CHAPTER 33: THE ONE HE FAILED

Chapter 33: The One He Failed

Warning!!! A Very Sensitive Content! Read At Your Own Will...NoRape.

When the headlights cut through the fog, the forest looked like it was a horror movie set.

"Mister? What happened?"

"You’re bleeding again...we just stopped the bleeding..."

Theo was standing near the bodies. His shirt was torn and coloured, his knuckles were bruised, and the rain still fell hard enough to blur the faces of the men lying in the mud.

"It’s not my blood," Theo shrugged.

Both were unconsciously mixing with puddles near their heads.

He brushed the dirt from his pants slowly, as if trying to not make himself laugh from the fact that these two didn’t even last two minutes.

The other medical team hurried out of the van, flashlights bounced against the trees.

"Sir! We have her!" one of them shouted, rushing toward Danielle.

Theo stepped back so they could reach her...even though his eyes stayed on her pale face while they checked her pulse and breathing.

"She’s alive," one medic said quickly. "Weak heartbeat, but stable for now."

Theo exhaled through his teeth. "Handle her with care. She’s been through enough."

One of them nodded, wrapping her in blankets and setting up a stretcher.

The other two medics were hesitant to look after these attackers not to make Theo even more angry.

Frank arrived moments later, also all soaked, hair clinging to his face and he hated it.

Every time it was raining, Frank would request a day off...but his stupid cousin promised to kill him if he was not going to come with him.

He looked around, taking in the sight..."what...?"

"What?"

"The broken trees, the two men, the blood, and you standing like nothing could move you anymore...what the fuck did you do, Theo?"

"..."

"You did this?" Frank asked again.

Theo didn’t look at him. "They were lucky I was tired."

Frank glanced at Danielle being lifted into the van. "We got her. That’s all that matters. We need to leave now before Ethan sends more of his men."

Theo didn’t care. His stare was locked on the forest beyond.

"Frank," Theo called his name finally, "do you know how Bae died exactly?"

Frank blinked. "No. I was told it was an accident."

Theo’s jaw tightened. "That’s what everyone was told. But Ethan never lets his enemies die that easily."

Frank frowned. "What are you saying?"

"He hunts them. That is his game. He brings people to the forest, unarmed. He gives his men knives, lets them chase the victims until they fall or beg. Then he steps in...to finish the job himself."

Frank’s face was drained of color. "You mean he...?"

Theo nodded. "Yes. He calls it a sport."

There was another moment of deep and pretty weird silence between them.

Frank’s voice was rough when he spoke again. "And Bae...she was one of them?"

Theo finally turned to face him, but his sky-blue eyes looked darker.

"She was," Theo said quietly. "Our sister. The only person who believed he could change."

"You never told me that."

Theo shook his head slowly. "What good would it do? She wanted peace, not revenge. She wanted to stop Ethan, but she was too kind to understand that monsters don’t listen."

Frank looked down. "You were there, weren’t you?"

Theo’s throat worked before he could answer. "Yes. But I was late."

He looked toward the forest again as if the shadows could still hear him. "By the time I tracked her signal, the night had already swallowed her. I fought my way through the men he sent...twelve of them, all armed. I broke bones, I cut through them until my hands bled. But when I reached her, she was lying on the ground...bleeding from every part of her body..."

Frank didn’t speak. He just watched Theo’s mouth move and wished the story would stop.

Theo’s voice cracked like a glass, the smallest break in his tough armorer character. "She was still breathing. She saw me and smiled. She said, ’You came.’ That was the last thing she said. He had stabbed her once in the chest, clean, like it was nothing...and the smell of the semen..." Theo forced his eyes to close.

Then, looking down at his hands, remembering the blood that wasn’t his. "I carried her all the way back. I didn’t let go, not even when she went cold. I wanted her to wake up so I could tell her she was wrong. That I wasn’t too late. But she didn’t."

Even the rain seemed softer after what he just said...

Frank swallowed hard. "She was your sister...and his."

Theo nodded once. "Adopted sister. But she was more family than he ever was."

Frank’s hand went to his shoulder. "Theo...you can’t keep blaming yourself. You did what you could."

"What I could do wasn’t enough. She begged me to stop him, and I didn’t. Now Danielle..." He stopped, catching his voice in his throat.

Frank understood. "You think he will do the same to her."

"He’s trying to. But not again. Not her."

The medics called from the van. "She’s stable enough to move!"

Theo turned and walked to the back. He brushed the hair from Danielle’s forehead one more time. Her face looked calmer like it was free from fear, but her skin was pale against the blanket.

He touched her hand lightly. "You did well, bunny. You survived him."

Frank climbed into the front of the vehicle. "We’re heading out. The rest of the team will follow behind."

Theo stayed by Danielle’s side in the back, watching the trees blur past through the rain-streaked glass. He didn’t look away once.

Frank spoke from the front seat. "Theo, what happens when she finds out about Ethan? About Bae?"

Theo’s eyes stayed on Danielle. "Then she’ll know why I can’t stop. Why I’ll never forgive him."

Outside, thunder rolled across the sky...

Theo looked down at her again...not being able to forgive himself.

"This time," he muttered, "I will kill him for sure."

_

I’m sorry if this Chapter hurt you. I also cried while writing it...but I want you to understand the hatred that Theo carries...