Page 156 of The Forbidden Villain
“Afterward, she did everything I said as long as her stupid boy lived. She loved me though.”
“Nobody in this world loved you, including your parents.”
It’s a wild guess, judging by all the vague comments he made earlier. It hits the mark, though, as rage fills his eyes once again, and he takes a step toward me, but stops. “You’re testing the limits of my patience, Lavender. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Or what? You’re going to kill me just like you killed Anastasia?”
I suspect that’s his plan all along, to hurt Levi, so I’m not sure why he wishes to share all this information with me.
I notice a small, sharp object, like broken glass, to my right, and shift a little when he starts to pace, reaching for it and wrapping my hand around it.
I hide it between my knees when he screams at me, his face all red. “I didn’t kill her! She was pregnant with my baby girl, and there were complications. The doctor didn’t arrive on time.” He wipes away a tear. Does this pervert really think he lost the love of his life? Burning in hell for eternity wouldn’t be enough to pay for his crimes.
“She died because you made her give birth for years here in the basement alone. Her death was the consequence of your actions.”
“Shut up!” he yells, pulling at his hair, and his breathing becomes more prominent while I squeeze the glass and start to tear the rope. “It’s that bastard’s fault! He’s to blame for her death. Her fucking Lev, whom she adored so much.” A different kind of hatred laces his tone, and it stokes my anger.
“He was an innocent child! You’re the one who raped and killed his mother.”
For a second, I think I see confusion in his gaze, as if he were talking about another Lev altogether, but he shakes his head. “Itdoesn’t matter. He never found her. And her bastard ran away and didn’t die in the woods.” He goes to the table and puts the rosebud inside the small vase there. “I tried to kill him for years and then even sold him, and it didn’t work. I hoped he died a painful death, but instead, fucking Lachlan Scott had to adopt him.” I move the glass back and forth harder, calculating how fast I’d need to run to get upstairs and away from this hell.
Levi will come.
I just have to wait.
“The boy was stupid enough to show his face to me, and after that, it was game on.”
“Or maybe you were stupid enough to pick up the decoy.” I hold back a relieved groan when the knots loosen around my wrists. “What if the hunter is the prey? Have you ever considered that you’re the one playing Levi’s game and not the other way around?”
And what a brilliant strategy it was, despite the rather disturbing outcome.
Due to Jonathan’s influence, Levi couldn't find him on his own, and he knew him well enough to predict he’d go after something or someone important to him.
Men like Jonathan wouldn’t dare to go against Lachlan, so he never touched his family.
However, in his mind, Levi is his, which makes him and whoever he loves fair game. He thinks there would be no consequences.
“The boy is not smart enough. He looks like them, but he’s nothing like them. They are the family of cunning strategists. Not that it helped them much.” He laughs, and now I’m the one confused. Is he hinting at Anastasia’s family? “I will not kill you. Not tonight, at least.” He clicks his tongue. “No. I’ll keep you and torture you, sending him videos so he can suffer alone andslowly go insane because he can’t reach you.” He hits his chest with a fist. “He’ll finally pay for what he did to me.”
At this moment, I realize he has no idea who Levi is at all. If he knew he was a serial killer, he’d expect him to do something to protect what’s his, but this guy is just delusional.
No wonder their business empire is on the verge of crumbling.
“What he did toyou? You killed his mother.”
“Stop saying that!” he yells. “I loved her! I never touched another after her.” His face twists. “I couldn’t.”
Something nags at the back of my mind that forms a disturbing conclusion. “Your father found out about you and kept you on a short leash. That’s why you got married.”
Disgust flashes in his gaze. “He married me off to that old hag and kept my inheritance over my head with all the security guards trailing my every move. Hated them all. He wanted an heir, but I couldn’t get it up for her.” His sadistic grin is back. “That’s why when they both died in the plane crash I could finally breathe again. Divorced that bitch right away and left her with nothing. No one speaks to my soul like Anastasia. We’re bonded. I’m very loyal.”
I thought I could never meet a more despicable person than Jade, but I was wrong.
“No, you aren’t. At least she has peace far away from you. Anastasia was not yours. She was a child who got kidnapped and you abused her for years before she finally died by your hand.”
The more I speak the truth, the more elevated his breathing becomes. His face grows red, and I expect him to do something so I can run away. “No! She’s with me. She didn’t go. Stop saying that!”
This makes all my senses halt as dread fills the pit of my stomach. I watch him go to the bed and remove the blanket, and the acid in my mouth is back when he picks up a skeletoncovered in a white dress, hugging it close to him as he hums something under his breath. “Tell her,Nastenka. Tell her the truth.” He presses his cheek to the skeleton and pats the skull. “I could never bury her. She belongs here with me in our heaven. That’s how much I love her.”
