THE TORMENTOR 2
THE MASKED
The Masked - Episode 7&8
( Where•are•you, Ixora? )
Book 2 in the Mindf+ck Trilogy
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"Easy, or you'd choke, and if you choke, you'd die, and if you die, you won't be able to pay me." Dr. Fat said, taking his seat.
"Water" Elsa stretched her hand forward, and he sneered.
"You can't even take water yourself? It's right in front of you, brat"
"You're getting two black cards, you should at least do additional services. Water" Elsa insisted, and Dr. Fat reluctantly poured her a glass of water which she drank from.
She continued eating, and the man went to his desk, digging out the confidential contract from a drawer.
It has Ixora's signature and his own.
"You can't go against this, and don't try to play smart with me." He said, and Ixora sighted, dropping her chicken.
"The drama is only just starting and you're already doubting me? I never go back on a deal so chill...when I finally reveal my identity and get my parents back, then you can get your payment"
"Then make your identity known to the whole California and get me my money!" Dr. Fat replied, and she slammed her palms on the table furiously, standing up.
Dr. Fat flinched, seeing the sudden switch in her eyes.
"I'm not going back to being Ixora yet, I already told you it'd take a while. I'll keep hiding under this Elsa mask till I'll get my hands on Evelyn, so get that into your thick fuckin skull and let me eat in peace!" She glared.
Dr. Fat cleared his throat, and she sat back, drinking wine.
"Evelyn's whereabouts? I told you to make inquiries" she said.
"Nothing yet, but she's in this city. She probably did facial reconstructive surgery too. I only need to get my hands on her doctor and we'll hunt down her new face. Give me more time" the man replied.
"I told you to make researches about Nadine's actual location in Russia too" She said.
Dr. Fat pulled out another document, handing it to her, and she took it with a deeper frown.
"Barinov family guild? So Konstantin's mother took my best friend?" She said.
"Her parents are swindlers disguised as business moguls, and they unluckily swindled the Barinov family. Galina is a smart bîtch, so she caught on and arrested them, but they suggested that she could take their daughter and release them to go work for the money they siphoned." Dr. Fat explained.
Elsa's mood changed immediately.
"You mean to tell me they're treating my cutie like a slave down there?" Her hand tightened on the paper.
"I can't say,, and I have no connection to Russia at all" Dr. Fat said.
"Are the Barinovs mafias?" Elsa asked.
"No... they're just a powerful business empire/family who owns the largest conglomerate in Russia, but they operate like mafias, which is why they're feared" Dr. Fat explained.
"They're not mafias, which means the Russian mafia is above them" she stood.
"You know someone who can help?" Dr. Fat asked.
"Mykel Thorne" she replied.
"His father is in the American mafia, not Russian" Dr. Fat stood.
"Yeah, but his maternal grandfather controls the Russian mafia, so he has insane connections." Elsa said.
"How did you know?" Dr. Fat asked.
"I once met him in a mill when we were young. I know his story, and he knows mine" She smiled sadly.
"Are you gonna tell him you're Ixora?" Dr. Fat asked curiously.
"No, I already met him as Elsa in his private music room earlier today, I'm gonna continue as Elsa" she replied, sitting and nodding.
"I'm gonna get Nadine out of Russia"
Then she resumed eating, and that was when she noticed there's a plate of seafood on the table.
She instantly pushed it away, the shrimps and lobsters wasted on the ground.
"You don't like them?" Dr. Fat asked.
"Never in your life...bring seafood close to me" she glared, and he nodded.
"Noted"
She lost appetite, so she began sipping her wine, watching the time.
She needs to get outta here in three minutes.
"Is your real name Dr. Fat?" She asked.
"Why would anyone bear Dr. Fat? It's a nickname from the other doctors since I'm fat, and I happen to like it without taking offence, but my real name is Dr. Arg—
And that was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Dr. Fat? Mr. Rafael Rhodes is here for you" a fellow doctor said, and they both stood.
Dr. Fat quickly pushed the remaining meal into a big body bag which he threw into the VVIP lab.
Elsa carried the table into the lab too, and she stayed there, locking the door on herself.
Dr. Fat opened the door, and Rafael came in...
"Sorry if I kept you waiting, was in the middle of a meal" he said, and Rafael just smiled, inhaling the scent of food in the air for real.
"It's fine, and thank you for saving my daughter from the prostitution market in France. What if you weren't there?" He said.
"I was in France for vacation when I visited the club... for fun, I never knew it was a dark club, but when I saw your daughter being dragged into the prostitution net for auctioning, I was shocked. I had to move fast" he smiled.
"How much did you pay to get her from them? I'll repay" Rafael asked.
"7 million dollars, but you don't have to—"
"No...give me your account number, my secretary will credit you before daybreak" Rafael cut him off, and Dr. Fat dropped his account card.
"Hope we stay good friends, thanks once again" Rafael smiled, shaking hands with him.
Rafael left the office, and Ixora came out of the VVIP, sighing.
"Your father is generous" Dr. Fat smiled.
"He witty, so we should be careful. Mum doesn't pay attention to details, but him? I'm sure he's planning DNA already" Elsa said.
"Strix hospital is your family hospital isn't it? I have the lab doctor over there on a deal too, so everything is cool" Dr. Fat replied.
Elsa changed back to her Elsa fit, wearing the boy wears, wig and mask, then she added more tanning cream to the uncovered part of her face.
"Two dollars for cab?" She said, and doctor immediately gave her.
"Keep your phone beside you at all times" he signalled.
"Book me a swimming session tomorrow at a private swim house. I miss swimming with Nad, I should reminisce about her. I'll find a way to sneak out on Serena tomorrow" she said before exiting.
--
[Strix Hospital]
"It's positive? She's my daughter?" Rafael surprisingly said after the DNA test results came out.
He's looking at the papers, but he's still surprised.
"Why do you sound disappointed? Your daughter came back after one year, you should throw a party" the lab doctor replied.
"I know, I know... I just have this gut feeling..." Rafael sat on a chair.
"I can't pinpoint it, but something is wrong somewhere." He rested his elbows on his laps.
"Something is not adding up, but I don't just know what" He muttered.
--
[Creed's Family House]
Beatrice just finished treating Lydia's gunshot wound, and after slapping a patch on it, Lydia stood from the bed.
"This will be the last time you'd be treating this wound, I'm fine but you won't listen" she said, and Beatrice smiled, covering the ointment she's holding.
She's an overly caring maid who hates the sight of wounds.
"Are you really going to ILC concert tonight?" She asked, standing from the bed too.
They're in her room.
"Sure, i have to protect Young Lord. Maureen might appear" Lydia replied, walking out of the room.
"I wish he could allow me get closer to him" Beatrice said.
"That's never happening, not after what Matron did. He's deeply wounded, and he's got intense trust issues right now. I just hope he never takes drugs again, he'd run mad" Lydia sensitively replied.
"But why is Elder refusing to tell him that he left him in jail cos of Maureen?" Beatrice asked.
"He's stubborn about it, and what can I say?" Lydia replied.
"I heard the girl who made him this way is back" Beatrice said.
"She's really back, but she never made him this way." Lydia replied.
"But why was Maureen so obsessed with her sister? To the point of shooting Elder Creed when she died?" Beatrice asked, and Lydia faced her.
"Hmm... you're asking a lotta questions" she said.
"I'm just curious, I barely know anything about the family history, and why is Elder Creed always burning his wife's pictures in the inferno chamber?" Beatrice replied.
"Those aren't his wife pictures, they're pictures of Maureen—her twin sister. There's no single difference between their faces, that's all I can say for now" Lydia repositioned her gun in her hostler before leaving the house.
Beatrice stood by the balcony, watching Lydia drive out of the house roughly.
"This family history is dark and neverending." She muttered, returning into the kitchen to continue cooking dinner.
--
[Sunny Boutique]
Elsa made sure to alight from the cab somewhere far from the boutique, then she trekked the remaining distance into the boutique.
She wasn't surprised when she met Bethel and Winter with Serena, both shopping with her.
"You're ten minutes late, buzzkill!" Serena raised her voice, then she raised her hand for a slap, but Elsa held it, tight.
"I was held up in congestion cos an accident happened" She said.
Roughly, Serena took her hand from her.
"Your maid is audacious, I must say. And what's with the mask? Is she ugly?" Winter asked.
"Mad ugly, you'd puke if her mask fell off" Serena replied, and both Bethel and Winter laughed out.
Elsa just stayed behind, and Serena began placing everything she got in her hands despite the fact that there are boutique attendants.
"What if I say I already have a crush on Mykel" Serena chirped.
Elsa made faces under her mask.
"Wait... already? I thought it'd be my brother" Bethel replied.
"One year out of this country has refined my taste. I'll never like Romeo romantically. Me? Date my former driver? Ew!" Serena laughed.
"One year out of this country didn't only refine your taste, it refined your personality too. You're now arrogant as fûck" Bethel replied.
"Oh yeah...I'm arrogant, but I'm never dating your brother. I even heard he's now into drug business? Dirty! I want Mykel. Dude is a mafia's son and his grandpa is a mafia too! Expensive!" Serena said, and Bethel rolled eyes.
"Whatever, I'll never like any boy in that school" she hissed.
"What about you Winter?" Serena faced her.
"The boy I like? Warren" Winter sassily replied, and Elsa made faces behind again.
"Nice taste. I admit he's annoying, but he's...effing hot" Serena said.
"You're not mad that I like him? I heard he was the one who framed you for jail" Winter said.
"I don't care, I'm now back and that's all what matters" Serena replied.
"You're cool! Let's all wear the same thing to the concert, how about these!" Winter pulled out three blue dresses with short flays and shinny decorative ribbons.
"Tacky! Only Tina would wear that" Serena rolled eyes, picking out a different dress—a red skin-tight dress.
"We can wear different colours of this, but same design" she said.
"Sèxy" Winter took it from her.
"Where the hell is Bethel?" Serena said, and they both began looking around.
Meanwhile, Bethel is still at the last row, holding her mid stomach with an hand while searching her bag with the other.
She quickly got her drugs and swallowed a pill, then she sat on the bare ground, breathing heavily and sweating at the back of her neck.
"Bethel!" Winter and Serena called her round the store, but she kept sitting there.
Elsa stood at the end of that row, watching her silently.
--
[Stonia's Mansion]
After several repeated tour around the boutique, Serena finally agreed to go home at 6 to dress up for the concert.
She left the clothes she bought in the car for Elsa and the maids to bring in, and she rushed inside, meeting Stonia in the living room with Rafael.
"Dad! Mum!" She beamed, sitting on Stonia's laps and kissing her face.
"You went shopping without me?" Stonia smiled, returning the kisses.
"I didn't want to stress you, i heard it was tough at the commissioner's office today" Serena replied.
"Just don't worry, we have everything under control" Rafael said, and Serena stroked his hair.
"Sweetest dad alive, I love you so much" she said, and he smiled.
"I've been meaning to ask...how much did Dr. Fat pay to get you?" Rafael asked.
"Wait...was it...6million? Or 8? Maybe 7...I dunno" Serena replied and stood.
"I have a boy I like already, and he's the star or tonight's concert, I have to go dress up" she said, rushing upstairs.
Elsa just finished dropping the last shopping bag in her room, and she was descending the stairs when Serena was climbing.
Serena barged into her, and she pushed her...
"Use your eyes!" She snarled with hostility, going upstairs.
"I'll help with your makeup" Stonia said, going upstairs too.
Elsa silently descended the remaining stairs, and Rafael stood.
"Hey, ice girl...did you eat?" He asked.
"Yeah...thanks" she replied and began walking out, but she suddenly turned.
"Your polo is crooked" she pointed, and Rafael adjusted it.
"Thank you" he smiled, then she left the house to wait outside.
When she met Mykel at the mill at young age, he gave her a scrabble piece to keep, and she could remember keeping it in her closet at Rafael's Mansion, so if she wants to get it, she has to go there, but how?
She stood there, contemplating till Serena came back after one hour of almost scrubbing herself to death in the bathroom, all for Mykel.
She literally bathed with perfumes.
Her makeup is much, and the gown she's putting on? Slutty.
She's even wearing waist beads, and the low-cut back of the gown showcased everything.
Her heels are overly gigantic.
Rafael was speechless as she watched her walk to the car, but Stonia stayed smiley.
"Isn't our daughter so madly beautiful? And hot?" She commented.
Rafael couldn't reply, but all he knows is that Ixora would never wear that.
--
[Russia, Barinov Guild~Galina's Room]
Galina is on her massage chair, getting automatically massaged with her eyes closed, but she's aware that someone just entered even without opening her eyes.
"What do you want, Konstantin?" She said.
"I'll pay everything Nadine's parents are owing you, let her go" Konstantin said, and she opened her eyes.
"Every cash in your accounts was either put there by me or your father! You're telling me you'd pay my money with my money?" She stood, getting down from the chair.
"It's either the money comes from her parents, or she rots here, and if they take too long to pay up, I'll kill her and make you drink her blood like tonic!" She said, and Konstantin angrily revealed the karambit knife he's holding.
He flung it at her chest, but before it could reach her, Anfisa rushed in, catching it and flinging it out the window.
"What do you think you're doing!" She glared.
"What I should be f+ckin doing!! That girl did nothing wrong, but because of me, she trapped her here with her parents debt excuse. Did i tell you I'm interested in her? Did I?" Konstantin faced Galina in rage.
"If you're not interested in her, then you shouldn't be ranting like this! You shouldn't be willing to bail her with your accounts! You shouldn't be going to check on her thirty times every night! You wouldn't kill six guards cos they peeped at her, and you wouldn't get pads for her! I know you got pad from Anfisa and you secretly put them in her room you unfilial son!" Galina yelled, her head nearly flying off her neck.
"F+ck you, f+ck you Galina!!" Konstantin gave her two middle fingers.
"And the wedding with Akem that you've been avoiding? You'll finally experience it, next week..." Galina said.
"The f+ck!" Konstantin and Anfisa gasped at a time.
"I don't want a grandchild from a nut head like you, so that gay wedding is happening, and Akem will take care of the north network empire with you!" Galina ordered, and Konstantin laughed derisively, removing the band in his now long hair.
His phone is ringing in his pocket, but he's not even hearing anything.
Anfisa looked on, confused.
"I've tasted puxxy, I've tasted dick, and yunno what? I recommend puxxy. That shit is my best food so dream on!!" Konstantin shouted.
"Watch me" Galina laughed too, like a witch.
By the door, Akem stood, smiling like a champion.
So far Galina says it, not even Satan can stop it.
Inside Nadine's room, she's close to the door, listening to everything from there too.
She feverishly went back to her bed and covered herself completely with her small quilt.
She began biting the Barinov tattoo on her wrist, so hard that it bled.
--
[California, ILC Concert Hall]
The concert hall is a ten thousand capacity shit, and it's full tonight, to the end.
The tickets were sold out in less than ten minutes on Monty's blog.
Not only ILC students are in attendance, there are so many porn actors and actresses, even underworld celebrities who came for Mykel's sake.
In the drug trafficking world, there are kingpins and bosses who came for Romeo too, all in VIP spaces.
Talking to your partner would require you to louden your voice since everywhere is still so noisy.
Capri and Ashton came together, not because they wanna come, but because they need to find Warren.
Warren left the hideaway after he broke everything earlier, and his location has been untraceable.
They just know he's here, probably to wound the fake Ixora.
"Konstant is still not picking up?" Capri asked.
"Her witchy mom must be at it again" Ashton replied, trying his line again.
Tina and Monty got good spots at the far front, and Tina just can't calm down. She's already waving her bulb which has red light and black handle.
"Romeo Ford!!!" She screamed.
"They're not even on stage yet" Monty nudged her, and she laughed, her pink ribbons looking like they're partying in her hair.
Chicago is sitting close to the voice system mounters, and she's smiling, her braced teeth scary. She has plans.
Lydia is at a secluded rail step, watching everything from there with her boots tapping the ground.
Her eyes are on Warren, and she made sure her eyes never left him.
Warren is really here, but his black hoodie covered his head and eyes...the usual style where only his pink lips is out.
He's in the middle of the hall, and it's like all the noise in the world is entering his head as he kept seeing black under his hood.
He's here for the fake Ixora, and he only has to sight her. He'd tear her.
He slightly removed his hood from his eyes, and his lashes raised as he rolled his eyes around.
He got a text immediately.
Unknown: Careful, you might become crippled like your father tonight.
He didn't check, till the phone went off in his pocket.
--
When Elsa entered the hall with Serena and her friends, students had to make way for them, and the comments about their dresses?
Awful.
"I swear I can see Ixora's pants"
"Are you sure she didn't go into prostitution before coming back?"
"What are those waste beads, gawd!"
"And Bethel too?"
"What were you expecting? Her brother sings p0rnographic music"
"And Winter? She already looks like a slût, no explanation needed"
Serena suddenly whipped around, her eyes electrifying.
"Go die in your houses if you have nothing else to do than gossip! Attention seekers!" She spat, and that seemed to shut everyone up till they arrived at their spots.
Coincidentally, they're beside Monty and Tina.
"I knew I perceived female dogs, what are they called again?" Monty said.
"Bitches" Tina replied.
"I'm afraid you're talking to yourselves, dumb slûts" Winter rolled eyes.
"Dumb? They're brainless" Bethel added.
"Tacky fool" Serena said to Tina in particular, and Tina scoffed.
Elsa mellowed behind them, watching the hate brawl with joy, but then the hall got injected with howls when the horsemen appeared on stage, all looking delectable in their otherworldly charms.
They're not rocking the same outfit like most bands, they're wearing their different styles, and that watermarked their uniqueness.
Romeo's red top is cropped, showcasing is ripped six packs and toned stomach.
Mykel is excessively covered. He didn't show skin at all. He's even wearing a hoodie which has MYK-XORA written on the back.
Clover and Bronx are on ripped jeans, and Bronx's mind is not even in the hall at all.
He's busy looking around for any sign of his brotherhood, lest they hurt Tina and Monty.
The screams didn't stop early, the girls were going mad.
"Damn! Romeo!!!" Tina shrieked
"Oh my gawd!! He's so hawt!!" Serena screamed out like a siren, and that was what made Warren notice her, so he began walking to her, tearing through the crowd.
Immediately he moved, Lydia moved too.
The music started as the horsemen took over the stage, then the band strippers joined them, nakedly!
All the five strippers are naked as they danced with the poles in the middle of the stage while the musical cacophony bursted through the halls as the fans sang along.
🎵 You make me wanna c+m...c+m on your face...Wet your face with babies... Come ride on my face. Spread that puxxy on my tongue and watch me dance with my tongue!!!
Elsa was smiling lightly under her mask as she watched Mykel play magic on his guitar, and when she saw the conjunction of their names on his hoodie, she smiled again, and their eyes met.
She might be wearing a mask, and she might be far from the stage, but she just knows Mykel is looking at her right now, and her smile stopped as her eyes stayed still.
Romeo's eyes are on Serena, and he kept pointing at her anytime he sang his part, but Serena?
She's looking at Mykel.
Elsa was almost carried away by Mykel's glance, but she snapped out of it when she suddenly felt uneasy despite the booming music in the hall.
She just can't shake that uneasy feeling off, so she turned back, only to see Warren walking slowly towards that angle.
Like a damn slow mo from a bloody action movie, his eyes are red, and she just knows he's coming for Serena, so she turned around to face him completely, but that didn't help, cos something else happened that same moment.
The metals on which the speakers and voice systems were hung was suddenly pushed by Chicago, and the heavy voice systems went off immediately.
The metal began falling away stage to the crowd—at Serena and her friends angle.
Warren stood still, and Elsa's eyes widened under her mask.
"OMG!!!!" Serena yelled as everyone began running, away from that angle.
Winter and Bethel left her, but she kept standing there, awaiting a prince charming.
It was Elsa who jumped twice to her and pushed her away from the coming metal.
Serena fell to safety, and her knees hit the ground, nearly breaking.
"Fûck!!! My leg!!! My leg!!! Mykel!!!" She cried crazily, but it was Romeo who caught her there.
Elsa didn't escape though, cos she's still in the falling metal angle, so she began running, taking two steps at a time, till she was pulled to the side by a soft, cold hand.
She fell and rolled with the person on the rug till they were able to land far.
The metal finally landed with a thunderous crash as the sound systems and speakers scattered to bits around the already disorganized hall.
Elsa's nose caught a whiff of potpourri, and she immediately knew who had caught her.
"You ok?" Mykel's calm voice asked, and she quickly stood from him, her eyes snapping behind cos Warren is still standing there—on that same spot.
He's not moving, his night blindness met him there, and right now he's seeing nothing.
His hood is off his head completely, and he looks helpless for the first time in his life.
He can't trace the way with his ears since the hall is still so noisy, so he stood there, unmoved, but then Elsa saw something...
Someone wearing black uniform like a ninja is in the crowd, holding a brandishing weapon which Elsa recognized as a sword, and she's coming for Warren.
Elsa moved, and Mykel moved at the same time cos he recognized the weapon too.
Together, they covered Warren, and the black ninja immediately turned back, intending to escape the hall.
"Maureen!!!" Lydia yelled, finally arriving at that angle.
The ninja began running fast, and Lydia ran after her, madly like a tiger.
Elsa and Mykel are still covering Warren, and Warren is currently inhaling.
His nose taking in a scent he'd recognize anywhere.
"Ixora?" He called, and Elsa's eyes widened a bit. She quickly stepped away from him, and Mykel stepped away too, his eyes on Elsa.
"Ixora" Warren muttered again, and then Capri and Ashton arrived.
"Dude... fûck!" Capri cussed, and Warren's sight began restoring.
Bit by bit, his light returned, and he looked around, searching for who covered him earlier, but all he's seeing are students running skittishly out of the pandemonium.
"I felt her...she was here" he crazily muttered.
"What are you saying?" Ashton frowned.
"I lost my sight, and she fuckin covered me..." Warren replied, looking around again like a confused soul.
Elsa is currently behind the fallen metal, together with Mykel, and her palms are folded.
Mykel is staring at her with wide, shocked eyes, and she's staring right back from under her mask.
"Ixora covered you? Bullshit, she's with Romeo!" Capri said.
"I'm not talking about the fake Ixora, I mean the real one. She was here when I was blind" Warren replied.
"Not again, War. Calm down. You work better when you're calm! Calm your nerves!" Ashton yelled.
"I can't!! She was here when I lost my sight some minutes ago!!" Warren yelled back, suddenly removing an hairpin from a running girl.
He brought it to his eye and shifted back. "I felt her when I was blind"
"No...shit...no" Capri rushed closer, but Warren moved again..
"War!!!!!!" Ashton's eyes widened unconventionally as Warren shoved the pin into his own right eye.
Drip. Drip.
Blood.
TBC
Stonia should pay slapping and not recognizing lxora
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