Blood legacy

Chapter 3: Blood Legacy

THE POINT OF VIEW OF HOPE

The room stank of fear and cold sweat. The pale neon light flickered, making the atmosphere even heavier. I stood, my fists sore from the blows I had just delivered. In front of me, the man was on his knees, his face a mass of bloody flesh.

He coughed violently, spitting out a spray of blood which fell to the ground, mixed with a few teeth. His breathing was ragged, almost non-existent.

— “I'm going to ask you one last time,” I growled, my voice sounding like thunder. “Who sent you to snoop through my things?”

He raised his head with difficulty, his eyes half-closed from the bruises. Despite the obvious pain, he only uttered one word, an almost inaudible whisper:

— “Go… to hell…”

I clenched my fists, feeling my anger boiling. This kind of loyalty was admirable in other circumstances, but here it was a provocation I could not tolerate.

— “It’s all well and good to play tough,” I said, approaching him. I crouch down so that our eyes are at the same level. “But I’ll tell you one thing: the devil is me. And you just bought yourself a one-way ticket to hell.”

I stand up and signal to one of my men.

— “Take him. Let him think about his choices.”

Two of them moved forward to drag the man out of the room. He moaned weakly, unable to struggle.

I took a deep breath to calm my mind. Violence was our language, our method, but it was never an end in itself. This guy would talk, sooner or later. They were still talking.

A quiet knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. Marco entered, looking serious.

— “Boss, your father’s lawyer is here. He says it’s urgent.”

I raised an eyebrow. My father's lawyer? What was this man still doing here? Since my father's death, he had never been more than an annoying shadow, always there to remind me of the unfinished business of the past.

— “Bring him into my office,” I ordered.

Marco nodded and slipped away. I took a moment to adjust my leather jacket, running a hand through my hair to give myself some semblance of order. There was no way this man was going to see me in this state of rage.

Before leaving the room, I took one last look at the blood-stained floor.

— “Another day, another battle.”

I walked into my office, a room as dark as the rest of my world. The walls were decorated with dark wood, and the single window was draped with heavy curtains that blocked anyone from seeing inside.

The lawyer was already there, standing by my solid oak desk. He was wearing his usual gray suit, tailored to perfection, but his face had that irritating seriousness that I hated about him.

— “Sir,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

— “Cut the formalities, Mr. Martin,” I retorted, taking a seat in my chair. “Why are you here?”

He adjusted his glasses before placing a briefcase on the desk.

— "I have come to inform you that your father's will is finally ready to be read. We have finalized all the legal details. I will now inform your brother and sister so that the reading can officially take place."

I stiffened slightly. Just mentioning my brother and sister was enough to bring back memories and resentments that I would have preferred to bury.

- "When ?" I asked in a direct tone.

— “Monday,” he replied without hesitation. “It is imperative that everyone is present so that the document is opened and interpreted as it should be.”

I nodded, my face impassive.

— “Okay. Make sure everything is in order. I don’t want any unnecessary trouble.”

He nodded, closed his briefcase, and prepared to leave. But before he walked through the door, I stopped him:

— "One last thing. If either of them doesn't show up, don't waste time begging them. I want this matter settled on Monday, whether they're here or not."

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

— “I understand, sir. Have a nice day.”

He left the office, leaving me alone to face the oppressive silence.

I leaned back in my chair, my fingers tapping absently on the armrest. My father's will... I had known for years that one day this inheritance would be discussed. But what I didn't know was what my father might have planned for us.

My brother, my sister, and me. Three children of a man who left behind nothing but chaos and war.

I let out a sigh. Monday promised to be an interesting day.

Loneliness had never been a problem for me, but some nights were harder than others. After the meeting with the lawyer, my mind was boiling with thoughts, anticipations, and shadows of the past. I needed a distraction, an outlet.

Sitting in my office, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a number without thinking. She answered after just one ring, as always.

— “Hope,” she said, her voice soft and familiar.

— “Come,” I ordered simply.

— “I’ll be there right away.”

That’s everything I loved about Karine: no questions, no unnecessary chatter. She knew what I wanted, and she knew how to deliver it.

In less than twenty minutes, she walked through my office door, dressed in a tight red satin dress that left little to the imagination. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, and her heels clicked confidently on the floor.

— “Good evening, boss,” she said, closing the door behind her.

— “Karine,” I replied, looking up at her. “You know why you’re here.”

She smiles, a calculated, seductive smile. She walked slowly towards me, placing a light hand on the back of my chair.

— “You seem tense tonight,” she whispered.

— “And you seem talkative,” I replied, getting up to face him.

She laughed softly, a laugh that seemed to vibrate in the heavy air. His hands slid down my chest, exploring the contours of my shirt.

— “As you wish,” she breathed, her lips brushing my neck.

Karine approached me, her heels clicking softly on the floor. The red dress she wore seemed to have been sewn to her skin, hugging every curve with almost insolent precision. Her eyes, dark and mysterious, shone with a glimmer of challenge, a game she loved to play with me from the beginning.

She placed her hands on my chest, her touch gentle but assured, and looked up at me.

— “You seem tense tonight,” she whispered, her voice low, almost a purr.

I didn't answer. Instead, my hands slid to her hips, gripping the silky fabric of her dress. I pulled lightly, bringing her closer to me. She let out a soft sigh, a subtle sound, but charged with electric anticipation.

— “Talk less,” I growled, and before she could respond, my lips captured hers.

The kiss was raw, possessive. She responded with the same intensity, her hands moving up to the back of my neck, her nails grazing my skin. The tension in the room reached its peak within seconds.

I gently pushed her against the wall, her heels clicking lightly before she leaned against the wood. My hands roamed her body, finding their way under the dress. The warmth of his skin against my palms was a living reminder of the fragility of this moment, a break from my bloody world.

Karine let out a first moan when my lips drifted towards her neck. Her hands gripped my shoulders, and she tilted her head back, offering her throat to me in controlled submission.

— “Hope…” she murmured, her voice trembling with a mixture of envy and provocation.

I didn't respond, focused on each quiver of his body under my gestures. The satin of her dress slowly slid down her hips, exposing more of her bare skin to the dim light.

I pulled down my pants immediately to bring out my tense member to INFILTRATE it inside her.

She gave off intense heat deep inside her, which I liked.

We ended up falling onto the couch, our bodies intertwined in a furious, messy dance. Karine was everything I expected of her: lively, daring, but always ready to give in to my domination.

Every move was calculated, every gesture carried within it raw passion. My hands roamed her back, her hips, her thighs, while she responded with muffled moans, amplifying the intensity of the moment.

The room fills with our heavy breathing and the sound of our bodies colliding.

She scratched my back, leaving burning marks on my skin. I took his face in my hands, capturing his gaze, and a smile crossed his lips.

— “You are an animal,” she whispered, her voice broken by sighs.

— “And you, you don’t seem to want to escape this cage,” I replied before pushing her to the limit once more.

When it was all over, Karine remained lying there, her breathing still rapid, her hair disheveled. I stood up, grabbing my pants, and walked over to the coffee table where a bottle of whiskey was waiting for me.

She observed me in silence, a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

— “Hope, one day you will have to tell me why you are always so intense. Who haunts you so much?”

I didn't answer. I took a sip, staring into space.

She stood up, tying her dress around her waist before walking towards me. She placed a kiss on my cheek, her lips still warm.

— “Maybe next time,” she said as she left.

I was left alone, the echo of his footsteps echoing in the hallway. Passion, distraction, that was all I wanted from her tonight. But the demons she evoked were mine, and they wouldn't go away so easily.

The rest of the night was a dance of skin against skin, of muffled whispers and sighs. His expert hands awakened every nerve in my body, while my movements dictated the rhythm, brutal and uncompromising.

She knew how to comply with my wishes, how to make me forget, if only for a moment, the weight of responsibilities, losses, and betrayals.

In the darkness of the room, the shadows of our intertwined bodies seemed to fight, just as I fought every day to stay at the top of this infernal food chain.

I stood up without a word, putting on my pants before returning to my office. Karine stood up slowly, tying her dress around her waist.

— “Are you sure you don’t want to talk a little?” she asked, stretching.

I looked at her, impassive.

— “You know where the exit is.”

She shrugged and headed for the door, but before leaving, she turned around and gave me a half-amused, half-provocative look.

— “Whenever you want, Hope.”

When she disappeared, I fell back into my chair, the bitter taste of reality taking over. A distraction, that's all she had been. But in this world, sometimes that was all I needed.