The tires screeched to a halt in front of the secluded villa, cloaked by towering trees and overgrown weeds. Time had forgotten this place but Sasha Famazani hadn't. Her lips were pressed into a thin, merciless line as she stepped out of the car, her heels clicking ominously on the cracked stone driveway. The villa was cold and lifeless, a perfect reflection of the darkness nesting in her heart.
From the shadows of the doorway emerged a gaunt man in his sixties, with hunched shoulders and a crooked smile that never quite reached his eyes. His hands trembled as he bowed deeply.
"Young Miss, you honor this old place with your presence," the man said with a sycophantic laugh. "I thought you wouldn't come back so soon."
"Lead the way," Sasha replied curtly, her voice colder than ice.
"Yes, yes, of course," the man nodded quickly and turned on his heel, beckoning her forward with a shaky hand. "Right this way, ma'am."
They descended into the depths of the villa down a narrow staircase and into the underbelly of hell itself. The dungeon was lit by dim, flickering bulbs, the air thick with the stench of old blood, rotting flesh, and something fouler still: despair.
Each step into the dungeon sank her deeper into a hell of her own making.
The air grew heavier thick with dampness and blood. Mold clung to the walls. Rats scurried into the shadows. Torches lined the hallway, flickering weakly as if they too were afraid to burn too brightly.
At the end of the corridor, a reinforced metal door groaned open to reveal a chamber of unspeakable horror.
There he was, chained and contorted on a rusted torture rack. A once-handsome man now reduced to something unrecognizable. His face, grotesquely disfigured, was a patchwork of scars and bruises. His tongue had long been cut out, and blood still crusted around the jagged edges of his mouth. His clothes, soaked in blood and filth, clung to his skin like a second, decaying layer.
The man lifted his head weakly at the sound of footsteps.
The moment Sasha entered, the man's remaining eye widened in dread. A low, desperate, animalistic moan slipped from his throat.
Sasha's crimson lips curved into a beautiful, cruel smile.
"Oh, my poor sweet Gideon," she said mockingly, her voice lilting like a lullaby. "I hope you've been behaving while I was away."
She walked closer, her heels deliberately slow, like a predator circling its prey.
Sasha's crimson lips curved into a beautiful, cruel smile.
"Aww," she cooed mockingly, stepping forward. "I hope you've been enjoying your days without me."
She leaned close, her voice a silk-covered blade.
"You didn't miss me too much, did you?" Her laughter echoed around the dungeon, haunting and vicious.
"You don't have to miss me too much," she cooed, tilting her head. "Because here I am again."
Gideon thrashed against the chains, a futile struggle. Muffled noises spilled from his mouth pleas, threats, curses but they were unintelligible. His body trembled, sensing the storm she brought with her.
The caretaker remained frozen near the entrance, eyes downcast. Sasha turned slightly and gave a sharp nod.
"Bring it to me," she ordered.
The lackey blinked and bowed, scurrying away. Moments later, he returned, sweating, trembling with a long whip coveted in sharp spikes.
Sasha's eyes glinted with anticipation as she took the barbed whip, gently caressing it.
"You know what happened today, Gideon?" she asked, her tone light and cheerful like she was recounting a story at tea. "Harry slept with another woman. Touched her… held her. But me? He barely looked at me."
Her smile dropped.
"And it's all your fault."
Gideon shook his head violently, eyes wide with terror. He tried to scream, but only a garbled wheeze escaped.
Sasha's grip on the rod tightened. "That day… when I had a chance to save his mother… when I was ready to go to the hospital and give my blood… you intercepted me. You kidnapped me!"
She walked to the side of the rack and crouched beside his face, her voice now venom.
"Do you know how many times I begged you?" she hissed. "How many times I screamed, pleaded, cried but you laughed. You thought it was romantic, didn't you? Like in those sick novels."
Her expression twisted. "And she died. He hates me. He's never loved me. Because of you."
Sasha stood and moved to the back of the rack. She drew out a cruel-looking barbed whip and trailed her fingers along its twisted strands. Gideon's body flinched instinctively.
Her voice turned syrupy again. "So tell me… do you want to make it up to me today?"
Gideon frantically shook his head. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. He couldn't speak but the desperation in his gaze screamed louder than words.
Without warning, Sasha brought the whip down.
CRACK!
A howl of agony burst from Gideon's throat as his body convulsed.
"Does it hurt?" she asked sweetly.
CRACK!
"Does it hurt now?"
She continued whipping him with growing fervor, laughing maniacally through it all. Blood splattered on the cold stone floor, his back a mangled mess of torn flesh and raw muscle.
"Let me guess, you wish you were dead?" she taunted, panting slightly, her eyes alight with madness.
"But you're not allowed to die, Gideon. That would be too kind."
The man's body shook violently. He screamed, an awful, guttural noise as Sasha slammed the red-hot metal against his chest. The smell of fresh blood filled the room instantly. His body convulsed before going limp, unconscious.
Sasha stared at the mangled wound for a moment, then slowly inhaled.
The satisfaction that flooded her was toxic and delicious.
She dropped the whip onto the ground with a clatter and pulled out a lace handkerchief, calmly dabbing her hands. Then, she tossed the bloodstained cloth to the floor like trash.
"Make sure he stays alive," she ordered coldly. "I want him to feel every day. No rest. No mercy."
"Yes, Miss…" Goro, the caretaker mumbled, his legs shaking. He glanced fearfully at the unconscious man, then at Sasha, wondering how a woman so stunning could house such cruelty.
As Sasha turned to leave, her heels echoed once again, each step marking her descent not into darkness…
…but her rule over it.
She paused briefly at the door and looked back, her eyes gleaming.
"See you soon," she whispered, before disappearing into the shadows.