Twin Tormentors By RARE

Chapter 52 LEIGH-ARI “What?” The word escaped my lips in a whisper. | was too shocked to even speak out loud. | took a small step backward, not knowing how to react, what to feel or what to do.

“Are... Are you sure it's her? There has to be a mistake. | mean Val and | are cool.” | rattled in a small fading voice, trying to turn the table. There was no way it could be her. | mean we were cool, we were on good books with each other, and never would she think of hurting me.

“Sorry Tesoro. But everything points at her. From the day you fainted in the steam room, she was the one who cto report to us. How did she know that you fainted from too much heat unless she was the one who turned the heat on? She has been working in the dark since. And we wouldn't have caught her if Verzi didn’t retrieve the deleted footage. They were all gone. Why did she have them deleted? If she wasn’t trying to hide something? Verzi managed to find a few clips.” Enzo explained calmly with his hands stuffed into his pockets. (This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) How were they so calm when | was about to jump out of my skin right now? “No! No! No! The clips don’t mean anything. There could be ssort of a misunderstanding o r at least let's hear what she has to say. She can’t betray me. She can’t” | felt a tight grip enclosing around my neck, the lump rising from deep within my stomach and settling right o n my air passage. | swallowed my saliva audibly, trying to keep the tears that threatened to spill at bay.

Verzi tore from the keyboards and walked towards me, then yankedto him and crashed m y small body with his hard one. He enclosedin a bone-crushing hug and gently caressed my back. Even if | wanted to be strong, him holdinglike this opened the flood gates. | cried.

“Leigh-Ari?” He called out in his cold voice; I just continued sobbing on his chest. | was so full of questions. So much confusion. What is it that I did that made Val hatelike this? All along, when we were together, be it at the pools, out on trips, the little getaways, she has always hated me? Why? | thought she understood me, pitiedto be exact. What could she possibly despisefor? “Are you sad?” Verzi asked with a small voice. Although | was an ugly mess, | wanted to laugh at his question. Of course, | was sad.

I nodded against his chest and in return, he kissed my forehead before rockingfrom side t o side.

“It’s okay baby. | am going to kill her.” He offered so plainly and simply like he didn’t just talk about taking someone else’s life. | didn’t even have the energy to stop him. | was so hurt, drained. And the exhaustion from the hard training was finally catching up with me. But that didn’t compare to the lump in my throat, the painful clenching of my heart at the thought of being betrayed by one | held so dear.

At that moment, | remembered Xander’s words; BEWARE OF THOSE YOU KEEP NEAR VERNERO POV No amount of sugar candied words would make up for the raging tornado deep inside me. | was so angry | felt like | was going to blast if | didn’t do something about it. The realization that Valerie was the one working in the dark, trying to harm our girl, was one thing that madewant to combust. We had trusted her with our deepest secrets, confined in her with our shadiest shenanigans because for once, we had someone who understands us.

And return, she had stabbed us in the back while we weren't watching.

| never dealt well with traitors. They all died a miserable death with my hand, and this time, m y Tesoro was involved. And | couldn't even begin to imagine what | was going to that excuse o fa woman once | lay my hands on her. My blood had boiled with fury when Leigh broke into tears in my arms in the security room. (This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) She was so hurt from the betrayal it crashed me. | never wanted to see that look on her face, and no one had to put it there. But this bitch didn’t know her place.

Gosh, | was going to destroy her! “What now?” Enzo asked from the couch where he was slouched lazily drinking his whiskey. But I could feel the pent-up tension resonating heavily from him. There was a raging storm inside of him, just like me. And his power charged mine, making my hatred hit the roof.

“I am going down at 1. Tesoro, is she asleep?” | asked instead.

“Yeah. She went out as soon as she finished bathing. You should've been there.” “I couldn't. | just...” “I know. You don’t have to explain.” He said dismissively and reclined on his couch.

We sat in a long, cold, and still silence, our minds doing most of the talking. The only thing | was waiting for was to go down there, get that bitch, and pull her off her high horse. Because she had so much to answer for. | don’t know if we were missing the bigger picture here, but all | knew was that | was going to make her die a slow, painful death.

When the ghostly hour crawled slowly over the earth, | put on my very light clothes and exited the room.

“I'll be down,” Enzo called out behind me, | nodded and then left.

The hallways were quiet, with people frolicking the fields of their comfortable, warm beds. There were a few murmurs that penetrated through the walls, the soft giggles, and touches of laughter of those who were utterly unbothered by the ungodly hour.

| moved swiftly in the hallways, careful not to make even a single sound. My feet were light against the carpeted floor, but the tension insidewas at the edge of rupture. | reached Valerie's floor and stood a good distance from her door, careful to stay hidden in the shadows. The lights were completely off, giving space for everything to lurk freely.

I leaned against the wall and waited. Minutes ticked by, and finally, her door slowly creaked open. | smiled and tore from the wall, then watched as she silently closed it behind her, ever s o slow without making a sound. After that, she fixed her skimpy nightgown and looked behind if someone was looking. | leaned back yet again to avoid being caught. | couldn’t mess this up.

When she was satisfied with what she was seeing, she bare-padded along the hallway. (This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) | was sure to stealthily follow her. She rounded the stairs and left the east wing completely.

Got you bitch! “Sleepless tonight?” | called out in a loud, clear voice that boomed all around the empty halls. The silence of the cold night amplified my voice, making it sound ghostly, full of evil. She halted in her steps and slowly turned to face.

“Boss.” She looked up at the stairs where | was slowly descending, ever so relaxed. My hard gaze was fixed on her, watching every single move of her body.

“... l'just... it’s too stuffy in the room. So | was going out for fresh air.” She mumbled before righting her speech.

Hmmmm! Looks like she had everything planned.

“It’s okay. | get it! You need fresh air at 01:30 midnight.” | pointed out causing her to shudder visibly. She gently pulled her nightgown to shield her revealed chest.

“How about | take you somewhere? Since you want sfresh air?” | suggested, but she knew well enough that it wasn’t just a simple offer; it was a command and she was going to obey it.

“I'd rather return to my room boss. | wouldn't want to disturb you.” She said completely shocking me. | did not expect that, at all. Looks like someone had grown a pair of panties.

| stared at her for a good minute, my hard gaze burning holes in her skin. She fidgeted uncomfortably and fixed her baby-doll gown.

“Follow me.” | descended the remaining stairs and walked past her. | was past the point of return. Her disobedience just now was the final nail in the coffin. She needed to be dealt with or else, | didn’t even want to begin to think what would happen.

We walked silently towards the stairs that led into the cold dungeons underground. Upon realizing this, she halted and called out; “Boss?”l turned and stared at her, “If it pleases you, | would like to go back to my room. It’s quite chill down there and | didn’t put on something warm.” She said avoiding my gaze.

“What? | thought you wanted fresh air?” | turned fully and raised my arms to the sides.

“I think I have it, boss. So can | kindly go back to the east wing?” She grew snerve.

| took predatory steps towards her, causing her to take one step backward. | continued my hard, unhurried steps until I was standing right in front of her, then raised my hand and tightly gripped her lower jaw, my fingers digging the skin of her cheeks. She winced from the pain.

“What do I do to people who defy me?” | asked carefully studying her face.(This will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) “You qill them shir!” Her words were incoherent because of the tight grip. Tears formed in her eyes, making them sparkle in the dim light.

“I don’t just kill them. | BURN them. | take them into the forest, tie them to the tree and leave them utterly helpless, begging for mercy. You know what | do next?” She tried to shake her head, but | had her in a good, firm grip.

“| strip them bare and then cover them with sulfur. From head to toe. Do you want to know what sulfur does? It makes their bodies bone dry, paving way for the fire to lick every single inch of their bodies, scorching them to their bones until they becnothing, but the midnight black ash. The remainder of their once despicable beings! The white cinder from the burnt trees mixes up with the ash, creating a lovely, deep gray hue. And just like that, they are the surface of the earth.” By now, tears were streaming crazy on her face. Her body was trembling with so much fear and | swear | have never seen someone so scared i n all my life. She didn’t fathom that it would be her facing my wrath. “Now, do you want to defy me?” | asked in a very low voice. She shook her head hurriedly. | smiled and then dropped my hand from her face, leaving the angry red fingerprints on her porcelain skin.

| turned and left, knowing well she was going to follow. And that’s what she did.

We arrived deep inside the dungeons, and it was freezing in here, which made the surroundings perfect for what was about to go down. We found Enzo already placing the ‘toys ‘on the table. When he heard us, he turned and beamed at us: “My two favorite people. Val, you look hot in that.” He pointed out and winked at her. | wanted to give him a good punching for complementing this snake. But | wasn’t going to waste my energy on him; | had Valerie to take care of.

“Sit,”l commanded and she slowly padded to the cold iron chair that was in the middle of the room.

“What's all this about, Boss?” She asked in a trembling voice, the cold biting into her exposed flesh.

“Oh, you will know sooner,” Enzo said with a smile and then strapped her on the seat. Valerie's chest was rising and falling rapidly with every passing second. When she was all strapped and secured, | took the first ‘toy’ and stopped in front of her: And then started.

“We are going to play a game. 20 questions.” | stated and stared her dead in the eye.

She just stared back with her mouth hanging open with shock. She couldn't even muster a single word.

“Ill start! Were you the one who tampered with the security system?” Enzo wasted no tand dived into the gwhile taking a lazy stroll behind her, “No no no! | don’t know what you are talking about boss and | haven't stepped foot in the security system in a long time, let alone tamper with the system and put Leigh-Ari in danger. | swear on my mother’s life.” She shook her head hysterically, completely denying. | was infuriated by the idea of her, mentioning Leigh.

“19!” | intoned while staring at her with so much hatred. It’s either she was really innocent, or we have been embracing a cold snake and now it was biting us.

“Why did you delete your footage in the security?” | was the one who asked, “Il... Because... | was...” She mumbled and faced down. Enzo’s brows furrowed and he stared at me, she was indeed hiding something.

“17. Next question. What were you doing outside your room? | don’t believe the fresh air excuse because it’s bullshit.” | spat raising her chin with a small dagger.

“I... To meet Ciello. | am seeing him.” She said brazenly.

“Oh, so you are dragging Ciello into this? Huh? Ciello is my right hand and he would never...” “No boss it’s not that. We just didn’t want you to find out. It’s not what you think. | am loyal to you, to the both of you.” She said through tears, makingeven angrier. She had the guts to pull my man down with him.

“Why didn’t you want us to find out?” Enzo asked in a calm voice. At least one of us was still o n the right side of the mind.

“Because | serve you and you two only. We didn’t want to make you angry by enclosing our relationship. | swear that’s all it is. That's why | deleted the footage. | was going to him now when Boss V caught me.” She explained.

“Why would we be angry at you for shagging Ciello? Bitch we don’t need you. We have Leigh Ari, our woman. You can fuck whoever you want and we won't even bat an eyelid.” | spat through clenched but Enzo was quick to throwone glance that hadcompletely silent. Damn him for being my anchor! “If what you are saying is true, and | called Ciello here, would he say the sthing?” He asked in a calm tone, “Yes. Please call him. He is probably waiting foron the rooftop. That's where | was going t o meet him. The rooftop.” She said hurriedly, pleading with eyes full of tears! | straightened u p and my mind went into a full riled up mode. If Valerie is not the one plotting against Leigh, then who the hell is it?