Page 80 of Ruins
I head straight for the concealed door leading to the basement.
Alessandro keeps up, silent now, smart enough not to ask questions.
Opulent’s basement is a world away from the glitter and the glamour above. Upstairs is for pleasure. Down here is for punishment. It’s here that we deal with the men who deserve pain.
The ones who harm the women in our organization.
The ones who think strength is meant for breaking rather than protecting.
Weak men.Disgraces.
Tonight, it will serve another purpose.
Tonight, this room, these men, will be my outlet.
I roll my shoulders, exhaling slow, steadying myself for what comes next and step inside.
The air is thick, damp, stifling. The walls reek of blood, sweat, and fear.
Three men are chained to the concrete wall, their gaunt, frantic eyes flickering under the dim light.
Human waste.
Each of them has their own sob story, their own excuses, their own troubled pasts that stopped mattering a long time ago.
I stop in front of one.
His features are unremarkable—except for the nasty scar slicing down his face.
My doing.
A reminder of what happens when men like him forget their place.
I step into his space, close enough that he has to feel the heat of my presence.
“Remember me?” My voice is low, sharp—a blade sliding under the skin.
His breath catches. His wide, terrified eyes flick to Alessandro, then back to me.
Fear.
Good.
I grip his tattered shirt and yank him upright, his body weak and trembling. “Because I remember you.”
Then, I release him. He crumbles.
Pathetic.
“Alessandro.” I don’t break my stare from the whimpering man in front of me. “Take off the restraints.”
There’s a beat of hesitation.
Then, Alessandro pulls a key from his pocket. Metal scrapes against metal as the chains unlock, and the man collapses to the floor.
I barely glance at Alessandro before snarling, “Get out.”
No hesitation this time.
