Heyman, the fucking pervert, nods. “He should reach the estate soon enough. I have also spoken to the funeral director about the pro–”
“That is enough.” Fredrick’s face tightens, and his lips flatten in a thin line as he gives me a brief glance.
“Look at you showingemotions, Fred,” I taunt, ignoring the burning in my throat, then twist my wrists against the rope. “I would almost believe you if you told me you’re a human.Almost.”
“And you – what the hell areyou?” he hisses, then invades my personal space while pointing a finger at me. “You are just as much a monster as I am, Cignette Adler. You are nothing but a slave to your compulsions.”
“Monsters have different faces, though, Fredrick,” I tell him around a smile. “At least mine isn’t forged from the ashes of those who died because of your insatiable greed and pride.”
“We all do what is needed of us to survive in this world.”
I chuckle. “Do spare me the self-righteousbullshit. I’ve dealt with assholes like you in the past, and let me tell you: it’s never about survival for you all, but power and dictatorship.” I shift closer to him. “People like you thrive on superiority, but you forget that a coin has two sides, and it’s only a matter of time before it decides to fucking flip on you.”
His eyes glaze over as his anger rises. “I should have killed you instead of knocking you out,” he says.
I grin. “Well, why didn’t you, then?”
“Because I didn’t want to let you off so easily,” he admits.
“Of course. It’s only fair since I didn’t let your son off easy.”
His face reddens with rage, and I notice a second too late as he moves his upper body backwards. I try to pivot my face away from the punch he throws at me, but still catch his knuckles against the side of my nose, gasping audibly as it briefly stops the flow of air to my lungs.
“You’re a weak,weakman, Fredrick,” I rasp, then sniff when I feel a thick line of blood dripping down my left nostril. “Keeping me tied up so that you can fulfill some masochistic fantasy of yours – now that’s a bit of a cunty move, don’t you think?”
“Why haven’t any of youidiotscovered her big mouth yet?” Heyman asks the guards, and when none of them answers, he sighs and pulls a handkerchief out of his suit jacket.
“If you takeonestep towards me, I swear to God I’ll kick your balls so high up your fucking guts that you’ll have a hard time looking for them,” I warn him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Chris mutters from behind me, then brings a white linen handkerchief, rolled flat, in front of my face before wrapping it around my mouth.
“Fuck you!” I scream, but my voice comes out muffled. I try to get away from him, but he fists the back of my hair and pulls me to him, making me cry out. My head swims once again, and my shoulders slump as pinpricks overwhelm every inch of my body.
“Sir?”
Fredrick turns, and there stands the guard he’d commanded to bring water a few minutes ago. He’s holding a small box full of packaged water bottles, and looks unsure of whether to put them down, or to keep holding them.
Fredrick and his bald disciple make their way to the guard, but halfway through, the former stops and twists his head, bringing his sharp eyes to me. He smiles in a way that makes bile rise in the back of my throat, then looks behind me.
“Get to work, Chris,” he orders, and beside him, Heyman’s shoulders shake as he coughs out a mocking laugh.
And I? I take a deep breath in, then let it out slowly before bracing myself for the agony I know I’m about to endure.
23.
“Wait, is that him?” Safiya says, stretching out an arm over the railing as she points at someone downstairs in the foyer.
I lean over a little as I survey the guests. “Where?”
She clicks her tongue and once again points at someone. “There – near that crazy-looking vase. Or whatever the hell that is.”
I frown as I look around, and finally spot a guy in the corner, next to a tall, black vase. His back is to me, so I can’t tell if it’s Timothy. His red hair, however, is the same as the target.
“I’m sorry, are you trying to check if you’re a descendant of Icarus, or have you finally lost your mind?” comes Solo’s voice. “Step back, kid, or you’ll embarrass us all by falling to your death in a foyer full of pearl-clutching upper classes.”
I glance to my left, and watch as he walks over to Safiya and I, looking both annoyed and tired.
“Is that him?” I ask Solo, nodding towards the guy Safiya had pointed out.
