. We could leave ILC and fly out for the rest of our studies. Maybe go to Oxford?" She said.
"Let's do that" Ixora smiled, covering them both with the quilt.
--
[Morning, Creed Family House]
The shock that entered the mansion since last night hasn't left.
Everyone is on their hot seats, and Mariya is crying like a widow.
Elder Creed is on his wheelchair, and Lydia is behind him—She came home after tending to the guys wounds last night.
Beatrice and Mykel are sitting opposite everyone, and the guilt on Beatrice's face is thick.
"So...you heard when we were talking about the DNA test" Mariya asked with sniffles, her face coloured.
Aleksandr's arm is on her back, rubbing it slowly.
"Yeah,I did. I left the house and went to the mill cos of it, and when you found me, you sent me to Italy probably because you're tired of seeing a boy who's not your son" Mykel replied.
"No that's not true. Even after the DNA test was confirmed, I didn't stop loving you as my son. You've always been" Mariya quicky said.
Mykel bit himself, her tears breaking his small heart.
"I met Beatrice when I was in Germany. She was stalking me when I caught her, then she explained things to me. I didn't believe at first, but then... She told me we're fraternal twins,...I and Warren, and that's why we have no resemblance at all." Mykel said.
Elder Creed wiped the small tear that came out of his eyes.
Beatrice stood, stretching the baby hair handkerchief to Aleksandr.
"It contains the baby hair, I cut some tendrils before burying him, and allow me to take you to his burial site before arresting me" she said.
Mariya bursted into tears again, and Aleksandr pushed her face to his chest as he took the handkerchief.
Mykel dipped Gus head down.
--
[Hello Hospital]
A doctor is busy running tests on someone in a lab, and as he ran each and every one of the test, disappointment showed in his face.
His patient is still asleep though, and when he finally got done with it, he left the lab for some minutes.
When he came back, he began gathering the results, and that was when his patient woke up.
It's Warren. He was actually taken here last night by a cop after he passed out in front of the station.
Thankfully, this hospital isn't far from the station, and it's also where his secret doctor is.
"Bethel is dead? That's fast, I guess I'm next" he said.
He only met her once when they met in this lab for tests, and they've been keeping each other's secrets since then.
"I told you, stay away from drugs!! Stay away from ecstasy pills! Are you even human?" The doctor angrily said.
"I had to mix ecstasy pills with the drugs you gave me, and that's why I've not been showing too many signs, that's why I was able to fight off Romeo's bastards! I'd have been useless without E!" Warren glared.
"Yeah, E pills would block your symptoms and strengthen you, but it'd cut the time you have left, Warren! Try to see things from my angle. You're a last stage cirrhosis patient!" the doctor said.
"What's the use of living longer when I'd die anyways? I had three months left before, so now what? What's the new span? How many days do I have left?" Warren asked hopelessly, standing up.
"One" the doctor said dryly.
"One week"
TBC.
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