Pain seed

Taking a deep breath, Nero finally stood up. His dinner companion followed him, waving goodbye to the waiter with a smile and a wave of her hand as she passed.

When they were outside, he felt the cool air relax his expression. That was when the voice came from behind him.

"Where are you going in such a hurry? You don't even know where she is."

He wasn't in the mood for conversation.

He knew Diana was in trouble. That was enough.

"No. But I can find out and..." a kind of anger crept into his chest. The flame of a sun of its own burned everything. "...I'm afraid you won't tell me, will you?" He stood against the wall, anger shining in his eyes as he stared at her.

She didn't seem surprised, nor intimidated as she took a step closer.

"I won't tell you..."

"Then stay out of the way..."

"I'll show you."

...

..

"She does her job well," the hooded man commented through a computer screen. The room was dark.

They were both watching the same scene, happening at that moment.

One of them was in the next room. He could hear the screams minutes before, but he preferred to watch through a screen.

The glass of whiskey in his hand made everything even better.

"Of course it is. She's getting paid very well for it...", his heart wasn't as motivated as it should be, he would pay ten times more to have that man in there.

There wouldn't even be a need for a torturer. He would have done the job.

"I hope to see a beautiful expression when he watches this footage."

"Of course. From what I've heard, it might be more exciting than we expected."

He closed his eyes. The screams repeated themselves. A desire to go in there himself and whip her arose in his chest.

The cold, bitter alcohol calmed it down.

But it still couldn't stop him from asking: "That letter you're writing... Make sure it affects him."

The man was silent, smiling silently.

"Sure, don't worry. I intend to break him, after all. From the inside out."

"Great... As soon as I'm ready, I'll send assassins to the people who had contact with him. Sending their photos along with the letter will be a nice extra."

"I like the way you think."

He smiled. Raising the whiskey to his lips.

The hooded man picked up his own glass and raised it in a toast. In the images, the woman's hands were stained a sickening ruby red.

She was just getting started.

The guest was much worse. Her chest and back were marked by knife marks.

As for her hands.

Just one hand.

And four fingers.

Still a long way to go.

"Three days, huh. Don't let her die by then."

"Don't worry. She's got those bottles and another group of doctors on standby."

"Good. By now he should know she was kidnapped... How about we sell him false information about where she might be."

The hooded man laughed, leaning back in his chair.

"I already did that. Those bottles were expensive, right? Someone has to pay for them."

For the first time, the man in the room smiled too. The last scream, longer and more desperate, seemed like music to his ears.

"Great. Since it's going to be used for his bride, it's only right that he pays for it."

It had been a while since he had laughed so well.

But his mood was still strange. His anger would quickly grow as soon as something didn't go as planned.

Something was off about the whole thing, but the trigger was when his attendant who was supposed to have arrived with a new bottle didn't return.

He looked at the screen, ready to apologize for a moment before going to look for her.

It was dark.

The man wasn't there.

The screen had gone black, even though the call was still active, nothing was visible.

Only his hoarse and anxious voice shouted.

"Behind you!!"

It was too late for the warning.

..

With a loud 'splash' sound, more water was spilled. Wetting Diana from head to toe, her body wouldn't stop shaking.

She wanted to speak, to ask them to stop.

She wanted to beg, but her strength had long since disappeared, just as the protection that had soothed all that pain was disappearing.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty, I've barely started."

"Huh!" despair climbed up her entire arm like an agonizing pain. As if millions of bees were stinging the same place. Diana struggled, dragging the chair.

"Okay. I think anyone would be bored at this point," she glanced at the camera on the wall.

Her smile grew as she walked back to the toolbox. "Three days…" her thoughts flowed into words as she picked up other tools.

Diana trembled at the sight of them. She wanted to pass out again but the pain in her hand and torso was too real to let the dream engulf her.

Her heart pounded. Fear took over. The sight of all that blood sickened her. Tired of watching her executioner choose, she closed her eyes. Her rapid breathing filled the room.

At least until the door moved. Both of their hearts skipped a beat.

For different reasons they moved.

"You couldn't bear to watch from afar… Uh, he sent an assistant. What, don't worry about her... Gah!"

A scream, loud enough to shake Diana from her reverie. Her heart trembled with fear, her mind with hope.

When she saw a bloodstain painting the floor in front of the toolbox, she feared. When she saw her body lying next to it, she trembled. When she saw his face... the tears streaming down were the only thing she felt. He hugged her as if there were no wounds.

The blood fell along with the tears and neither of them cared, as her mind finally rested and her consciousness gave way.

His scent was the last thing that came to her mind.