THE TORMENTOR
The Tormentor - Episode 23&24
( Blêed•For•Me, Ixora )
Book 1 in the Mindf+ck Trilogy
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The only moment which shook Ixora as much as it's doing right now was when Stonia and Rafael—her parents, got divorced.
When Stonia was still the vice president back then, Rafael was the secretary to the president.
Stonia earned more than him by far, but they still supported each other, and they were so in love that Ixora watched them like a romantic movie whenever they kissed in the living room of their former mansion which they lived in together.
But then... Overnight, Rafael resigned as the president's secretary, and afterwards,, Ixora noticed their love began shaking.
Rafael established Rhodes Corporations that time, and he made it better than he expected, becoming one of the richest men in the US.
Some years later, Stonia was dragged for bribery, and Stonia didn't even deny or hire a lawyer, which means it's true, so she was stepped down from the office.
For a day, Ixora couldn't go to school cos of shame.
Yes, a day.
It'd have taken months if she was the daughter of a normal mother, but Stonia is part of the one percent of people who don't care about what people say or think, so she made sure Ixora returned to school after one day of hiding behind the curtains of her room.
What she told Ixora was that... "Right is right, and wrong is wrong, but a single wrong doesn't mean the end of the world"
Ixora returned to school, and thanks to Nadine and Evelyn, she was able to get past it.
But then,, last year during her last exam in highschool, her parents got divorce documents.
The day she was informed about the divorce was the day she experienced raw fear last, and she never thought she'd experience it again tonight.
As she hid under the stadium chair with her protector, her heart was slamming hard against her ribcage at the thought of losing Nadine.
If she loses Nadine, then she won't be able to survive it the way she survived her parents divorce.
She tried once again to stand despite the rush of gunshots, but the protector pinned her down again.
"Stay down, Xora" his voice came calmly this time, and that was when her ears recognized the voice and her nose perceived his cologne.
"Dad?" She muttered.
"Just stay still, baby. Nadine is fine at the back" Rafael replied, and that calmed her.
She threw her arms around Rafael, and the man held her tighter too, rubbing her hair.
"Thanks for coming, dad" she muttered.
"Glad I came, had to cancel my TV interview again" he replied, and she smiled lightly.
By now, the gunshots has suddenly stopped coming, so Rafael lifted his body from her own.
He stood and helped her up, then she looked around to see Nadine at the back, just standing from under a chair too with tears in her eyes.
"Xoxo!" She shouted, coming down to them.
Ixora also rushed up, and they met in the middle, hugging tight.
"I held the wrong hand when I was rushing out, I didn't know it wasn't yours till I got to the back, and when I wanted to come back, that was when your dad came in and shoved me under the chair before coming for you" Nadine explained.
"Stop the tears, Nad" Ixora smiled, breaking the hug to wipe them for her.
Nadine nodded with a sniffle, then they both turned to the ice and saw Capri jumping back on it.
He wasn't able to catch the shooter, and a stretcher is already there which they placed Ashton on.
He was made to lay on his stomach cos his back received the bullet.
His blood was crawling down the stretcher metals as Warren pushed it out while Konstantin and Capri rushed after them.
Ixora's eyes caught their wrists, and she noticed they're all wearing the meteorite bracelet except Warren.
And it's definitely because she broke it earlier, so she swallowed.
They're like brothers, and it's enviable to people who don't know the kind of devils' they are.
"Why would the school even still allow them when they're so notorious" Rafael said.
"Family history, sir. The fact that Warren is Elder Creed's son will get him anything he wants in any country he steps, I mean ... That crippled man is madly rich with insane connections, and Konstantin's father doesn't only own a conglomerate in Russia, I heard he's connected to the Bratva too. Those two are like the alpha of the group, and the other two have generational wealths which I can't even start talking about cos it's long" Nadine explained.
"Oh... intriguing" Rafael said.
"I wonder how you get these info" Ixora said.
"Cos my parents are business moguls, and I know stories from them" Nadine winked, and Ixora chuckled.
Rafael led the girls out of the stadium, and that was when Kelsey and Serena stood from under the chair they're hiding.
Serena slumped on the chair dejectedly with a pained look on her face.
"He came for his daughter but not his ex-wife's sister? I can't believe it, so he doesn't care if I die?" She said in a pained voice.
"Just give up on Rafael and find a way to get on Stonia's good side." Kelsey replied, covering herself up better.
"Can't believe I got the best fingers of my life but I don't even know who fingered me in the crowd, geez" she said, looking around the now empty stadium.
"You're a whore, do you know that?" Serena looked up
"Don't even start, I've never denied being a slut, so why making a big deal cos someone unknown fingered me? If the game wasn't ruined, I'd have let him eat my puxxy too" Kelsey said shamelessly.
"I hate you" Serena stood, walking out of the stadium.
"Wait for me!" Kelsey ran after her.
Immediately they left, Romeo ran into the stadium, breathing incoherently.
When he saw the place is empty, he took a deep exhale, sweat falling from his chin to the ground.
Bethel actually got pushed during the gunshots rush, and she had passed out on a chair.
He'd have gone to Ixora first, but he saw Rafael in the hall, and that gave him the courage that Rafael would protect her.
He took Bethel to the school clinic, and immediately Bethel woke up, he rushed here.
He fished his phone from his pocket, dialling Ixora's line.
She picked up, and he sat on a chair.
"I'm sorry, very sorry for not coming for you. I'm sorry, ok? Please —"
"Can you just...stop? I told you to stop saying sorry when when you're not at fault. I'm fine" Ixora interrupted.
"Bethel actually passed out and —"
"What! Did she get shot?" She gasped.
"No. She was pushed and she lost consciousness, but she's awake now" he replied, and he heard her breathe out in relief.
"Where are you?" He asked.
"With my dad, he's taking me home" she replied.
"We'll see tomorrow then?" He stood.
"Yeah, bye" she said, hanging up.
He clicked his phone back to home screen, and her picture displayed.
He smiled as he viewed it, and the tingles he felt in the pit of his stomach afterwards was beautiful.
He was still staring as he walked out of the stadium, back to the school clinic where Bethel is laying in bed with Tina beside her.
Tina actually followed them to the clinic earlier.
"The nurse said she's fine, she only has to rest at home" Tina said.
"Can you walk?" Romeo asked Bethel, and though her legs are fine, she shook her head.
Romeo carried her on his back and began walking out of the clinic.
"I'll give you both a ride, my car is comfy" Tina offered.
"No, thanks. We'll ride the taxi" Romeo replied, stepping out.
"But Romeo we can save the taxi fare for something else and go with her" Bethel said on his back.
"Shut up" Romeo replied, and she pouted.
"But she's right, push your ego aside and let me drive you both." Tina said.
Romeo stopped and faced her, making Tina stop too.
"It's not my ego, I just don't like being in the same space as you. Coming to your party the other time was because Bethel wanted to came, not because I wanted to, so don't get weird ideas and just leave " he replied.
Tina stood speechlessly till he left completely, then Monty joined her.
"What's up with you and your hardheaded crush?" She asked.
"Can we not talk about him? I hate him now, maybe I should dye my hair blonde and he'd notice me then" Tina replied, and Monty laughed as they walked towards the park.
Her phone chimed in her pocket, and she hissed out when she viewed the message and saw it's nothing close to what she's expecting.
"Are you still investigating the coffin burner?" Tina asked.
"Of course, I'm never stopping till I get my hands on the culprit, and...kill whoever it is." Monty replied as they entered their individual cars.
--
[Satan's Heirs Hideaway]
Instead of going to the hospital, the guys brought Ashton home, and Warren handled the bullet removal since it's not very fatal.
The bullet didn't penetrate too deep into Ashton's skin, and that only means the shooter had no intentions of killing him.
Whoever did it only wanted attention, and now he has gotten it.
Capri is seated, holding their golden trophy which they won in the game. One of the coaches had dropped it on Ashton's stretcher when they were leaving the school.
Konstantin is with a laptop which has the footage of the stadium during the game, and he's currently trying to sight where the shooter shot from.
Ashton didn't allow himself to be sedated, he stayed conscious throughout the bullet removal process, and as Warren's scalpel met with the bullet metal, he momentarily stopped moving, remembering something.
When Ashton was shot in the stadium earlier and everyone was running for their lives, Romeo didn't move an inch for the first one minute.
He stood still like he was paused with a remote or something, and as he watched the blood rushing out of Ashton's back, he smirked.
Romeo might keep a pure font, but he has his own demons too which he's keeping under wraps, away from the eyes of people like Ixora who still see him as pure.
Romeo has calm eyes and stance, but the calmness doesn't reach his insides.
Warren can't wait for the day Romeo's demons would come out, he'd love to see how dark they are, compared to his own.
He finally removed the bullet from Ashton's back and threw it in an heart bowl before dropping the scalpel inside water, then he cleaned the wound and dressed it up.
"It was hard to stay still and let you remove the bullet when I know you're obsessed with human insides. My life was literally in your hands" Ashton said as he sat up.
Warren immediately picked the scalpel back from the water.
"Should we try it out?" He said blankly.
"You bloody wacko!" Ashton punched the scalpel away from him before unwrapping a pop which he began licking.
"Konstant, did you catch the culprit already?" Capri asked from where he's sitting.
"Not fully, the bastard shot from a camera-free spot, but he wasn't so lucky cos I saw his arm. He's got tattoos of ants on his forearm, anyone familiar with that shit?" Konstantin asked, zooming the picture of the arm on the laptop screen.
"Ants?" Ashton said, checking it out.
He only knows one person with the ant tattoos on his forearm, and it's Bronx, but Bronx was in the ice, playing for Romeo's team during the game, so it's not him.
But if it's not him, then Bronx definitely sent him.
Why? Cos of the metal pipe he hit his tummy with at the amphitheater?
Low.
"I know who sent him" Ashton said, standing.
"Who?" Warren deadpanned, ready to kill.
"I'll take care of it" Ashton replied.
"Swallow the crap you just spewed cos ain't no way you're doing anything alone in this crew! Who the f+ck was it!" Konstantin snarled.
"And this is exactly why I'm hesitating cos I know you Konstant. You're too temperamental and immediately I tell you who, you'd probably go behead him" Ashton replied.
"It's Bronx, your thick f+cker of a brother" Warren spoke, and Ashton faced him.
"He's the only person you'd protect in the campus, and also ... I've seen the ant tattoos on him once" Warren simply said.
"I'll take care of him myself" Ashton said.
"It's better you do, I have a feeling that if I set my eyes on him, the result would be catastrophic" Capri spoke with a dangerous amount of lethality in his voice.
He rarely talks harsh, but he's doing it right now.
"I'm planting a bullet in his back though" Warren spoke casually.
"And another one on his arm" Konstantin spoke.
Ashton smiled, groaning at the same time as his back stung.
The greatest mercy they could show is deciding to only shoot him. If Warren or Konstantin aren't killing anyone, then it's solved.
They were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell downstairs, and they all left the dark room to go open the door.
Ten escort girls came in, all of them holding bottles of champagne and screaming.
"Who invited them?" Warren gritted out, hating the noise like hell.
"I did before we went for the game, hoping to party till daybreak" Ashton replied.
"Then party till daybreak, I'm gonna go visit Mrs. Ortega" Warren replied, leaving the house, and that's when he saw Anastasia is part of the girls.
How stubborn can she be?
Despite her wounds, she still same?
Warren ignored her existence and left the house.
Capri followed him, leaving Ashton and Konstantin with the ladies.
--
[Cat's Eye Brotherhood]
"I told you to meet and f+ck them up one on one! Not the gunshots! Bullets are like snacks to that bastard!" Bronx shouted, his earpiece and phone splayed on the ground.
He was marching the two of them as he walked back and forth in the sanctuary, looking insane.
The wounds on his face are back to fresh again, and most of it are bleeding right now, making warm blood flood his skin.
There are five members of the brotherhood present tonight besides him, and they're not even supposed to meet yet since it's not their meeting night, but they came for him since he's the youngest anyways.
"We just can't go one on one to fight them, Bronx. Those four? Are you kidding?" One of the men said, and Bronx laughed.
"So are you scared of them or what? Do you know how many gunshots Ashton has taken in his body from his father? That bullet is nothing to him! You'll see him touring the campus again tomorrow!" He shouted.
"How did you know? Are you related to Ashton?" Another man asked suspiciously.
"I just know, so find another way to punish him for me, or better still, let me meet leader. Why is it that I can only call him but can never meet him?" Bronx replied.
"Leader isn't that easy to meet, so forget about ever meeting him, and about your Ashton problem, why don't you leave that first and lay low. Monty is desperately looking for the coffin burner, and if she gets her hands on you, you're gone" another man said, throwing him a tab.
Bronx took the tab and zoomed on Monty's picture on the screen.
She's currently at the gravesite, checking the installed cameras with Tina behind her.
Bronx smiled, sitting and watching her continuously with rapt attention.
Catching him is a dream that'd never materialize.
--
[Ford Salon]
Romeo stayed in Matron's arms for longer than he planned to.
It's been months since he last saw her, so it's understandable.
Despite the dried sweat on his skin from the game, the woman hugged him tight too.
Mr. Ford just sat and watched her with Bethel who's eating snacks on a barbing chair.
"Bethel said you didn't win the game and lost to Warren's team, that's new" Matron said.
"You know they have the same hobby in every aspect. Romeo wanted to go for medicine and surgery but when he heard Warren was going for it too, he switched to Mathematics, and since they were young, they've both loved ice, and that was when I knew they'd like ice hockey" Bethel chirped in.
"I'm not in anyway like that devil, so stop right now" Romeo replied, entering his room.
"But I'm saying the truth" Bethel muttered, entering her room too with her snacks.
"When are we moving out this place, Matron? You've been working for the Creed family for years, and people are starting to say Elder Creed isn't paying you. We're not poor, Matron, but you're delaying" Mr. Ford said.
"I'll go talk to Romeo first" Matron stood, entering Romeo's room and leaving the man in the outer shop.
Romeo is seated on his bed when she entered the room, and she sat beside him.
"You're 24, you should know better. Hating Warren wouldn't buy you a thing" she said.
"I don't think you have the right to tell me not to hate him, mum. Considering the fact that you treat him better than me" Romeo replied.
"That's what you think" she replied.
"That's what I think and that's what's happening, and stop telling me not to hate him. The first time I visited the Creed's family house with you before he went to jail, I met him in Elder Creed's inferno chamber and do you know what he did? He threw fireballs at me only because I called him a snob! He loves hurting people, and he needs therapy so tell his father to get him a therapist, and please...tell him to stop going after Ixora" he said glaringly, getting down from the bed and leaving the room
He slammed the door shut, and Matron sighed out.
--
[Stonia's Mansion]
Stonia came back from work an hour ago, and she didn't visit Ixora's room as usual.
She came back with a ruined mood, and Ixora just knew someone annoyed her.
If it was before, Ixora would have gone to her room and sleep by her side to try cheering her up, but tonight is not that night.
Right now, she's pacing her room with her phone in hand, waiting for a message.
It's some minutes to 10pm right now, and she's hoping her order comes quick.
She actually ordered a meteorite bracelet to replace the one she broke from Warren, and she's gonna go give it to him and call it quits with that.
Being friends with a messenger from hell like him is bad for her health, and she doesn't even know the meaning of what's happening too.
The message finally pooped up from the deliverer, and she quickly wore her flipflops since she's already dressed.
She changed the jersey to a normal top though.
She left the house easily, thanking her stars that Stonia isn't in sight, she'd have queried her.
She left the house and met the deliverer waiting in front of it already.
She took the meteorite small bag and opened it to confirm the content before doing a short walk to the main road where she boarded a taxi.
Taking a car would alert her mother, and Stonia definitely wouldn't let her out at this time of the night since she can't even lie with Nadine's place.
She doesn't know the hideaway of the devils, but she has heard it's a black house in obscure, so she's just gonna trace it with the driver's help.
"Obscure avenue" she told the taxi driver who immediately moved the taxi.
Serena came rushing to the road too after the taxi left.
She has actually been following her from home.
She stopped another taxi and followed her.
--
[Satan's Heirs Hideaway]
It wasn't easy to locate, and it was already some minutes to 11 when Ixora arrived.
She literally spent an hour on the road with the driver, searching and searching till they got here.
She got down in front of the black gate and payed the driver before pushing the giant gate open.
It's not locked, so she easily slipped in.
The lights in the environment is off, so she had to use her phone to see her path.
There's moderate sound of music coming from the house, and the closer she got, the louder it got, till she got to the door and rang the doorbell.
It was Ashton who opened the door, and her eyes nearly widened.
Same person who got shot less than three hours ago?
"Pet girl?" Ashton's eyes turned hooded, and she stepped in neutrally.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Konstantin stood from the middle of the ladies he's handling, his body bare.
"I came to give Warren —"
That was all she could say before Anastasia came over, pouncing heavily on her like she has been waiting for this moment.
"I told you, didn't I? It's not over yet" she said, pulling Ixora roughly by the hair.
Some of her hair got uprooted from the scalp, and the bag of meteorite fell from her to the ground.
Anastasia pulled her right ear together with it, and Ixora's earring pulled out roughly, wounding her ear and making it bleed, but she didn't relax.
This is different from earlier when she was weak after vomiting.
She grabbed Anastasia's hair too, her hold tighter than ever.
She kneeled her twice on the face, and the other ladies gasped as Anastasia's blood stained her knees.
Ashton and Konstantin watched without moving from their spots, they're obviously enjoying this.
Ixora keeled Anastasia for the third time, and Anastasia cried out like a bitch as more of her blood stained Ixora's knees.
"I'm not gonna snatch him from you or anything, I don't need him! I don't own him! He's all yours so you can go to hell! How dare you touch my hair! How dare you touch my earring! Do you know how much they cost? Huh? Do you? Get your hands off me!!" Ixora kneeled her for the fourth time, then she raised her head up, slamming it on the wall.
The slam was murderous, and Ixora slammed again and again.
Three hard times, till Anastasia slumped in her hands, then she released her.
Anastasia fell lifelessly on the ground, and Ixora inhaled and exhaled fast, her hair cobwebbing her face as she stood straight.
For a minute, no one moved, till one of the ladies saw blood pouring out of Anastasia's head.
"Blood! Blood!" She screamed, and when Ixora turned around to see the blood surrounding Anastasia's head, she gasped with dilated eyes, and her chest felt like heavy steel was weighing it down.
She stepped back, all anger flushing out of her.
Ashton came closer and squatted beside Anastasia's body, pressing two fingers on her neck.
No pulse, no breaths, nothing.
"She's dead" he said nonchalantly, and Ixora quickly covered her mouth with her palms to stop herself from screaming out as her heart skipped beats.
At the same time, Capri entered with Warren trailing sinisterly behind him.
One look at Anastasia's body on the floor, and another look at Ixora's scattered hair and bloody ear pierce, Warren's lips curved into a sardonic smirk before he talked...
"Good girls are meant to eliminate the bad bi+çhes. You did well, little liar"
TBC.
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