Chapter 63

Leaving his room he strolled down the corridor. His head was going through a lot of chaos but he had a destination that he needed to reach as soon as possible. 

However, a paralysing surge of panic overtook him before he could go down the steps when he saw the person standing before him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. 

His understanding left him on his own with every muscle going stiff and all of his senses on high alert. The person he dreaded stood in the ominous corridor was none other than his uncle. 

Lia's spine tingled at the sight of him, his breath seizing as he struggled to breathe. Memories of all the assaults and harassment this person had tortured him flooded back to him and he froze. 

It was a long time since this man first laid his dirty hands on him but Lia could still feel them as fresh and as disgusting as they were the first time. He was around seventeen when his soul was tainted for the first time, he screamed and cried, struggled and fought back but nothing stopped that horrifying event. 

He was stained for the rest of his life. But what destroyed his conscience even more was that his own mother didn't believe him and trusted her husband instead. 

Lia cried and begged for her to believe him but she simply reprimanded him to not be shameless and blame someone for something so absurd which resulted in him getting r@ped many times after that incident since there was no one to save him. 

That long-term trauma affected his endocrine system, potentially leading to shifts in his hormone levels that influenced his sexual response. The disruptions in his neurotransmitter function, related to stress and anxiety, impacted his arousal and desires, developing a strong sex drive. 

He felt a horrible ache feeling the weight of his past pain. He wanted to run away to avoid this monster but his terror held him in place. The predator had left wounds on his mind and he couldn't get out of its deadly trap. 

"Where to?" The monster grinned, moving closer to him. Lia stood frozen, traumatised beyond movement. "Going to whore around even after your mother warned you?" he asked mockingly.

Lia was strong enough to withstand the verbal abuse without flinching, but his body showed how deeply scared he was of this monster. His senses were sharpened, memories of past tragedies flooding back, and the man's sheer presence seemed like a violation.

Can he ever fight back? Can someone ever save him? 

The man leaned in Lia's direction, his eyes glaringly malicious. Lia could practically feel the dirtiness that was emitting from him. 

He felt a chill run down his spine as the old man licked his lips. "You know you don't have to go anywhere else. I can help. Here, in your own room. Just like those times, we used to have fun."

Eyes instantly shut Lia shuddered and tried to block out the disturbing memories. Had he not been petrified by fear, he would have backed away. But his stomach felt sick and urged him to puke. 

He was scared even to do that. 

"So, what do you say?" the man asked in a low tone, his voice a bitter reminder of the past Lia was trying so hard to forget.

But the memories can't be forgotten. They stayed, they lived with you, but with harsh consequences. 

"Dad?!" Lia unknowingly let out the breath he was holding upon hearing his saviour's voice. "What are you doing here with brother Li?"

Jason looked over to see his son walking towards them. Eve, with worry and anger, glared at his father with an intense scowl.

Jason smiled widely, instantly backing away from Lia. He looked between his son and back to Lia. "Oh, I was just telling your brother to be nicer to us since we are family. But as arrogant and rude as he is, he never listens to-" 

"Mom is looking for you," Eve cut him off directly in a frustrated tone. 

He stood beside his brother with his small and weak body. 

Jason's smile twitched, and his eyes turned serious as he looked at Eve. He was well aware that he couldn't do anything to his wife's beloved son.

"Sure." Giving one last creepy smile, he left. "I should go now, take care." 

"He's gone," Eve worriedly said, turning his gaze to Lia, who didn't bother to face him, even though he was secretly relieved that Eve arrived at the right time. Still, he would never admit that. 

As Jason left, Lia's legs gave out, but Eve was quick to catch his brother. "Brother Li? Are you alright?" His voice was filled with genuine worry as he supported Lia, who was visibly shaken.

Lia, still facing away, nodded subtly, but the fear in his eyes was unmistakable. Eve tightened his grip, offering silent support to his brother.

But when Lia regained awareness, he pushed Eve away aggressively. With a furious voice, he snapped. "Stay away from me!" 

Eve sadly rubbed his arm but he was aware of his brother's sadness so he never minded his big brother's violent behaviour. Because he believes that one day his brother will definitely look at him with love and affection. 

He just has to work hard for that. 

"Brother Li–" He looked at Lia who was catching his breath. He cautiously extended his hand which was harshly pushed away. 

"Shut up! Stop being so annoying. Are you a fucking dog? Brother Li this! Brother Li that! How many times do I need to tell you that I'm not your brother!" The yelling almost brought tears to the frail boy's eyes. Lia laughed mockingly. "What, crying already? Go and fucking cry in your mother's lap and stop annoying me! Get lost!" 

Eve backed away with a shudder, his eyes widened with rims of tears, the haunted look in his eyes was able to show just how fragile he was. This wasn't the first time he had heard such harsh words from his brother and this wasn't the last time. 

Blinking his eyes profusely, he shook his head. "I-I wasn't crying," He smiled to lighten up the mood though his voice was shaky. He extended the jacket he was holding, the reason why he came looking for Lia in the first place. "Here, it's really cold outside." 

Lia stared at him dumbfounded. His encounter with Jason had triggered his feelings and memories, making him a hundred times more bitter than he already was. Right now, what he seeks is some alone space to deal with those disturbing nightmares. 

But the sapphire eyes, innocently looking back at him with hopes, made his mood worse because of their extreme resemblance to that bastard's eyes that looked at him creepily. Another reason why he hates directly looking at Eve. 

"Burn it. Anything touched by you, I don't want it near me. I don't want you to infect me with your diseases," Lia said brutally, and could clearly see how it affected Eve because the jacket fell from his hand falling on the floor, Eve stepped backward, in fear of really infecting his brother with his last stage of skin cancer. 

"I-I-It…it c-c-c..can not b-be," he was hyperventilating, hands tightly clutching the sides of his sweater. "I mean…it can't be t-transferred to someone e-else. D-Don't worry brot–sorry! I mean Lia." 

"Why would I still take the risk?" 

Whole body shaking with the grief of dying soon and disappointing his brother again, Eve's heart paused with a pang. He doesn't want his brother to avoid him because of his sickness, he wishes he could get well and his brother doesn't have to feel scared of getting his disease but that's not possible when you know you're going to die soon. 

A dry, juddering sob left him but he didn't cry. Staring down at his shoes he smiled sadly. He doesn't mind his brother's words no matter how much they pierced through his heart. He knows his brother cares for him, just doesn't like to show it. 

"Sorry, I will remember to keep some distance between us from now. You are right, I shouldn't put your life at risk. Please remember to carry another jacket with you," he sighs deeply and miserably. Bending, he picked up the jacket. "I'll ask someone to wash this one before giving it back to you. Have a great night broth–Oh sorry! It has become a habit haha. Good night, Lia." 

Lia silently watched him walking away with small steps. He punched the side wall. "I wanted to kill one or two bitches! Urgh!" 

* * * 

Achoo! Am I about to catch a cold? It was 4 degrees in the month of December. I should have put on another jacket before getting out. 

But it's his life. Why would he let others ruin it? He would do it himself. It's better instead of holding others accountable, blame yourself for the fucked up life decisions you had made. 

He stood at some distance away from Wagnar's mansion. It was five stories tall, with a pair of towers jutting up higher into the air. A large, black iron fence encircled the front yard, with two guards standing at attention before the gate. They weren't the only defences, though. He could make out a half-dozen others, walking the perimeter and patrolling the area. He could vividly imagine what would happen if he was caught again. 

The man living inside, he had seen Wagnar murdering people, and most definitely could make him disappear without any trace. 

But he doesn't want to leave without meeting his beauty. Even if he had to die today he would do that after seeing that mysterious guy. His life was already not worth it and he wondered if anyone would care if he just drastically left this world one day. 

His mother probably even threw a party. 

He didn't have a clear view of the rear, but he could see an enormous tree with a wooden fort in the middle of it, so there were likely to be more guards in the back. That was fine. He'd anticipated such a thing, and had even come prepared.

Lia slipped a pair of wire cutters from a loop in his belt and slowly, carefully snipped away at the thick iron bars. It was tedious work, and he could only get a single bar at a time, but the cutters were designed to avoid the tell-tale shearing sound, and he could only hope the guards wouldn't hear them.

His heart was pounding, and he was sweating, despite the chilly night. If he were caught, it wouldn't be good. Still, the reward was enough to make it worth the risk.

An hour passed before Lia finally cut through the last bar. It fell to the ground, and he froze, waiting to see if the noise had attracted any attention. When nothing happened, he tucked the cutters away, and pulled out a large roll of canvas.

He carefully rolled the canvas back over the iron fence, and then used a piece of thin cord to tie each end to the bars. He tested the tautness and made sure the cord wouldn't slip, and then carefully slipped his body through the gap.

When he was halfway through, one of the bars caught his pants and scraped along his leg, leaving a small tear. He winced, and his breath caught in his throat, but no alarm sounded, and he continued through, dropping lightly to the ground.

Lia took a deep breath and looked up. One of the towers was right above him. A quick glance around told him he was still alone, so he hurried around the corner and made his way towards the back of the mansion.

The back of the yard was well-lit, but there was a hedge maze that stretched all the way across the rear lawn. He'd have to make his way through that.

He was halfway across the yard when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Without thinking, he dropped down to the ground and crawled into the hedge maze. His heart pounded in his chest, and he was certain he'd be caught, but the steps came closer, then past him, and he was left in the dark once more.

The hedges were thick, and the leaves were sharp, scratching his arms and face. Lia didn't care, though. He continued forward, following the path until he'd made it halfway across the maze and successfully found an entrance to a hallway. He entered, and no guards were patrolling there, surprisingly. Maybe because the same hallway goes to Wagnar's office. He also noticed that the outer part of the mansion has a heavy security but the more one goes near Wagner's office the security drastically lessens. 

As though Wagner wants fewer people near him. 

But he wasn't here for that. He continued his way to that particular room. But even though he successfully reached that room, it was empty. 

The doors were opened but it was completely empty. He was perplexed, and wondered where they had put that guy. Cursing his luck, he thought all his efforts were in vain or did he just walk into a trap. 

Whatever it was, he was about to go back when he came to a halt. He thought he had come this far, he shouldn't leave without giving it another shot. He sneaked around in which he was professional. 

Still, didn't find anything but then he reached Wagnar's office where he heard some muffled noises. Pressing his back against a wall, he moved further to hear them clearly in hopes of getting some clue about that beauty. 

"We need to shift the experiment centre. The lab isn't ready yet. Last time, the cops almost made it. If the lab and the subjects being experimented on come into the public eye, it will be almost impossible to deal with the government," A voice which doesn't belong to Wagnar because it is sharp, unlike Wagnar's old and deep voice. 

"We don't need to worry about the government, Antonio. The government is more corrupt than us. What we need to fear is the public. The pressure from the public is something the government is most scared of. Find out who was the intruder who leaked out about the location?" This voice belonged to Wagnar which Lia easily recognised. 

But what he didn't recognize or understand was their talks. 

"Right away, Godfather," the voice, belonging to the man named Antonio said. 

"This needs to be completely secret. Curiosity among the public population can be a dangerous obstacle." Wagnar said. 

Lia could hear the worry in his voice which was new and strange for him because of how frightening the old man appeared before. 

"It seems that the leak came from inside. Perhaps someone within the organisation did it." 

"Then find him, Antonio! Find him and handle the situation quietly. We cannot risk having traitors ruin our efforts. Make sure that our subjects remain hidden. Their existence must never be made public."

"I'll conduct a thorough investigation, brother," Antonio let out hurriedly, probably afraid of angering Wagnar. "The mafias are waiting for more...human weapons to arrive. We can't afford any mistakes or delays. They've put a lot of money into this deal."

"Send them those who are ready. These subjects are our strongest assets. The way they will fit into the underworld will solidify our position. Increase the price, it will also increase the ranks of these weapons in the underworld and would make more higher-ranked mafia interested in purchasing from us. 

"I'll personally oversee the coordination," Antonio said. "The mafias will not be dissatisfied," He stopped for a while before continuing. "What should we do about Alpha? He's being difficult again, like a dog that only knows how to bark and isn't perfectly trained."

"Alpha is our first experiment. He may not be perfectly trained, but we can't afford to lose him just yet. I have different plans for him."

"How much longer do we need to be patient with him? We've been trying to train him for so long."

"Patience, Antonio. He holds potential beyond what we can currently comprehend. Trust in my vision. He'll play a crucial role in the grand plan."

Are they talking about that guy? What a unique name...Alpha. Lia wondered, though he was having a hard time understanding what he just heard. And finally, realise that this wasn't some petty fun game he had been playing all this time. These people and this place are really something he shouldn't have taken lightly and messed around. 

"Should we consider selling him to the mafia?"

"No, Alpha won't be sold to the mafia, he'll become one. His body will execute the crimes, but his soul and mind will belong to us. No matter where he goes, he'll follow our commands, carrying out our will without hesitation. Alpha will be our ultimate weapon, a force that can strike anywhere, anytime."

"What?! But brother his demand–" Antonio tried to reason with his brother but got cut off. 

"Alpha will be a phantom in the underworld, a living weapon that puts fear into the hearts of our enemies," Wagner added, his voice filled with malice. "His loyalty will be to me, not to any particular mafia. His actions, his terror campaigns—all of them will help my purpose."

"But what if he opposes it?" 

"It's not in his system to oppose us. His resistance is an illusion. We have implanted control mechanism deep into his mind. His every step will dance to our commands, no matter how free he believes he is. He'll be a player in my game, a tool for me to use in order to maintain my domination."

"His mind has been meticulously developed to heed only our commands. He'll be a puppet masterfully manipulated by the strings we hold after his training. The more he believes he's free, the more deeply entwined he'll become a lifeless weapon that only attacks on my command." 

"Ughh….ahhh…angh…help me!" Lia flinched and suddenly heard screams. He slapped a hand on his face to stop himself from gasping. 

"The wolf is on the hunt again," He heard Wagnar chuckling, Antonio laughing along with him.