*𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐏𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃*
After a short-lived marriage with the cold and arrogant billionaire Ronin Logan, Carmen Price is eager for a break. Her attempt to unwind leads her to another wealthy billionaire, Simon Walsh. Little does she know...
The rest of the drive was spent in silence, and by the time Ronin stopped the car at the back of the club, Carmen was ready to face whatever might come their way.
The two of them made their way into the building, noticing the men in suits positioned almost everywhere. Once they entered a narrow hallway, one of them gestured for them to follow him. Carmen didn't question and neither did Ronin. They both followed the man silently and obediently before he stopped in front of a slightly ajar door and positioned himself outside as if expecting them to move ahead on their own.
Ronin glanced down at Carmen and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, as if quietly asking her to let him take the lead.
Carmen nodded and followed Ronin into the room.
The four-walled room smelled of smoke and alcohol. James sat on the couch, looking less than thrilled to see Ronin and Carmen. Not to mention the guns aimed at him by two men standing on either side. Diana stood in a corner, back against the wall, arms crossed. But that wasn't all. To Carmen's disappointment, Simon was also in the room, just sitting on the other side, looking far too amused for his own good.
Diana approached them first. "We're gonna give you some privacy," she patted Carmen on the shoulder before glancing over her shoulder and signaling Simon to do the same.
Strangely enough, he didn't fight her. He got up from the cushy chair and swaggered toward the door. However, not without throwing Carmen a cheeky wink, making her shoot him a dirty look as if to say, "Mind your own damn business."
The two men with their weapons aimed at James didn't budge. Carmen felt reassured, knowing James wouldn't be able to pull a fast one on them with those vigilant eyes on him.
Unable to contain his anger, Ronin stomped across the room and landed a hard punch on James' face. James' head swung to the left with the impact, spitting out blood before glaring back at Ronin. He wiped the blood from his mouth with a sinister smirk.
"Well, well, if it isn't the righteous Ronin finally showing some backbone."
"People who believe in blindsiding their opponents don't get to talk about backbone, James," Ronin spat back, his anger boiling over. "And neither do the ones who screw over their own damn family for their selfish gains."
James scoffed. "Oh, spare me. Nothin' you say is gonna make me regret what I've done."
"Really? Not even the fact that you damn near killed Willow?" Ronin retorted, his words dripping with disdain and anger.
The mention of Willow seemed to have caught James off-guard. His face pinched, and his brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?" He looked genuinely surprised.
For a moment, Ronin wondered if he really was oblivious. He glanced over his shoulder and exchanged a look with Carmen. But then James' face split into a grin and he scoffed.
"What do you mean I damn near killed her," he sat back as if he couldn't have been prouder of himself. "I'm pretty sure I did a good job of beating the hell out of her."
Ronin's fists clenched at the man's callous admission while Carmen's gaze hardened. She couldn't fathom the audacity of someone reveling in such brutality.
"You sick bastard," Ronin seethed, his voice low and dangerous before his knuckle greeted James with another ruthless punch. "How could you be proud of hurting her? What did she even do to you?"
James chuckled darkly. "Well, she deserved it, didn't she? Always getting in the way, thinking she's so damn important. In fact, now that I think about it, she was exactly like you, Ronin. Always the one with a tantrum. Trying to act all high and mighty as if everyone was beneath her. I was her father's brother. I was her elder. I should have been respected. But she didn't care. One day she hears me talking to one of my clients and makes up her mind that I'm that bad guy. She threatens me. Me! Can you believe that?" He scowled, looking unhappy. "She warned me to keep Eric out of my business, to stop brainwashing him." He scoffed. "Naive, really. She thought her brother was some innocent bystander who got caught up in my screw-ups. Well, for your information, he wasn't. Eric willingly took part in the business. Not for the money, I'll agree, but he didn't mind the violence either. In fact, he was thrilled by it."
Even though Ronin and Carmen had already concluded the role Eric might have played in James' twisted game, it still took him by surprise to hear his older brother was truly never as innocent as any of them assumed him to be. Now, Eric could have been brainwashed as Willow thought, or he could have done everything with his own desperate will. None of that changed the outcome of his actions.
Burning with a new wave of rage, Ronin lunged at James and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him up on his feet. "What the hell are you trying to say?" He still wanted to hear it, if only for his own sanity. "Did Eric have anything to do with what happened to Willow? Tell me the truth or I swear I'll fucking kill you!"
Despite the pain shooting through his skull, James grinned, his dark eyes glinting with twisted satisfaction. "Isn't that obvious?" He laughed. "Your brother took care of her for me. I told her she was about to ruin our life once she spilled about us to your old man. And you know what he did?" He paused, as if to add a dramatic flare that only he seemed to be enjoying. "He begged her to stop. But when she didn't, he bashed her damn head against the wall."
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A/N: Man, the truth is finally here!!! What do you think? :(
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