CHAPTER 56: TWO MONSTERS...

Chapter 56: Two Monsters

Ethan stared at Theo like he was staring at a demon he accidentally summoned. The ropes around Theo’s wrists were tight enough to leave bruises, yet Theo looked as if the pain didn’t even matter to him at all.

Theo looked amused...and he looked very hungry.

"So," Ethan whispered with a twisted smile, "Mother and darling Helena have become friends. How poetic."

"Your mother was lonely," Theo replied. "I thought she deserved company. Someone to show her with real love... Someone to remind her how much she regrets having you."

"Haha!" Ethan laughed quietly. It was that dangerous laugh that carried madness like perfume. He crouched in front of Theo and grabbed his jaw tightly.

Their faces were just inches apart. Their hatred toward each other could have burned the room to ashes.

"So this is your plan," Ethan murmured. "Hide my mother. Play the loyal son. Pretend you are the hero. You think you can rewrite history."

Theo’s eyes sharpened. "I do not pretend to be a hero. Heroes die too easily. I am what comes after heroes fail."

Ethan pushed his face away but Theo only smiled more. That smile infuriated him. It was calm and sharp like a knife that looked forward to the wound.

"You always were your mother’s little mistake...She looks at you and remembers your father’s worst sins. That is why she went insane. You were never worth her sanity."

Ethan’s jaw turned into ice.

Something very clearly broke behind his eyes. The wound stabbed deeper than any knife.

Then Ethan smiled again.

"You want to talk about mothers?" Ethan asked. "How is yours doing by the way? Still pretending she is something more than a killer’s little toy?"

Theo’s expression darkened like a thunderstorm without warning.

Ethan continued. "She looks proud of you. That must hurt her the most. Because she knows exactly what you are. You are just the son of a mistress. A replacement...You were born to be unwanted."

Theo did not blink. He stared like a lion waiting for the right moment to break the cage.

"When I see your face," Ethan said slowly, "I remember how father always preferred lies over the child carrying his blood. I was born to lead. You were born to kneel."

Theo leaned forward, even with the chains holding him back. "If kneeling means planning where to bury you, then sure. I kneel."

Ethan’s grin widened. "You think burying me will be easy?"

"No...it will be entertaining."

Ethan grabbed Theo by the hair and pulled his head back. Theo winced but never looked away.

"You want pain?" Ethan hissed.

Theo chuckled. "I already live with you in the world. How could I suffer more?"

Ethan slammed his head against the wall. Blood trickled down his forehead. Theo tasted the iron and laughed through it.

"Careful, brother...if you break me too soon, father will be very angry. I am his only future."

Ethan’s breathing changed. He paced like an animal trying to decide which bone to snap first.

"Tell me where Mother is," Ethan demanded.

"Why? So you can kill her too?"

"Where is she?" Ethan barked angrily.

"Safe or not..." Theo answered. "That is all you need to know..."

"I will find her," Ethan warned. "And when I do, she will forget whatever your mother did to her!"

Theo smirked. "That is the difference between us. You break what you love. I protect what you fear."

Ethan’s hand twitched. Theo saw the weakness in his sky-blue eyes and formed a smile.

"You want to know what scares you most?" Theo let out a shaky laugh. "It is not losing mother. It is knowing she loves me more."

And that was the moment when Ethan snapped...

His fist hit Theo across the face, then again, and again. Theo coughed out blood but laughed even louder.

"You feel weak," Theo taunted him between breaths. "You feel threatened. I taste your fear."

Ethan grabbed him by the throat and lifted him slightly. "You taste blood."

Theo smiled while choking. "Yours will taste sweeter."

Ethan let go and stepped back. His chest moved fast up and down. His rage devoured logic...

"You want to be free? Fine! I will free you. After I take everything you love."

Theo’s voice dropped lower than a grave. "If you touch her, I will rewrite the definition of pain."

Ethan chuckled. "You think you can protect Danielle? She does not even know what you are."

Theo’s eyes darkened and looked like a grey moon. "She will learn the truth from me. Not from a jealous parasite like you."

Theo lied, knowing damn well he already told Danielle everything, so Ethan couldn’t use blackmailing...

Ethan’s lips trembled and he frowned his nose. "She will hate you."

Theo smiled like a child. "Better to be hated by her while alive than loved by you while dead."

Ethan slapped him again but there was fear hiding behind the anger.

Theo leaned forward as far as the chains allowed. "You want the truth? You cannot survive without me. You need me. You always did... When father looked away. When mother cried. When no one cared. I was the one who survived the hell you drowned in."

Ethan’s voice cracked like a mirror... "You are nothing!"

Theo whispered one final line.

"Then why are you still trying to be better than nothing?"

Ethan stopped moving...His silence was louder than thunder.

Theo’s smirk remained deadly.

"This is not over," Ethan whispered.

Theo nodded. "It never was."

Ethan turned and walked toward the door. His hands shook as he reached for the switch. The lights flickered, casting monstrous shadows across the room.

Just before he stepped out, Theo called out softly.

"Brother."

Ethan stopped but did not turn.

"When I escape," Theo said in a chilling and calm voice, "I will take your mother home. And I will take Danielle home. You will have nothing left but your fear."

Ethan was still for a long moment.

Then he walked away... slamming the door behind him.

Theo continued smiling.

"It’s time to come."