Page 75 of Vow to Corrupt You
“Don’t fucking call me that,” I snap. The fury and wrath simmer within me, begging to erupt, but I force myself in check.
“Nikos,” Dimitris swallows hard. “What’s going on here?”
“You know exactly what’s going on,” I press the gun muzzle to his forehead. “You think I’m blind? You think I didn’t notice?”
He stares at me, trying to fool me still. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But I’m done. I’ve got all the confirmation I needed, and I won’t let him fool me again. “It’s you. You’re the mole. You’ve been feeding Castro information.”
His face pales as though every drop of blood has drained away from it, and for the first time, I see the cracks in his carefully composed façade.
“You thought you could outsmart me,” I continue, my tone venomous, just like his lies. “You thought I wouldn’t see it. That I wouldn’t figure it out. You’re a fool if you believed you could deceive someone like me, Dimitris. The God.”
“Nikos—”
“I didn’t show my suspicions before because I needed you close,” I cut through his protests. “I needed you to think I trusted you. But I’ve had my own investigation going. I’ve known for weeks that it was you. You were too fucking reckless to cover your tracks.”
Dimitris swallows hard, but he doesn’t deny it. He knows there’s no point; it would only worsen his hopeless situation.
“You betrayed me.” My voice falls to a whisper, more dangerous and lethal than any shout. “Serena wouldn’t leave me. Not willingly. Not after last night. You did something. You orchestrated this.”
“Nikos, please,” Dimitris says, trying to keep his composure. “You’re hurt. You’re not thinking clearly. It’s dangerous, Nikolaos.” My jaw tightens even more. He never calls me by my full name; he knows it was reserved for my mother, and I know it’s his way of playing on my feelings now. His way of reminding me of her and that he’s the only living thing connecting me to her, to our bond, which he broke. But instead of achieving his goal, he’s only digging his grave deeper. Trying to manipulate me using my mother is like pleading guilty to his schemes and lies.
“Your obsession with her is dangerous, Nikolaos. It has led you to your own destruction,” his voice cracks. “You’re not thinking clearly, son.”
I can’t help but scoff at the nickname. He has no right to call me son. Lying bastard. “Oh, I’m thinking clearer than I have in years,” I growl, pressing the barrel of the gun with more force against his head so that it tilts back. “Everything else, everything until now, has led me to destruction. Everything but her. She leads me toward redemption, and that’s what you don’t like. You don’t want me sane, Dimitris. If I had a heart, it would break for what you’ve done.”
Dimitris only shakes his head, his eyes closing. “Nikolaos, I’m so sorry.”
“Spare it,” I spit. “Now tell me where my wife is, or I’ll put a bullet in your head and watch as the dogs tear the rest of you apart.”
Dimitris flinches, his breath becoming shallower. But his fear is too little, too late. If I had any remnants of humanity left in me, Dimitris shattered it completely now. I’ll eliminate every threat. Every enemy. I’ll turn the earth into a graveyard to make sure she’s never taken from me again.
Chapter 41
Serena
Pain drags me awake. My head is throbbing. Each beat of my pulse feels like a hammer striking my skull as I slowly regain consciousness. The smell of rust, oil, and something metallic hits my nose. Blood. Blinking against the harsh light, I try to make sense of where I am. The last thing I remember is Dimitris driving me to meet Valeria at my parents’ house, then nothing—just a black void in my head. I try to move, but the bite of cold metal around my wrists halts me. Chains. I’m hanging by chains. My pulse quickens, panic surging as I yank at the chains. They won’t budge. I’m hanging here like a carcass in a slaughterhouse. Desperately, I scan the room, blinking hard, trying to steady my vision. I’m in a warehouse, abandoned and empty, with no escape.
I’m doomed.
The metallic crack of a heavy door cuts through the silence, sending a jolt of terror through me. Footsteps echo in my ears, intensifying the pulsing pain in my head. I freeze, my breath hitching in my throat as she steps into view.
“Valeria?” My voice cracks, hoarse and trembling.
It’s her—my stepsister. She walks toward me, her heels clicking against the concrete like a countdown to my end. Then I see her clearly. Her face seems familiar yet cold, contorting into a sneer that turns my stomach.
“Valeria, what’s going on?”
She stops a few feet away, crossing her arms. “You’re finally awake, sister dearest. Good.”
The sarcasm in her voice chills me more than all the scenarios running through my head. “What’s going on?” I demand.
Her laugh is cruel. “You really don’t know, do you? God, you’ve always been so naïve.” She steps closer, the sinister smile never leaving her face. “I’ve been waiting for this since the day you married Nikos.”
Shivers sweep down my spine as I look at her, feeling betrayed, numb, empty. I can’t believe her words. Is it all because of my forced marriage to Nikos? Is it all because of him?
“Valeria, please, we’re family,” I barely whisper as if all my strength has left me, along with everything I ever believed in. Family bonds. Any values. Hope in humanity.
