RUTHLESS

ANSHEL’S POV.

"Please have mercy, please.”

I looked down at the man in front of me and laughed evilly. He was lying there on the ground; his legs and hands were fastened to his back with a rope.

His body was bare, with only a boxer on. His face was bloodied, and the left side of his eyes were swollen as he struggled to keep them open.

“Give me another chance, Mr. Fulgenzio, please.” Only a faint light provided illumination in the pitch-black, freezing night, and the man’s plaintive cry reverberated throughout the empty warehouse.

“You ought to have considered that before assuming you could steal from me.” I said, bored. My irritation with his request was growing. He should have known better than to play me and believe he could get away with it.

I was even more irritated by the fact that he had conceived of it and carried it out without a second thought.

How could he?

He underestimated me; how could he?

He has the audacity to think he can oppose me.

He fell to the ground and began coughing up blood as I punched him in the face in a fit of rage.

I noticed that I was losing control the longer I continued to stare at him. I considered numerous other methods to end his life, ultimately deciding on the most heinous and insane method.

“Anyone who dares to cross me would learn a lesson from this. I refuse to be merciful or to grant bloody second chances.” Despite how I was feeling, I spoke with a calm voice.

I watched him struggle on the ground, tears streaming from his eyes, as I took a seat back on the couch and crossed my legs.

“I’m sorry; please have mercy.” He continues pleading. “I only did it because of my daughter. She is in dying need of medical attention. I couldn’t let her die after finding out she had cancer. “ He stuttered out. “Please, Mr. Fulgenzio. I promise to pay back.”

“That was such a touching tale.” I said, wiping off the fictitious tear from my eyes. “Isn’t that right, boys?” My men sucked in their breath and nodded in agreement when I asked them.

I stood up from my chair and reached down to grab a handful of his hair. “It really was,” I taunt, pausing as I look him dead in the eyes. “But sadly, I couldn’t care less.”

I let out another depraved chuckle, watching him writhe in my grasp.

“What... Gerald, do you really believe that if I heard your sad, depressing story, I would suddenly become sympathetic and caring?” I questioned as I pulled his face toward mine.

“You are a monster,” I released my grip on his hair when he yells and spit on my face, laughing once more as I wiped it off.

“That much I am aware of.”

“You are a soulless monster.” He screams again.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” With a smirk on my face, I teased. “Be as inventive as I am; you need to do better than that”. I approached the table and picked up the dumbbell from there. “I had originally intended for it to end with your death. Then again, where would the fun be in that?”

“What exactly do you mean?” His voice trembled.

“ I just got this brilliant, magnificent idea that I’m sure you are going to love.” I smirks, my hands fiddled with the dumbbell in my hand. “I’ve heard that your wife is quite attractive and would fit in at a whorehouse. On the other hand, your daughter.” I halted and cast him a malicious glare.

“No, Mr. Fulgenzio, Please leave my family alone.” His voice quivered in fear. “They did nothing wrong. Please don’t hurt them. Kill me instead.”

“Where’s the pleasure in that, Gerald?” I tsk. “You should have thought of them before believing you could deceive me,”

“You bastard. Don’t you dare hurt them?” He bellows.

“ Too late”. I said, stretching my hand out, and a phone was placed on it. I showed him a video that was playing while I held it up to his face. The same way he was bound, his wife had her clothes torn from her body and was left naked as she screamed in the background, pleading to be released.

Moving on to another, I swiped the video. Which displayed his daughter struggling to breathe as she lay in a deserted building without any medical care.

Gerald cried out, fumbling with the rope that was tying his wrists and legs together. He turned to gaze at me with a bloodshot eye. “How could you be so cruel as to harm a ten-year-old child and a woman who has done nothing wrong to you?”

My lips stretched even more in a smirk. “Ah, I see that this is a case where we are trying to assign blames.” I said, returning the phone to one of my men. “It’s amusing that you believe it is my fault considering you are the one who should take responsibility for wrecking your family, and I’m sure they also hold you accountable.”

“I wish you could feel my anguish someday. To have the one you love smash your heart and rip it into a million pieces.”

When he spat those words out, there was a brief moment of silence before the room erupted in a dark chuckle, and I cast an amused glance his way. “You believe that something as trivial as love will rip my heart out?” I bit my lower lip and hissed at him. “Emotions are for the weak, And I’m not a frail bastard.” I finished, maintaining my previous level of composure in my voice.

“And now for the big showdown.” I approached where his legs were and watched him stagger back in fright as I scooped up the dumbbell.

I raised the dumbbell above my head and lowered it onto his legs. His eyes dilated, and a loud scream filled the warehouse, followed by the sounds of bones being crushed.

I continued to strike his legs until I was confident he was unable to use them to walk ever again. When I was finished and felt satisfied with my work, I released the dumbbell, which fell and landed directly on his legs.

“Watch helplessly while your wife and daughter suffer as a result of your error”. I smirk. “You know what to do.” I said to one of my men, walking out of the warehouse. I take out my phone and dial the number of my trusted man.

“Anshel.” From the other end of the phone, Kai’s voice could be heard.

“What’s the update?”

“He claims to have an offer for us.”

“Find out what it is. If he doesn’t give you something concrete, you know what to do.”

“Yes, boss,”