Ch.12: Discussion (Part 2)

"I don't want Albert to save me again," Valentino said, his voice low and bitter-bitter in a sad, regretful way. "The last thing I want is for him to save me again."

"Sooo how did Milo end up with these psychos?" Nicholas said, eyeing Sasha. "Valentino asked you. You didn't tell him."

Valentino and Sasha turned and looked at Nicholas at once, their gazes heavy with skepticism. Valentino narrowed his eyes at him and tilted his head a degree, as if saying, What are you trying to do?

Well, Valentino had said that he was willing to destroy the organization if Sasha insisted on involving Milo. Maybe if he discovered that she had set Milo up, he would flip out and destroy it regardless as revenge. Nicholas could only benefit from their conflict.

"How would I know?" Sasha said.

"You'd know because you planned it," Valentino said. "You wanted them to kidnap Milo."

Sasha frowned. "Why would I do that? What good would it do me?"

"'Cause you're trying to find someone to replace me," Valentino said. "You've been trying for years now, and it's still not working and you can't stand it anymore. I know what you're thinking. If the cult believes only my bloodline can bring back souls, then you could trick them into thinking Milo is my little brother or something. But that won't work, Sasha. It never will. Because they all love me. They respect me. They'll only listen to me, and I'll never do that to Milo."

Sasha silently took Valentino's words in. "You're right," she finally said. "It's a good plan, but it wouldn't work. I know you'd lose your shit if I so much as came near Milo. So why would I bother?"

It was her sensible and logical way of talking that made her more suspicious. Nicholas didn't think she was innocent. Hell, he was starting to suspect her even more, especially since she had admitted she would set Milo up if she needed to.

The moral compass in this place was complete haywire.

"Then how did this happen?" Valentino said. "Who planned this whole thing? Who told my clients that I can revive the dead? Who told them there's this 'rare' ritual? Who told them that it's too exhausting which is why I hate doing it? All of this stuff is completely made up. Who'd go through all this trouble just to make Milo suffer? To make me suffer? You. Because you'll forever want to hurt me and the people I care about."

Sasha's forehead wrinkled as she furrowed her thick eyebrows, and only then did Nicholas realize she was on the older side. Mid thirties, maybe even older.

"It wasn't me," she said. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Your clients probably made that all up to manipulate you into reviving their son." She glanced briefly up at the man next to her, then pushed her chair back and stood. "Valentino, keep Nicholas here for now. Teach him a few things, maybe you'll take him with you instead of Albert next time."

Huh?

That was it?

"No," Nicholas said. "That's not happening."

Sasha walked towards the door, her steps a little hurried. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Not happening," Nicholas repeated, gritting his teeth. Not happening, not happening, not happening. There was something fuming in his chest. "I'm gonna throw you all in prison."

Sasha turned on her heels, gave Nicholas a distasteful look, then approached again. Her heels clicked against the flooring. As she bent before him, levelling those sick, dark eyes with his, Nicholas's heart pounded, but he didn't flinch. He glared back.

"Dogs that bark a lot don't bite, Nicholas," she said. "They told me you've been shouting and threatening since you arrived, and where has that gotten you?"

Well, Nicholas couldn't argue that.

So naturally he spat in her face instead.

The moment he did, the man lunged in his direction. Sasha held her hand out to stop him before he could hurt Nicholas. The man strode back again, but his shoulders were still tense.

"This little shit," he said. "He can barely move and he dares to be this insolent."

There was something satisfying about this. Nicholas found himself smiling slightly, unable to hold back the sickness in him, the relentless, compulsive need to spite. It was a nauseating thrill that he'd nearly forgotten after his dad went to jail.

"It's okay," Sasha told the man as she grabbed a fistful of Nicholas's hair, along the back of his head. She tugged with surprising strength, pulling his head back. Nicholas's frown returned. He snarled at her, and she only tightened her grip. "I'll forgive him. You know why?" She smiled at Nicholas. "You're the one who gave Valentino that cut on his face, right?"

Nicholas's gaze flitted towards Valentino, who was still sitting in his chair, barely visible behind Sasha. Valentino touched the bandaid across his cheek, then stared at Nicholas with the sum of all the hatred on this earth.

Sasha giggled.

Then it turned louder, and louder, until she was laughing so obnoxiously that it juxtaposed her classy suit and slicked hair. So loud it echoed, bouncing off the walls, firing goosebumps all around Nicholas's arms. Letting go of Nicholas's head, Sasha put her palm on her stomach, trying to contain her laughter.

Nicholas hadn't intended to make this easy, but holy shit, this woman was creeping him out more than the captors had. He could only stare back at her, dumbfounded.

Slowly, gradually, she calmed down again. She looked at Nicholas, then reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Nicholas shoved her hand off. "Fucking creep."

"Thank you for giving Valentino that scar, Nicholas. I hope he can never get rid of it!" She spun towards Valentino. "Another one to the collection, huh? You always think that I'm trying to hurt you, but I don't even have to try! All the hurt comes to you on its own."

Nicholas waited for Valentino to smile, to say something teasing, to show that he didn't care. But for the first time, he stayed put, blinking blankly for a few heartbeats. For the first time, he didn't look relaxed.

"I think it's you," Valentino finally said. "I still think it's you. And you won't be happy when I figure it out for sure."

"Valentino," Sasha said. "It's so funny to me that you're acting all calm and unbothered right now. Should I remind you how you were a few years ago? The first time I sent you to clients, do you remember that? You were so nervous you got a nosebleed. And your hands wouldn't stop shaking. I still remember how pathetic you looked. Good times, good times."

Sasha looked at the man still standing by her desk, happily telling him the story. "What's even funnier is that I gave him a pill under his tongue that night. I told him it would make him calm down, and it did. But guess what? It wasn't real! It was just a placebo, and the idiot believed it."

Now this made Nicholas want to spit in her face again.

How was this even relevant to the conversation?

"I never believed it," Valentino said. "I spat them all out. Every single pill."

"Mhm." Sasha walked back towards the door. The man followed her. Flicking her wrist at Valentino and Nicholas, she told him, "Keep an eye on them, all of them, including Albert and the kid. They're not allowed to leave."

The man nodded. Sasha left.

Nicholas stood and headed straight for the door. He expected Valentino to follow, but when he heard no footsteps behind him, he glanced back over his shoulder.

Valentino was still in his chair, unmoving, his eyes fixed to a spot on the floor. He wasn't even frowning, just staring lifelessly ahead. Nicholas left him as he was and stepped out.

Albert wouldn't be happy to see Valentino's state. He wouldn't be happy to know how Sasha had tried to humiliate him.

In the corridor, Nicholas got lost for a second, and he looked around to figure out which room they had been in. Then Albert's head peeked out behind one door to his left, and Nicholas perked up, hurrying towards him as much as his aching leg could let him.

"Albert," Nicholas said. "I need to talk to you."

"What happened?" Albert asked as he stepped aside, making space for Nicholas to enter. "What did she say? And where's Valentino?"

"We're not allowed to leave," Nicholas said. "Valentino's still in Sasha's office."

"I figured." Albert pointed at the window in their room. Nicholas looked in that direction, and his eyes widened. There were two more men in the yard now, one right under the window, another guarding the front door. The last one was leaning against the car. "And they're armed."

Nicholas could already tell fighting his way out wasn't going to work anyway, not when no one was on his side. He had another idea.

"Go check on Valentino..." Nicholas's eyes swept across the floor, then met Albert's again, trying to look as innocent as possible. He forced concern into his voice. "I kinda feel bad for him, you know. Sasha kept trying to humiliate him. I didn't realize she treated him like shit..."

Albert clenched his jaw, then turned and headed towards Sasha's office. "Stay with Milo."

Nicholas nearly laughed. Too easy.

• • •

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