Page 66 of Vow to Corrupt You
“What did you do?” I repeat.
He looks down at his hands, curling into fists as if he can feel what he’s done imprinted into his skin. “I killed him,” he states numbly. “With my bare hands. Just like I did my father.”
Horror.
A sharp pang of horror surges through me. My hands shake, my body trembles, but I cannot move. I’m rooted to the spot, paralyzed with fear.
“What… what are you talking about?” That’s all I manage to mutter. I don’t dare to ask about his father directly. I’m far too scared. How could someone kill their own parent, let alone with their bare hands?
Is this the reason why he always wears gloves?
Nikos doesn’t answer; just takes a slow step toward me. I want to back away, but I can’t.
“None of it matters now,” he whispers. “All that matters is you’re safe.” His eyes, though searching mine, seem so empty. Almost dead. As if his body and mind detached. “I’d kill any man who dares to hurt you. Touch you.”
An icy shiver wracks through me. “You can’t kill people just because they think of touching me.” Tears stream down my cheeks uncontrollably, blurring my vision, but I can see the madness in his gaze. The feral madness that sends a chill down my spine. Deadly possessiveness.
“I can. And I will,” he says as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Perhaps, in his world, it is. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Don’t get what?” I shiver when he lifts his blood-streaked thumb, tracing it gently across my cheek.
“I don’t care about anyone else. I don’t care how many lose their lives, or if the world around us goes up in flames. On the contrary… I’d let the world burn for you. You’re the match that ignites the gasoline, wicked one.”
My voice is a trembling whisper, “You’re the gasoline?”
“I am. One touch of your fire, and I’ll strike a blaze that consumes anything that could hurt you,” he whispers, his bloodied hand lingering on my cheek. “Let it burn… Nothing matters, baby.”
I hold my breath, caught in the grip of something I can’t name. He’s in some kind of trance. His gaze bores into me with a morbid fixation, an obsession that feels almost sacred in its darkness. Lethal.
I’m scared more than I ever was. All the things I heard about him, every warning I ignored, and every rumor whispered about him now echo relentlessly in my mind. I realize he is the beast, but I hoped he wasn’t. I want to run away. I must, but I don’t know how. For the first time, I truly feel like a prisoner in his carefully crafted Hell. I know he’s watching my every move, stalking me. There are cameras in my bedroom, probably in every room and corner of this hellish mansion. Only now do I realize how sick and twisted he really is. I knew it before, but I blindly tried to believe I could find at least an ounce of humanity in him. I was wrong. Dead wrong. And the worst part is that he told me many times that he’s beyond redemption. But I see it now. His darkness runs deep, far deeper, far more twisted than I let myself believe. Now I must figure out a way to run away from a man from whom there’s no escape.
I wait a few days, plotting my escape, which seems almost impossible. Until one Tuesday, seemingly just as ordinary as any other. I’m supposed to leave for uni, which, after Raffaele’s mysterious disappearance, was like hell for me. Knowing exactly what happened to him while everyone else was whispering and wondering was painful. Knowing that he’s dead and never to be found, all because of me, was excruciating. His father, Mr. Lombardi, took a few days off, though deep down, I felt like he knew the truth. His expressive glances at me the first day after his son’s disappearance said more than a thousand words. But he would not dare mess with me. Not now. Not after his son went missing in unexplained circumstances after he was last seen with me at the party.
After my chauffeur drops me off, I go to the ladies’ room and flush my phone down the toilet. I know Nikos is tapping it, so I can’t use it or even keep it. He would be able to trace me. I change into the clothes I asked Chiara to bring me under the false excuse that I spilled coffee on my dress this morning. I don’t want Chiara involved, so I couldn’t tell her the truth, and I became so paranoid that I started to believe that I might even have some tracking device in the clothes I own. The clothes Nikos bought for me. Though, knowing the extent of Nikos’s possessiveness, how deep his obsession runs, I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a tracking chip implanted under my skin.
I chose this Tuesday mainly because I know Nikos has a meeting at Olympus. One of the most essential members, Barry Thorne, has passed away, and they have a funeral to plan and the succession of his heir. Considering Nikos is the leader of the secret society, it should be enough to keep him occupied. Therefore, my chances of escape being successful should be higher.
I know I can’t take a taxi, as Nikos owns the city and every resident there. I can’t risk the driver being one of his corrupted pawns and informing him of who’s in his car. I can’t make a call from Chiara’s phone either—I can’t risk getting her involved, and I’m scared Nikos might somehow track it if I use her phone. So, instead, I ask a random girl on campus if I can use her phone, claiming I forgot mine.
“Salvatore, it’s me. Please don’t say my name or anything that could betray who you are talking to or what this is about,” I whisper, walking a few paces away from the girl. I hate to drag Salvatore into this mess, but he’s the only person I can turn to. “Please, just listen and do what I say. No questions. There’s no time.”
A heavy breath reaches me from the other end of the line. “Speak.”
“Come to my university. The faster, the better. Back entrance. Don’t leave the car, just wait for me, okay?”
“Okay.”
I hang up the phone and return it to the girl. “Thanks,” I say, smiling through the layers of my fear.
It’s now or never. It’s my only chance. If something goes wrong, I might not see another day.
Moments seem to stretch into hours as I wait for my brother. Finally, he arrives, and I run toward his car as if it’s a race I must win, my heart thudding against my ribs like never before. Each step feels like it’s dragging me closer to disaster. My eyes dart around, scanning for Nikos’s bodyguards. Are they nearby? Watching? My breath comes in shallow gasps as I reach the car, practically throwing myself into the passenger seat.
“Drive, now,” I gasp, slamming the door shut behind me.
Salvatore doesn’t hesitate. He slams the car into gear and pulls away.
“What’s going on, Serena? What is this about?” His expression hardens with worry.
