Chapter 2 : Beth Russell

Chapter 2

*Beth’s POV*

“What the fuck are you saying ‘we caught the wrong person’?!” an angry voice trailed into my subconscious.

My eyelids were heavy, and my head felt like I was punched repeatedly. My whole body ached as I came back into a state of alertness.

I tried several times before I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry and dizzy, but a striking red color irritated me.

A boy with red hair and gray eyes crashed into my field of vision. His handsome face enlarged before my eyes and glared at me viciously.

“Here! Our loot finally woke up!”

He barked at me, like a vicious dog about to bite my head off. I trembled and tried to open my mouth to call for help, only to find that I couldn't move. I was strapped to a chair and something that smelled like an old sock was stuck in my mouth, blocking me from saying anything at all.

Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach and a rush of acid rushed to my throat.

Who was this and where the hell was I?

It was dark and quiet. I could see that the boy was wearing black tights that showed off his slender figure. He was tall and had to bend at his waist to meet my gaze in the chair. The muscles in his body swelled out through the tights and looked powerful. I guessed he could easily tear me to shreds at any time if he wanted to.

He had to have been the shooter. Then it dawned on me. I had been kidnapped! But why?

“Good, you have reactions.” He kicked the chair roughly, making me rock on it. Then his eyes grew dark. “Who are you? Why did you rush the podium?” he asked me through gritted teeth.

My eyes blinked blankly. How did he expect me to talk with this thing in my mouth? His eyes trailed down and he cursed.

“Shit!” He roughly ripped the old sock from my mouth and glared me down. “SPEAK! WHY DID YOU APPEAR ON THE PODIUM?”

His forehead was jumping as he spoke, and his gray eyes were bloodshot with anger. He grabbed my shoulders as if to crush my bones, and shook me violently.

But that only upset things more.

Instead of speaking, I muttered a short, “oh...” and then threw up. Finally. Sour water poured out of my mouth like a rushing river. My stomach burned and convulsed as I coughed.

“What the fuck?!” he exclaimed, letting go of me and jumping backward.

However, he was slow to react and yellow acid ran down his cuffs and wet his palms. There was also some inconceptible wetness on his chest.

“I...I’m...sorr...” I tried to apologize, but the weakness made my voice inaudible. My throat burned. It was like I hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day. Memories from before the darkness broke into my head.

In order to be able to slip into Elisa's inauguration, I had no time to eat. I was running on empty.

I coughed and coughed, trying to form some semblance of words. However, the red-haired boy was enraged. He raised his hand and was about to hit me. I shuddered and closed my eyes.

“Stop, Daniel,” a calm and cold voice came from behind the sofa. Until then, I hadn't even realized there was someone behind the piece of furniture, standing in the dark.

Who was it?

A dark figure pushed itself off the wall and walked toward us. I narrowed my eyes. He was tall and thin, wearing a dark shirt, and the top two buttons were undone, revealing his collarbone and large Adam's apple.

His shoulders were straight, reminiscent of a military posture, and the muscles in his arms were clearly very strong. His complexion was fair, and there was a cold glow in the dimly lit room.

My gaze slowly moved up, his face hidden in the shadow of his straight black hair. A pair of sunglasses covered his eyes. He appeared in front of me in one blink. All I could see was his dark shirt tucked into his shining belt, outlining his slender waist—slim, but powerful.

I swallowed my spit, easing the tingling sensation in my throat. But the next moment, something cold touched my temple.

“What’s your relationship with Elisa Russell?”

His voice sounded cold and commanding close. Like clear ice water sliding down the throat, it bought a burst of refreshment.

But I could feel the threat lingering behind his words, and the pistol against my temple only confirmed it.

It was the first time I felt death but I clenched my teeth. They would never know my fear and they would never know that Elisa was my sister.

They were clearly coming for her. How could I possibly bring danger her way?

My eyelashes drooped and I ignored his pressing question.

“You don’t want to tell us?” the cold man asked. The breath on his body was as clear and freezing as ice and snow on a snowy mountain. His voice was calm, but I knew he was angry.

My eyelashes trembled and my teeth began to fight me, commanding that I speak. But I refused to open my mouth.

“Well, you can keep silent, for now. But I must warn you, my patience isn’t good.” The cold barrel pressed against my temple, and I could hear him pulling the trigger in the dark.

Was I going to die? Was this the end? So soon?

Tears fell from the corners of my eyes, and I couldn't help but cry. Just at that moment, the door behind me suddenly opened.

The crisp sound of the door opening interrupted the imminent atmosphere of death in the dark room. I finally opened my mouth and the first cry dissipated between my lips and teeth. Tears wet my vision, and I couldn't see anything. The adrenaline rush made me short of breath and dizzy.

“Beth Russell?”

An angelic voice called my name. I was numb. Was I in heaven? Was the angel calling my name?

Sweat dripped down my chin; my voice was dry and trembling.

“Yes?”

I couldn't help but answer as if bewitched by an angel. But in the next moment, I wanted to bite my tongue off.

What was I doing? I gave out my name!

I couldn't turn around, but there was a light shining in from outside the door and falling at my feet. The dimly lit room was ablaze. I saw a slender, thin shadow leaning lazily against the door frame. I blinked, squeezing tears out of my eyes.

They were immediately drawn to the beautiful shadow. It started to feel familiar. Even the voice just now was familiar to me when I thought about it.

Who is this guy? Another kidnapper?

My heart lifted. I didn't know what I was nervous about.

The man came in. His steps were light, like light falling snow. But I could clearly hear them and my heart beat in rhythm with his steps. As he approached, I realized the man was also wearing a black tight-fitting leather jacket, but the same clothes worn on him appeared elegant and noble.

Before I could place his voice, the man took off his hood, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a strand of long blonde hair slip down like the sun.

My body trembled as he crouched down and looked at me.

“You...you...”

My heart was beating faster than I could have imagined. Shock, horror, doubt, joy, disappointment... various emotions were intertwined and hit me like a tsunami, and I couldn't tell the difference.

Because I saw my favorite movie star, my idol, Rylan Besos. I had seen his famous work, "The Pianist of Blood", dozens of times. However, I would never forget the silhouette of him playing said instrument on the sunken ship until the last moment.

That's why I thought the shadow just now was familiar. How could I possibly not recognize it?

I wanted to scream. But obviously, I couldn’t. I was dying. Dying of too fast of a heartbeat.

Then another thought hit me. What the hell is this? Why is Rylan here, wearing the clothes of a kidnapper?

Could it be that Rylan is actually a killer and that, out of all the people in the world, I was kidnapped by him? What did Rylan gain from kidnapping me? I was poor, and I didn’t have anything to offer. No one would redeem me—my mother was long gone. And Rylan, well he wasn’t short of money.

Or was it possible that this was Rylan's new movie? Did I inadvertently come in as a supporting role? If that was the case, where was the camera?

I started glancing around, looking for hidden cameras and staff. But there was nothing. I was utterly alone and this wasn’t a prank on a movie set.

Rylan's handsome face was right in front of my eyes. They were more delicate and charming than in the movie close-up. I couldn't breathe. His beautiful blue eyes looked at me as if he saw through all my crazy thoughts.

A charming smell lingered on the tip of my nose, and I felt dizzy.

But, the next moment, I was gagged by that old sock again. My stomach twitched in pain. I couldn't vomit in front of Rylan.

“Don't scream,” the red-haired boy stated, looking at me impatiently.

I nodded, tears forming again in my eyes. If he didn't stuff my mouth with an old sock next time, I might be more inclined to speak.

Rylan stood up and looked at me interestedly. “Are you a daughter of Roger Russell?” His voice was still beautiful, but this time I didn't forget my situation.

I nodded simply. They already knew my name. 0 for Beth, 1 for kidnappers.

“We missed some important information, boys,” Rylan smirked, clearly amused with my response. He moved his eyes away from me and handed some papers to the dark-haired man.

“Beth Russell. The second daughter of Roger Russell, living with her mother after Roger divorced his ex-wife,” the black-haired man began, reading the words on the paper. And then, as if seeing something, he stopped reading aloud.

His gaze moved to me with scrutiny. Even through the sunglasses, I could feel the coldness and arrogance of his gaze. He seemed to be thinking about something.

Even at times like this, I was glad it wasn't Elisa who got caught, but me.

“Rylan, I should’ve woken you up early so that you wouldn’t have missed that valuable bit of important information,” the red-haired boy complained. He scratched his head irritably.

“You can try if you want,” Rylan smiled as he replied.

The red-haired boy lowered his hand and shrank as if he was reprimanded by Rylan. “No, I don’t. I know exactly what the consequences would be. In the end, it was this woman who suddenly rushed up and caused me to catch the wrong person.”

He turned his head and glared at me fiercely. I was stunned by this shift in personality.

“Zed, I didn’t expect this to happen. Obviously, this Beth woman is outside our plans,” Rylan stated, turning to the black-haired man. It seemed that he was the leader of them.

“It doesn't matter. They are all Russell's daughters. Kill her,” the black-haired man answered, tossing the folder aside.

My breath was caught. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard.

Was I really going to die this time?

My eyes blinked. My hands were clenched into fists, my nails piercing into my palms.

The cold, hard barrel of the gun pressed against my temple again, sliding down my cheek like a cold-vomited snake. My pupils dilated, staring at the beautifully shaped jaw and sexy Adam's apple in front of me.

My eyelashes were wet with sweat that slipped from my forehead, turning into wisps. My vision became blurry. But I couldn't look away. It seemed that I was seduced by the man in dark in front of me.

‘Help! Someone, help me!’ I prayed to the thin air around me.

I heard a desperate scream in my head. The old sock took in any moisture in my mouth. I was like a fish dying of thirst, waiting silently for death to come. The adrenaline rushed, and my heart beat wildly as if it had its own will to escape from my chest. I heard the sound of pulling the trigger.

No. I couldn’t die! I didn’t want to!

My whole body struggled violently, causing the chair under me to shake together. The rough rope tightened me tighter, and I could feel my already torn clothes being pulled even more torn by the rope. I gritted my teeth and tried to free my hands first.

The tendons on my hands bulged, and my knuckles were so hard that they turned pale. The back of my hand was grazed by the rope, and the hemp tightened into my flesh deeply. I twisted my waist and tried to jump out of my chair. I tried everything I could until my shaking head was held down by a big, cold hand. The barrel pressed harder against my temple, not moving.

“I’m sorry, but...you need to pay for the sins of your father.”

The cold man's voice was as refreshing as the first snow. I could feel the uncontrollable tremor of his big hand pressing my head from excitement. He crouched down and stared at me one last time. His pale lips, as thin as leaves, pursed closely. His black sunglasses reflected my embarrassed look at the moment. I heard the sound of pulling the trigger again.

NO!

The desperate situation of dying caused me to burst out some hidden power in my body. I jerked my head up and banged into his jaw. At that moment, my shoulder was almost dislocated from twisting. My head spasmed with pain.

Tears rained down, mixed with the sweat on my face and the blood from the corners of my lips from biting them upon impact. At the same time, I heard the crisp sound of something falling to the ground.

My vision was still shaking violently from horror, and my ears were filled with sharp tinnitus. The top of my head was chilling from sweat. The shadow in front of me let out a muffled snort. I saw him stand up a little further away from me.

“Take her to the basement," he growled. However, his voice was still a little unsteady—like he was trying to suppress something.

In my blurred vision, I noticed as he didn't bend down to pick up the sunglasses that fell on the ground but raised his hand to cover his eyes.

The door opened again. This time, two guard-like men walked in.

“Boss.”

They bowed to the black-haired man and then approached me. As they untied me from my chair, Rylan, who had not spoken before, spoke.

“Wait. Zed, have you not drunk blood today?” He said it so casually as if he was asking if the man had eaten food.

But my heart fell to the stomach. I was pushed around like a dead dog by the two guards, shivering. He didn't say anything when I was faced with death, and I kept avoiding thinking about it.

But now, I realized that he was not the same as he was in the movies. He was the real Rylan and he also wanted me to die, just like the other two.

“What're you suggesting? That we should drink from the daughter of the enemy?” Daniel asked. He laughed loudly, and I heard him lick his teeth like a hungry vicious dog.

My legs were too weak to stand up, and my body leaned against the guard as my head hung weakly. I couldn't even look up at their expressions.

The burning gazes fell on my spine as if to peel me off inch by inch and suck every drop of blood and bone marrow dry. I felt danger from the beast, but I didn't know what it was.

“Don't forget that she has Russell's filthy blood in her body," the black-haired man reminded.

The blade-sharp gazes moved away from my back, and the vigilant thread that was hanging onto me broke.

Before I knew it, I fell into darkness.