“Wait!” Cyrus' voice ordered in his ear.
“What?” he huffed in irritation.
He was in charge of the operation, but Cyrus was like five minutes away in a van, using hidden drones to keep an eye on things.
“Something is happening at the house.”
“What?!”
He narrowed his eyes, the goggles on his face automatically zooming in. His brow rose when he spotted guards taking off towards the mansion.
Severo's gaze turned to the house, the goggles zooming in on the ugly ass pinecone looking monstrosity. He gasped at the sight of Seri standing at the back of the large platform that came out from the middle of the house. It was the same place where the press conference had happened over a week ago.
Staring at him, he couldn’t help but look over every inch of him that he could see. Covered in sweat, with fading bruising on his face, there was pain in his eyes, but fire there as well.
And then…there was Preston, looking worse for wear. He was bloodied, with one arm bent at a bad angle, his eyes full of fury, but he was sitting unmoving in a wheelchair. Seri had a gun pointed to the back of his head.
That’s my man, he thought with pride. “Give him hell, Seri,” Severo whispered softly.
Tapping his communicator again, he ordered, “Approach with caution.” Then he quickly changed his mind. “Stay hidden,” he snapped, at the sound of sirens approaching.
“Severo, there’s press approaching en masses. Some are already on the property, and the police are not far behind,” Cyrus informed him.
“Let’s close in…see how this plays out. But let me check something first.” He cut a hole into his Shadow Realm, and laughed in disbelief on finding no block in place. Well, if Preston was going to leave the door open, he didn’t see a reason why he shouldn’t use it.
Doors firmly locked behind him, Seri pressed his back against them. Now was when Seri began to feel nervous. He was exposed out here. While they couldn’t shoot him through the back, due to Preston having made this building bulletproof, they could get him from every other direction.
He almost sighed in relief at the sight of a press vehicle coming down the road. At least…they couldn’t shoot him outright now…maybe…
Seri stood there, heart racing away as more and more vehicles showed up, and people with floating cameras and mics jumping out. The questions came then.
Slowly, Seri drew closer to the stairs, even with the risk. He had to tell them. He had to tell them everything.
“Seri Chanway, what have you done?!” one yelled, and that was the one he answered.
Shackle now removed, he drew on his powers. He felt a slight warmth in his veins as he projected his voice loudly without harm. “I have done nothing but freed myself! And I am NOT Seri Chanway. I am NOT Preston’s wife. I did NOT marry him. And I am NOT here of my own free will. I am Seri North. And I am just the man he kidnapped and held captive for almost six years!”
Gasps followed, then flashes and more questions. But he didn’t focus on any of that. He just kept telling his story.
“Six years ago, I went on a date. My life changed then. Preston Chanway kidnapped me. Erased my life, and held me here against my will. He raped me, he abused me, he misgendered me, and he impregnated me. Ten months ago, I escaped.
“But fifteen days ago, using his illegal connections, he found and recaptured me. If you all recall, fifteen days ago was when those explosions went off in that apartment building in Alaska. It was not a gas leak. It was multiple low-explosive bombs. He risked my life, my daughter's life, and killed all those people, just so he could drag me back here, and force me to do and be what he wanted.”
“DRUGGED!” Preston managed to bellow.
Seri scoffed. “Yes, I drugged him. I was working towards my doctorate in Biochemical Engineering when he abducted me. During the months I was free, I developed a way to protect myself from him. Look at me. Look at my scars. Do I look anything like the person you saw standing beside him days ago?!”
He lifted the bottom of the frilly gown he was in exposing his raw and still healing scars. “Could I have stood just days ago?! No! It was a puppet. A fake doll created from a shadow!”
Cop cars came screeching up, stopping beside the news vans. Officers spilled out, guns drawn and aimed his way. His heart started to beat faster.
“Ah, the police are here. Why don’t you ask them why they framed me for murder and tried to help Preston drag me back here?!”
Part of the press turned to face the cops.
A man stepped forward, gun pointed at him still. “Ignore her. Seri has obviously had a mental breakdown. Seri, put down the gun!”
He gritted his teeth as the man misgendered him. “I wonder how you can call me a ‘she’ when I have never met you before. My record clearly states I’m male,” Seri said, hoping that they did.
