His Little Flower (Felix and Flora)



Chapter 114

The toolbox clanged shut, the metallic sound was loud in this deafening silence. Liam knelt before me, his eyes gleaming with a disturbing intensity. He reached in, pulling out a pair of pliers. The chrome gleamed menacingly in the dim light.noveldrama

"Please," I sobbed, "What did I ever do to you, Liam?”

He smiled. "Not you. Your fiancé."

My breath hitched, a strangled gasp escaping my lips. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. "Please," I whimpered, my voice choked with terror.

A cruel smile twisted Liam's lips. He held the pliers up, the points mere inches from my trembling hand. "Beg," he commanded, his voice a cold rasp.

A scream ripped from my throat, a raw sound of pure terror. He hadn't even touched me yet. But I was shaking. Even as the sound echoed through the warehouse, something shifted in Liam's eyes. The intensity flickered, replaced by a flicker of... what was it? Disappointment?

He lowered the pliers with a sigh, the metallic clink a jarring counterpoint to the pounding of my heart. A harsh laugh escaped his lips. "Such a fragile thing, aren't you, Flora?" he sneered. "It seems Felix is the one with the real spirit."

His words sent a fresh wave of fear coursing through me.

"I'm going to enjoy torturing him." He sighed dramatically, "I just hope he comes soon."

"Mom!" Liam bellowed, his voice echoing through the cavernous space.

What?

A moment later, a figure emerged from the shadows at the back of the warehouse. To my utter disbelief, it was Lydia, Liam's mother. The sweet old lady who helped me bake cookies just a few days ago.

She shuffled forward, a small medical bag clutched in her wrinkled hands. Her eyes, usually filled with warmth, now held a steely glint that mirrored Liam's chilling gaze.

"Clean her up, Mom," Liam ordered, gesturing towards me with a careless hand. "We don't want her bleeding out before Felix gets here."

Lydia knelt before me, her touch surprisingly gentle as she cleaned the raw scrape on my wrist where the zip tie had dug in.

"I apologize, Flora," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. "This is... necessary."

Her words landed on me like a physical blow. The kind old lady who'd been so nice to me was a facade, a carefully crafted illusion. Here, in the grimy depths of this warehouse, the truth was laid bare - a mother as consumed by vengeance as her son.

Despair threatened to engulf me. Liam wasn't just my enemy, he wasn't just Felix's. He'd poisoned his entire family with his bitter hatred. And I was caught in the crossfire, a pawn in a twisted game I didn't understand.

As Lydia finished cleaning my wound, a fresh wave of fear washed over me. They weren't done. They'd stopped Liam from hurting me... for now. But Felix was their true target. And the thought of what they might do to him sent a fresh wave of terror coursing through me.

I had to find a way out of here. For myself, for Felix. But with Liam and his vengeful mother watching my every move, escape seemed like a distant dream.

A fresh sob ripped through me at the thought, the taste of blood and despair thick on my tongue. I wasn't sure how I was even crying anymore. My vision blurred with tears, the dim light of the warehouse morphing into shimmering, distorted shapes. As Lydia finished bandaging my wrist, a hulking figure emerged from the shadows behind her.

The breath caught in my throat, a strangled gasp escaping my lips. My heart lurched, slamming against my ribs with a frantic panic. It couldn't be. Not him. Not after all these years.

Ascensio.

His name echoed in my mind. The tall, broad-shouldered man stood framed in the doorway, his face shrouded in darkness. But even in the dim light, I recognized the cruel curve of his lips, the chilling glint in his eyes.

A wave of nausea swept over me, the warehouse floor tilting beneath my feet. Traumatic memories flooded back, vivid and relentless. The sight of my mother's lifeless body, lying on her bed, blood staining her white dress. Ascensio, looming over me, his face a mask of cold indifference. He was the man who had destroyed everything, the one who had shattered our lives, who had forced my father into killing my mother. He had ruined everything for me.

My gaze darted between Ascensio and Liam, a horrifying realization dawning. This wasn't just about Felix. This web of vengeance stretched back years, connecting Liam's rage to a past I'd desperately tried to bury. Ascensio was the catalyst, the spark that had ignited this inferno of pain.

Panic morphed into a primal fury. They were using me, using Felix, to exact their revenge on a ghost from their past.

Ascensio stepped closer, his shadow engulfing me. A cruel smile stretched across his lips, illuminated by the flickering light. "Flora," he drawled, his voice a gravelly rasp. "Surprised to see me?" The question hung in the air, heavy with menace. There was no warmth, no hint of recognition in his eyes. Only a cold, predatory gleam that sent shivers down my spine. "You..." I stammered, my voice barely a whisper. "You...how? You can't be here..."

He chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "Can't I?" His gaze dropped to the bandaged wound on my wrist, a flicker of something cold passing through his eyes. "Letting you live all those years was a mistake. But now, it seems, I can rectify that oversight."

His words sent a fresh wave of terror crashing over me. All this time, I had thought I was safe. But the man who had haunted my nightmares, the one who had ruined our lives, was still out there, waiting for his chance.

"Why?" I croaked, my voice ragged with emotion. "Why are you doing this? Why are they doing this?"

Ascensio turned to Liam, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. "Explain yourself, boy. Tell her why we've brought her here."

Liam met my gaze, his eyes shadowed with a complex mix of emotions - anger, frustration, something akin to... regret? He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could escape his lips, a guttural roar erupted from Ascensio.

"Speak, damn you!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the warehouse. "Tell her what her family did to ours!"

Liam sank heavily onto a nearby crate, the color draining from his face. "My name," he began, his voice hoarse, "is Liam Valerio."

The name hung in the air, a foreign sound to my ears. Yet, a tremor of recognition ran through me. The Valerios. The other side of the deal, the family my father had made a bargain with years ago. His narration that day in the cell came to me.

Liam continued, his voice a low growl. "Ascensio is... my uncle. Ascensio Valerio. My father trusted the Corsinos. They made a deal. But my father...couldn't complete his end of the bargain. And my father..." He choked back a sob, the raw emotion in his voice was palpable, "He was killed."

"Killed by who?" I whispered, the answer already forming on my tongue.

"By Felix and his father," Liam spat, his eyes blazing with hatred. "They took everything from me - my family, my future."

A chilling realization dawned on me.

I remembered this. Felix's first kill. He had told me. Very briefly. Many years ago.

"And that's why you're doing this?" I asked, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and despair. "This elaborate game? All because of the past?"

"They stole my life, my father, my mother's husband" Liam snarled. "And I'm going to take everything they hold dear." He gestured towards me with a cruel twist of his lips. "Felix loves you, doesn't he? You're his weakness. Just like your mother was your father's."

My mind reeled. It was all so clear now. They'd used me to get close to Felix, to rip him apart by taking away the one person he cared about most.

"You killed my mother," I whispered, the memory of that fateful night flickering in my mind.

"A mistake," Ascensio interjected, a cruel glint in his eyes. "I mean... well, we intended to kill you both. Hurt Felix and his father. And then kill them, too."

"But you failed," I said, a newfound strength rising within me. "My father took me. You lost me."

A flicker of surprise crossed Ascensio's face at my strong voice, replaced by a cruel smile. "Until now," he said, his voice dripping with malice. "We found you. And now, the game continues." Liam cracked a smile. His teeth gleamed. "You're really grateful, aren't you? That you met Felix again. We made that happen.”

"What?"

"You know, Gray? Your best friend Lexi's husband?"

"Gray?" I gasped.

"He found you. Told us. Then we made my mom hire you. Made you meet Felix. Waited for you to fall in love again. Only to swoop you from under his nose. Again."

My mind reeled in confusion. All of this. All of the fate I had praised. It was all them. So many people involved. This twisted plan.

Ascensio smiled, "I'm going to enjoy painfully killing you in front of Felix Corsino."