Twisted Empire - Episode 87&88

  

TWISTED EMPIRE

Twisted Empire - Episode 87&88

(Her Blade, His Neck )

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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 

by Naomi Cindy B.

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[Male Barracks]

Rook is alone in bed, snoring through the night and holding the blankets tightly to his n+ked body.

He's the only one in the room, too. And his legs are sprawled out to either side of the bed under the covers. The feel of cold air brushing his chest made his lashes shake.

His head moved away from the pillow, landing on the mattress itself. His lashes parted, and sleep dissipated from his vision.

He sat up, his palms leaning on the bed surface behind him and supporting his body. He feels strangely weak.

He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly then opening it back.

He could remember f+ckin Theo. They had s+x, and...

What else? 

He has no idea what followed.

Or was it his illusion? Wet dream?

He stared at the bedspread beneath him, and his eyes lost all drowsiness when he saw small drops of sp+rm on the material. It definitely belongs to him, which means he really f+cked Theo, so what happened after that?

Why did he fall asleep?

Most importantly, where's Theo?

He got down from the bed, threw on his p+nts and struggled to buckle his uniform back to his body before leaving the room.

His eyes are still slightly heavy, so he was shaking his head in repeat, rubbing his eyes as he made his way to the field.

The bonfire is fuller than their set's last year cos Privates and Sergeants joined the new recruits to jolly.

He came across Shannon first. She's just coming back from the long hospital journey.

"Have you seen Brent?"

"Have you seen Theodore?"

They asked at the same time.

"Theo?" Shannon gave Rook a long look. "No. I've not seen him tonight. Are you ok? Your eyes look... somehow."

Rook just left her and went further.

Luckily, he found Brent and Paine who're busy watching the dancing pr0stitutes in the middle of the fire field.

"Has anyone seen Theodore?" He asked.

"Rook?" Brent blinked.

"Did you smoke weed? What's up with your eyes?" Paine frowned.

"Are you ok? You look stoned." April asked, joining them.

Morgan followed behind her.

"He looks knocked out." She shook her head.

"Rook, what's going on?" Shannon caught up with them.

They all look genuinely worried.

"I asked if anyone has seen Theodore?" Rook asked again with more grip over his words.

"Miss me?" Theo's sweet voice rang behind, and they all turned at the same time to see him standing there with one crate of beer, and that innocent kitten smile.

      •Fifteen Minutes Ago, Prison•

"Usman's smartest man. That's me." Theo smiled eerily, the type that belongs to a psycho.

"What are you even talking about!" Axel gasped again, his appalled eyes widening more. 

He slapped his own face and belly to kill an ant, and Theo polished his smile before taking his seat majestically on the metal bed. The ants are crawling on him too—so many of them, but he doesn't seem bothered.

Axel swallowed hot saliva, and Theo sighed, resting his elbows on his knees with a nod.

"My body system contains toxins and venom detoxifier. Even if I get bitten by thousands of them, or snakes, I'll stand strong. Don't gape." 

"What!" Axel let out yet another gasp, killing another ant on his skin.

"Being Usman's closest man comes with various benefits, and this is just one of em." Theo shrugged.

"Why did you release me?" Axel muttered, suddenly getting scared of this devil.

"Cos I was ordered to do it, dumbo. I only follow his orders. I dunno why he wants you released but it's probably for his own private reasons." Theo sighed, seeming like he's getting bored of talking.

"Where did you get the lock breaker tool from? Last time I checked, it's only available in the weaponry, and you can't enter the weaponry without getting caught on the Matrix camera. Also, how did you get the key to this place?" Axel asked in confusion.

Theo picked the fallen lock breaker from the ground and flung it at him. Axel ducked to escape, but it hit the wall and came crashing on his head, giving him a big cut which bled and wet his face with blood trail.

"You...." Axel gritted, holding the head tightly with his palm and looking at Theo who's now standing with an hand in pocket and that void face.

"You ask too many questions, it's exhausting," He frowned a bit, throwing an hanky at Axel.

"Wipe the blood on your face, it's disgusting."

Axel took the hanky and began wiping slowly...

"I was getting the best s+x of my life from my toy when I got an order to release you. I had to s+date him with a kiss, then I went to the weaponry to get the lock breaker, and the Matrix cameras wouldn't dare record me cos...my body not only contains detoxifiers but visual black remote, a new technology." Theo explained.

"You f+ckin..." Axel said speechlessly, his eyes still wide.

"And about the key, so far the door has a keyhole, my master key can open them." Theo explained further, cocking his head sideways.

"Are you even... human?" Axel blinked.

"Of course, dumbo. But add weapon to that cos I'm built differently, and I have a man-made heart."

"Human...weapon?" Axel mumbled, his shock brimming.

"And now you'll leave this base, use the back property and scale through he thick forest. Avoid acres 5, 7, 9, 11. There are traps that'd kill you on those spots. Get to the barbed fence and you'll find a tall oak. Climb it, and jump out from there. You might lose a leg, but it's better than losing your life here." Theo faced him.

"You're... insane." Axel swallowed again, and Theo threw him a kick which met his chin. Axel flew to the metal bed, and his flesh tore.

"Ahhhg!!!" He cried out with a yell, grabbing the torn flesh with his cold left hand.

Theo nodded, dropping his leg. "Been a while since I disciplined someone. It's been hard suppressing my abilities." He muttered, turning his back on Axel.

"It's not a negotiation, Axe. You'll jump over the fence, and lose your legs if you have to. Walk a mile away from the fence and you'll arrive at exactly where the military zone-end signboard is. A car will be waiting there. Happy new life in advance."

Axel kept laying there, groaning.

"Get out, be on your way." Theo ordered, and his cries halted for a while. He looked up.

"Nakedly like this?"

Theo faced him with a glare, and Axel quickly got up, running out of the prison nakedly.

A minute later, Theo came out too, dusting his uniform with a long sigh.

He brougt his hand to the back of his left ear and pressed a small button. The button is the exact colour of his skin, so no one will notice except with maybe magical eyes which is impossible.

Immediately he pressed the button, he rested his back on the wall.

"Release job done. Over." He said.

"Good. Wait for the next order, and keep the intels coming. Over." Usman's modulated voice came.

"What do you plan on doing to General? Pretty sure you captured him already. Over." Theo said.

"Hide and seek. Over and out."

The connection got cut, ending the conversation.

Theo left the area, and when he returned to the base environment, he went to the barracks but couldn't find Rook in bed, so he went to the kitchen to get beers before heading for the fire field.

                • Present Time •

"Theo? Where the hell were you?" Brent talked first.

"Rook was losing his mind searching for you and I was starting to think you got kidnapped or something." Shannon said.

"Theodore" Rook rushed to him, looking so out of it and still confused.

Theo dropped the crate of beer carefully.

"You don't look fine, what's wrong, boyfriend?" He touched Rook's face, slowly and caressingly.

"What exactly happened?" Rook demanded, searching his face.

Theo's innocent look returned for a second, but then he gasped...

"Oh! You mean what happened after you fucked me? You slept off and I was worried. I suspected it's your first s+x, so I tuned down my worries. I went to the kitchen to get you some food in case you wake up hungry, but you were already gone when I got back to the barracks. I figured out you came to the fire field so I went to get everyone some extra beers."

Rook's confused eyes persisted. Obviously, he's still under the influence of the sedative.

"Your eyes, they look red. Come, I'll get you some eyedrop from my footlocker." Theo pulled him, but Rook pulled back.

"No...I don't want that. Just...stay." He said impatiently, hugging him.

Theo smiled and curled his arms on him too, hugging him back.

"I should have known it'd end in this kinda scene..." April nodded.

"Tell me about it, lovish fools." Paine replied, but the moment he realized it was April he replied to, he directed his beer to his lips and drank in silence.

"See what I always go through in that room? I swear I'm tired of them." Brent said.

"Go get a girlfriend from the new recruits if you're so disturbed." Shannon muttered beside him.

"I am not jealous of them!" Brent snapped, and she crossed her arms.

"Of course," 

"Where were you?" He asked seriously.

"I followed Cassie to the hospital." 

"Then you should have at least told us! We are a team! A squad! Even if you won't tell anyone,tell me as your best friend!" 

"Best friend?" April chuckled.

"I'm not your best friend?" Brent placed his palm on his chest.

"I don't know." April walked past him, and Morgan bursted into laughter behind them.

"Don't even annoy me more than I already am. Stop that laughter!" Brent snarled at her.

She carried the crate of beer, raising it. "At least there's beer!"

"Bring that over!" Paine shouted after chugging the one with him.

Morgan dropped the crate in their middle, and everyone picked a bottle.

Rook and Theo joined them, too. They picked like everyone else, then they clinked bottles with the rest before drinking up.

They all sat in a line, watching the ongoing bonfire.

"I can't believe we're actually drinking with you." April shook her head at Morgan.

"Y'all aren't chasing me away, it's refreshing." Morgan smiled.

"Teal wouldn't like this," Brent muttered.

"I'll handle her when she arrives. We're from the same hometown remember?" Morgan said.

"You framed her with your distasteful Stormy friend." Rook sneered.

Theo's head is on his shoulder.

"I'll beg her, it's not hard. I really will. We're a squad. A team. Maelstorm. One love." Morgan smiled again.

"I hate her smile." April and Paine muttered at the same time, then they looked at each other, rolled eyes and looked away.

At a spot in the field, Stormy and Allegra stood.

They both have their phones pressed to their ears, both trying Sierra's line at the same time cos this is already more than serious.

They're restless, and it's growing.

"You can't be right, you can't be," Allegra muttered.

"Sierra can't be dead,"

"Maybe you should call her mum." Stormy suggested.

"You think I wouldn't have done that if I had her line?" Allegra glared.

"Then should we visit the institute?" Stormy suggested again.

"You didn't see the news? Police yellow tapes are around it like snakes. It has been closed down and no one must enter." Allegra stumped her foot.

"Then we'll sneak in at night, we can't just stay here. Maelstorm squad is growing daily and it's at our detriment." Stormy folded her arms.

She looked ahead to see Morgan chatting with the squad members, and bitterness filled her.

Why is Morgan happy without her? Why is she smiling and not coming back to beg her for continuous friendship?

She might have to ruin her for them.

Allegra's phone buzzed with Quentin's call again, but she's not even in the mood to answer yet.

--

[Base Back Forest]

Axel walked nakedly in the greenery for one good hour. I's so large, and he had to continue brushing his fingers against his skin cos some of the bugs followed him out of prison.

The wet leaves made him so irritable, and he kept jumping over pile of leaves and pointing twigs with his barefoot.

He avoided all the spots Theo mentioned, making sure to sideline the obstacles.

He got cut by sharp stones, scratched by pebbles a number of times, but endurance came in a rush for him today, so he scaled completely till he arrived at oak.

"He's crazy, really crazy...I'm climbing this and jumping down outside? I won't only lose my legs but arms." He muttered fearfully, mortified by how tall the tree is.

But then... there's no choice.

If he stays in that prison, then Four might decide to kill him within days, or even tomorrow, or even tonight.

This is his surest escape, so he threw away all doubts and risked it.

He climbed the tree after two failed trials, and on getting to the pointing branch which stemmed outside, he balanced himself, his manhood dangling in the middle of his legs.

The height from this place to the ground is so fuckin terrifying, so he closed his eyes, balancing his footings.

At once, he jumped.

--

[Moussaka Mansion]

Teal refused to leave.

The cops are still here, inspecting the washroom, and now they're even more than before.

No clue has been found, and the most amusing part is that the cameras captured nothing at all.

When the records were checked in the power room, they weren't messed with. It recorded that exact moment, just that there was no one in the washroom, and that complicated things.

Is Usman a ghost?

Teal sat on the bare ground in front of the washroom, and as people walked past her left and right, she zoned out, pushing herself out of this environment mentally.

She shut her eyes, locked herself in her own head, trying to find a loophole—a clue.

Usman would have left one clue no matter how bad. He loves games, so he can't just take her baby and leave no clue to follow.

Maybe finding the clue is part of that she has to do.

Yulia is squatting in front of her, watching her closely.

"Sugar..." She tried to touch her, but Kash stopped her. He's standing behind.

"Let her think, ma'am."

Yulia's hand went down.

Jason and Xanthe are following the cops around the washroom as they noted things down.

Jason can't even think at all. No witchy-woo would be greater than this. The big Four taken without traces? Usman is officially a lunatic.

But in all, Four should better be ok wherever that dog took him to.

"You think he's gonna be found?" Xanthe asked beside him, but before Jason could give him an answer, guards barged into the room.

Xanthe took two steps back immediately, recognizing them as the mansion guards.

"No..." He shook his head.

"You're to return home with us, young master." The one in front of them said.

"I'm not returning yet, didn't I text that I'm gonna be out for a while? I've been in that mansion since I returned to this country, no friends or whatever, and now that I finally found a friend, you're here to what?"

"It's the President's orders, sir. We're to bring you back no matter what." That one in front of them said again.

Xanthe quickly went behind Jason.

"I can't go back. You told me yourself that I'm boring, I don't wanna be boring anymore. Please... please help me. I don't wanna go back to that mansion!" He said.

"Go. For now." Jason replied simply.

"What! No." Xanthe held his shirt quickly.

"I said for now... I can beat these foolish guards alone, but it's unadvisable. If we cause a scene here with General still missing, then things would go webbed. Go for now, I'll get you out again." Jason replied.

The guards came for Xanthe, and he didn't struggle. He allowed them take him, and he followed.

He looked back when he got to the door, and Jason nodded reassuringly at him.

Xanthe left with the guards, and Jason stepped out to see Teal still sitting outside on the bare ground with Yulia and Kash in front of her.

"Why is she on the ground?" Jason made to lift her up.

Kash pulled him back. "Let her be."

Jason frowned, then he returned his eyes to Teal.

Her eyes are still closed, and she's still inside her own head, trying to get something out of it.

Nothing. Nothing is forthcoming.

She was drowning with her eyes closed, shaking her head irregularly, but her head only stung.

Is she about to run mad?

She was about to snap out of it when one of her late father's favorite lines came to play.

Vaughn always said; "Inside a message, there's a message."

Her eyes snapped open, and she got up quickly.

"Anything?" Yulia asked.

She entered the washroom and went back to the message on the wall.

FIND US, TEAL ~ USMAN.

She ran her fingers on it for a second before looking back.

"A chem light," She said.

A cop handed her a blue chem-light stick, and she snatched it, shining it on the message.

Shockingly, there's another message below the message, and it read...

SMASH.

"A digger," Teal demanded, and within five minutes, Jason went to get one and handed it to her.

Teal smashed the digger on the tiled wall, and the the tiles fell off to shatters. Everyone stepped back from her for the safety of their eyes.

Teal broke the cemented wall, and the more she neared the middle, the thicker the sound got, till she arrived at the middle of the concrete and gave it one last digger smash.

One half of the wall broke completely, and a body fell out.

A lady's dead body.

It looks like it was placed there yesterday. And another thing... the body has been drained of all blood cos it looks dried.

She's naked.

"Jesus..." Kash muttered.

"The hell?" Jason's mouth opened.

"Holy shit." Yulia commented.

The cops could barely talk. No one has seen anything this macabre before, obviously.

The mansion servers and even the owner started crying.

"She's one of my servers" The owner pointed.

"One of your servers?" A cop said.

"Yes, she's one of us." The servers chorused in tears.

"She was sick throughout yesterday, so I told her to go home at noon. She told me she wanted to go get her bag in the locker room, and that's the last time I saw her. I thought she eventually went home." The owner explained.

"She really came to the locker room to get her bag yesterday, and that was the last time we saw her." A server hiccuped.

"Her blood was drained, so obviously..." Jason said.

"Her blood was used to paint this room, not Four's." Yulia said.

The cops demanded to be taken to the server's house, and the owner took some of them out while some other cops stayed to take care of her body.

Teal squatted beside the body when she noticed something odd about her mouth. It's not fully close, and she's seeing faint white like paper.

She opened her mouth, and there's indeed a piece of paper in her mouth.

Teal took it out, and the others joined her to read it.

EOLQG.

"What does this even mean?" Yulia muttered confusedly.

Teal's phone bleeped on the zinc bowl...the one with the inky screen.

She went for it, and though ink covered most screen, she could still figure out the message.

YOU'VE GOT 6 HOURS TO CRACK THE CODE AND FIND US. OTHERWISE,, YOU'LL HAVE TO COME PICK HIM UP WITH BROKEN LEGS.

Teal swallowed, dropping the phone back. Her palm is already so sticky.

"It's a code, and we have to crack it in six hours." She faced Kash. "Call the HackLord, call Fez."

--

[President's Mansion]

Xanthe met Mrs. Katerina and the President waiting in the living room when he arrived, and he just knew it's their work.

President Spyros raised his hand to Xanthe's face for a slap, but Katerina got in the way, taking the slap instead.

"Katerina!" Spyros yelled.

"You were actually gonna slap me? It has gotten to this level?" Xanthe scoffed, not giving a damn about the slap Katerina took.

"How dare you mingle with peasants! With touts! You're my son, not a commoner!" Spyros yelled again.

"Jason isn't a tout! He's my friend!" Xanthe shouted.

"He's not a tout, but he made you break into the mental institute with him? He's already influencing you?" Spyros scoffed.

"Oh I see your friend Empress already told you about it, meaning you know where she's hiding but you're keeping it from the cops? And you're the President? Disrespectfully, you're unworthy." Xanthe said.

"You little shit!" Spyros raised his hand again, but Katerina got in between, taking the second slap.

"Katerina!!!" Spyros screamed at the top of his voice.

The woman smiled. "It's nothing, I just can't stand here and watch you hit him."

"If you're that crazy about having friends, then I already got one for you, and he'll be here soon. You're not to come out of this mansion for the next one month, that's your punishment!" Spyros said.

Xanthe went upstairs with a run, and Katerina was about to follow him when Spyros stopped her.

"Go to the picture room and destroy Rue's pictures, even Vaughn's. Clear out the room." 

"Finally agreeing?" She smiled.

"My son is running mad for answers, and I won't watch him run mad completely. He can't ever find out. He can't." 

"So now...The General is taken. What next?" Katerina asked.

"I'll visit the base tomorrow. It's been a while since Presidential inspection took place so contact the labour and security sector. We're going as an entourage." Spyros sighed.

"What did Usman ask for in exchange for capturing Four?" Katerina asked.

"He didn't tell me the price yet, I'm still in suspense." Spyros said.

--

[Upstairs]

Xanthe began trying Jason's line immediately he got to his room, but Jason isn't picking.

He must still be occupied with Four's missing case.

He threw his phone back in bed after the third ring, then he fell in bed himself, his mind going back to when he thought he head Gem's voice from the institute annex.

"Impossible..." He muttered.

His door bursted open, and he sat up in bed immediately.

A guy came in, hands in pockets. He leaned on the door with a snicker.

"The f+ck are you?" Xanthe rolled out of bed to stand.

"Quentin, Mrs. Katerina's junior brother. I have a girlfriend in the base...her name's Allegra." He introduced.

"And?" Xanthe grimaced.

"They didn't tell you you'd be getting an indoor friend? That's me." Quentin shrugged.

"No f+ckin way." Xanthe mumbled.

--

[Therapeia Underground Annex]

Sierra got dressed up exactly how Empress wanted it.

Wig on her head, a black dress, black shoes, even golden earrings and necklace and the anklet.

Black flowers were sprinkled on her bed, too.

Her burial is starting soon, but Empress is waiting for the arrival of her father whom she had contacted.

She's standing beside the bed, caressing Sierra's wig with a big farewell smile which might tear hee face if she goes any wider.

"Be bad in hell, sweetie. Be bad." 

"You recognized one of the intruders as the President's son, so who's the second one?" An assistant asked behind.

Empress turned back slowly.

"He's Four's man. I'm very sure of it. Four has no idea he just entered a snake valley, and not even a good run can save him." Empress cackled her laughter again.

"I can't wait for your doomsday," Number 44 said from her opposite ward.

Empress faced her with the rest of her 4 assistants.

The lady is sitting up in bed, smiling drowsily. Her messy hair covered most of her face.

"I'll have the longest laughter that day." She continued.

Empress grabbed a lamp charger cord from a close table, and she was on her way to thrash her when the fifth assistant came in through the tunnel with Sierra's father.

Empress's hands went down, and she dropped the cord, smiling lightly.

Uncle Dave stood there with a bottle of wifebeater alcohol in hand, and his eyes are on Sierra's body on the stretcher.

"What took you so long, sweetheart?" Empress whispered.

--

[Moussaka Mansion]

Teal knew something was wrong when Usman gave 6 long hours to crack the code. She knew something was wrong, but everything is wrong.

They've spent 5 hrs, 30 mins, but they're still unable to find anything.

Even with Fez the HackLord, it seems uncrackable.

Everyone is working including Kash, Yulia and Jason. Even some cops joined the table full of maps, laptops brought by Fez, working phones and code cracking manuals.

None of it is helping.

Fez feels like an amateur, and he kept slamming his palms on the table every minute.

They've tried every decrypting method they could think of, but none is fuckin working on this stupid code.

Teal checked the time, and when she saw there are only 20 minutes left, she felt tears sliding out of her eyes.

It's 5:40, meaning by 6am, that lunatic is gonna break her baby's legs, and that's...that's bullshit.

It can't happen. She wants his tall fine legs to walk down the aisle with her on their wedding, not a wheelchair.

She wiped the tears, sniffling before focusing back on the code.

There are fifteen minutes left now, so she was nodding as the others began retrying the decrypting methods again.

Yulia is at the verge of tears, she's just trying her best to keep it together.

Kash is shaking, it's showing through the map he's holding.

Jason is just raging with Fez, the two are throwing maps and phones around.

Usman is really running everyone mad.

Teal shut her eyes back again just like the other time, locking herself in her head and ruminating by immersion.

She did computer science as a borrowed subject in highschool, and she was quiet good at it—after maths.

All the codes she was taught have been used here, except one.

She could remember that one was always ignored in their textbook, no idea why. But she had learnt that one herself.

Shift 3.

"Shift 3." She spoke up, opening her eyes.

The others stared at her as she got a spreadsheet and listed out the code on a straight line.

E O L Q G 

"We shift each letter three positions backward in the alphabet, or we simply subtract 3 from each alphabet." She said, looking down at the code.

"E comes first." Yulia said.

"E<-3, or E minus 3." Teal said.

"That's B." Jason said.

"O minus 3." Teal said.

"That's L." Kash answered.

"L minus 3." Teal continued.

"That's I" Yulia said.

"We've got three letters BLI, two more to go." Jason said.

"Next is Q minus 3," Teal said.

"That'll be N" Fez said.

"Last one is G minus 3." Teal said.

"That'll be D" She answered herself, and they all looked up at the same time.

"BLIND!" They chorused.

With a small but mad run, Teal got her inked phone again, viewing the number Usman texted with earlier.

There's only one minute left now, and her fingers are trembling on the phone as she dialled it.

Usman didn't pick.

She dialled again at ten seconds left, and as it rang, she ate into her fingers, the hearts of everyone in the room hammering with fear, and the heats of their fears simmered with the room walls.

Usman picked the call at exactly one second left.

"BLIND, the decrypted code is BLIND." She said without breaths in her lungs, and time went up immediately.

"I always knew you were smart." Usman laughed loudly, the scary timbre filling the whole line.

"Tell me where he is already!! Tell me where my husband is, and I swear if you did anything to his body, I'll make your death a history!!" Teal shouted.

"There was no time to hurt him, bambolina. Cos i'm busy preparing for my next attack launching, so this game is just my way of congratulating him for becoming General." Usman laughed again.

Teal's fists folded, so much.

"Where is my man, Usman?" 

"Ring building." Usman croaked, and the line went dead. He cut the call.

Teal ran out of the building with a dash. They ran after her.

Getting outside, she used the knife on her thigh strap to tear her gown off, leaving her in her boy shorts and her black string singlet.

She climbed Jason's bike.

She was already speeding down the smooth road before the others came out of the mansion.

"Teal!!!" They screamed synchronically, but their voices disappeared into the early morning.

--

Teal has always had a thing for bikes. She fantasized about riding and getting in a competition with boys when she was young.

She always watched the illegal street competitions with Rook, wishing one day she'd be on the lane too.

And many times, she rented bikes for rides with Rook, and each time she did, she learnt the basics and hard parts till she became a professional.

A lone wolf on the tar.

She handles bikes a lot better than cars, and that's why her ride to the ring building was very fast.

Her hair flew around with the morning air, and her barefeet flattened against the gear everytime.

She was aching to get there and meet him in one piece cos at this point, she doesn't trust Usman.

That lunatic even has her number?

Whoever he is must be a wizard, that's the only plausible answer for this shit.

She got to ring building, swung her leg over the bike to get down.

She left the bike without parking it, and it fell as she ran into the building.

The first thing she met in the middle of the ring is a wheelchair, and she went cold on her spot.

What's a wheelchair... doing...here?

She walked few steps to it, her throat closing on nothing till she arrived and touched it.

Definitely, someone sat on it not long ago cos the leather seat is dusty but clean in the middle.

Gawd. Not Four. Right?

She turned around hurriedly. "Eros!!"

A short run to the right. "Eros!"

Another short run to the left, "Eros!!"

She slammed her palms on the first door she saw.

"Eros f+ckin DeVille!!!"

It's empty in there, her voice echoed in the emptiness, the smell of rotten blood unsettling her.

"Eros!!!"

She was holding her tears back at this point.

Did Usman lie? Was he making a fool of her by asking her to come here?

Is this another game?

Did he really break his legs?

Shakily, she retrieved her inky phone from her pocket to dial Usman again, but before she could even put it on, dominating arms wrapped around her edgy body from behind.

She froze.

The phone fell from her once again, getting ruined completely.

She smelled Tom Ford.

She smelled him.

Her eyes became glassier as she whispered in a small, emotional voice...

"Baby..." 

TBC.

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