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“A few cuss words, but rest assured he’ll never bother you again. I made sure of it,” Lev said, holding her gaze.
Zia stilled, and the room went silent for a moment. “Did you kill him?” she asked quietly, terrified of the answer she would receive.
She’d been so angry when she asked Lev to punish Owen that she didn’t stop for a moment to think of what kind of punishment Lev would dish out. Owen deserved to be punished for what he did, but killing him was too much. Killing him meant she now had blood on her hands. How was she supposed to live with herself after that? Knowing a man, as cruel as he was, died because of her.
Lev’s voice broke into her thought, bringing her back to the present. “He’s not dead, but he’s in a state worse than death.”
“Where is he?” Zia asked, pushing up from her seat. “Where is Owen?”
Lev frowned at her concern for Owen. She understood him quite alright, but she couldn’t allow his blood on her hands. Not as disgusting as it was.
“Where is Owen?” she asked again when Lev didn’t answer her.
He blinked. “In the basement.”
“We have a basement?” Zia quickly dismissed the frown contorting her face. “I need to see him.”
“He’s in a bad state. It won’t do you any good if you see him now.”
“It won’t do me any good sitting here doing nothing.” She inhaled a calming breath. Being furious at Lev wasn’t going to make him bend to her will. If anything, it would only make him more reluctant to tell her the truth both now and in the future.
Just when she thought he would stir up an argument and walk away, Lev stood to his feet. “Come with me. I’ll take you to him.”
Zia’s mind went mush for a moment. “You’ll take me to the basement?”
“Isn’t that what you want?” Lev asked, cocking his head. “I’ll warn you, though, he’s a bloody mess. You can refuse if you can’t handle what you’ll see.”
She straightened her spine and held her head high. She couldn’t stay behind, acting like a coward. She needed to see what her husband was capable of. “No, I’ll come with you.”
He nodded once and led the way to the basement. It was at the last wing of the mansion, in a place she would have never imagined was used as a torture room right under her nose.
For some reason, the hallway leading to the basement was more chilly than the rest of the house, making her blood run cold. Two guards stood in front of the brown doors, and they both moved to the side as Zia and Lev approached.
One of them opened the door as Lev turned around to face her. “Brace yourself, you won’t like what you see.”
Zia swallowed as her anticipation bubbled. How bad could it be that he had to warn her several times about what she would see? At most, it would be a dead man. A sharpsting splintered through her chest as the image of Owen lying lifelessly on the cold floor flashed
through her mind.
No,she thought to herself. He wasn’t dead. Lev wouldn’t lie to her if he were. He had to be alive. He needed to be alive.
For a minute, she considered turning around and walking away. If she didn’t know, then she could pretend nothing happened. She could simply tell herself he deserved it repeatedly until she believed it, but she couldn’t. She had to see for herself.
“Let me in,” she crooked, her voice betraying the calm demeanor she put on.
A heartbeat passed before Lev finally pushed the door wide open and walked in. She followed him in, her eyes meeting Konstantin’s first the minute she was inside.
The big man was wiping a bloody scalpel on a towel, and there was no hint of emotion in his eyes.
A whimper from the other side of the basement had her turning her head. Her jaw fell open, her eyes wide with horror when she saw Owen. He was swollen and bruised beyond recognition.
He wasn’t wearing any pants… and the wordrapistwas carved out on his thighs. It was bold enough for anyone to see, bold enough that she could see his inner flesh despite the blood pouring down from the wound.
Bile rose to Zia’s throat, and her eyes watered. “How could you…” Her teary gaze floated between her husband and Konstantin. “How could you two do something so—” She trailed off, her voice breaking.
There was no time to question them. She could see the emptiness in their eyes. Nothing she said would changeanything. “Get a doctor,” she ordered the two men looking at her as if they couldn’t decipher what they did wrong. “Now!”
She didn’t completely blame them. What Owen had tried to do to her was something no woman should ever experience. Still, it was too much. They’d taken the punishment too far.
