19 When The Last Straw Breaks

Pounding headache immediately assaulted Ley the moment she regained consciousness. It was so painful that she didn't realize where she was at first.

She tried to move but discovered that her arms were tied at her back around a chair. That's when her mind got through the pain and she whipped her head in shock at her surroundings.

She was all alone in a musty dim room wondering how long she was unconscious. It was like she was in one of those torture scenes where there's a table in front with a tiny light overhead except she wasn't a damsel in distress. She tested the rope binding her and deemed it too weak to hold her down. She can just easily snap it out if she likes. She was about to break out of it when her ears detected footsteps nearing her.

She looked at the only entrance in the room to make out the vague shadow of her captor. Seconds later, Ley felt dumbfounded at what she saw. The familiar face of Silas entered her view. She knew that Silas was suspicious of her but she didn't think it was strong enough to warrant this kind of extreme action.

His expression was twisted in a sneer while taking his damn sweet time to go to her which gave Ley the urge to roll her eyes. He finally stood in front of her and stared like she was an ant that he wanted to badly stomped on. No offense to Ara but Ley was hating her brother's mug by the minute.

"Let's not waste each other's time. Confess who the mastermind behind the attacks and we might let you off without killing you," he threateningly demanded.

"Have you lost your mind? Why would I confess to something I don't have any knowledge on?" Ley spoke using Roma's usual stiff voice just to spite him.

He slammed the table and brought his face near to her. He whispered in barely controlled rage, "I don't think you understand your situation right now. Confess now before I lost my patience."

If she was an ordinary human then she might've been scared at what he's doing but Ley just looked at him like he's an idiot. She didn't really have any patience to deal with him and just contemplated ways to escape without revealing her identity.

"Do you think I don't have any evidence of what you did?" he said flashing a menacing smile.

His words caught her attention which made her confused for a moment. As far as she knows, she didn't reveal anything more than those random character slips in front of Landon.

Silas took out his phone and made her watch a video. Her mind went reeling at what she witnessed. On the video, another Roma in the same dress that she wore during the party walked towards the car. She entered the driver seat and seems to be installing something in there when loud voices signaled people that were about to come over. She abandoned what she's doing to exit the car and then threw some pieces in the trash can.

Ley felt like she was hit by a freight train. They knew that she was a fake. They've been watching her like a fool and the mastermind must've thought to just use her as a scapegoat. What bothers her the most is that Roma never reached the place she was supposed to go and she must've been the one providing them answers from the start.

Her existence threw a wrench to their plans but it looks like she wasn't doing this willingly. Roma was very susceptible to hypnotism even to a beginner caster like her. They have been hypnotizing her from the start for answers.

"Would you be able to confess now? I've got a lot of pent up anger over what you have been doing. You shouldn't have messed with shifters, you filthy human," Silas taunted her but her mind was unfocused from the information she found.

Silas banged at the table again to get her attention. She stared at him for a moment then listened to the tiny voice from her heart, "Does Landon know what you're doing?"

Silas let loose a sarcastic laugh before answering her, "You think Landon wouldn't be angry once he found out?"

It was the last straw that broke Ley's patience. With all that's happening with the taboos and this sham of a job, the stress and frustration ate at her rationality. Landon who she thought would at least doubt the video actually gave permission.

(Let go. Shift. Destroy)

The normally slumbering beast within her whispered temptingly. Her vulnerable control cracked and it swooped in at the chance.

Silas watched Roma trembling with her bowed head and it gave him the feeling that she's about to confess. However, she suddenly threw back her head and laughed crazily. The kind that sent chills down the spine of the listener.

Silas did a double take when white ears appeared on top of her head. The long black hair Roma had turned to cascades of blonde within the naked eye. She stopped laughing shortly and manic red eyes flashed at him.

Silas realized that he's now looking at a completely different person. Those ears and eyes suggested only one thing: a shifter.

"You know what? I'm so tired of this," she whispered at him like she's telling him a secret. She ripped the ropes around her without even blinking an eye, revealing elongated nails with tufts of white hair on her hands.

She stood up and swiped the table blocking her to the side which caused it to crash into the wall. Silas stood rooted at a spot still in shock, watching her stare at her hands like she used too much strength to do that.

She snapped her head at him and said, "You bastard."

The last thing he remembered was being slammed against the wall and the blinding pain that followed.

Ley watched the unconscious Silas slid down against the wall in satisfaction. She looked around the room and spotted the CCTV in the corner that probably recorded everything. She didn't care one bit. Abandoning control freed her from the reservations she usually have.

She gave a chilling glance at whoever's looking from the other side of the screen and spoke, "I disposed that bomb in your car and this is how you treat me?"

She laughed sarcastically before turning her back on it. She proceeded to walk out the door after giving one last kick to Silas.