The tension in the room snapped taut like a bowstring. Akshat stood over Harsh, the limp body of the mysterious woman,Ravenna is resting heavily on the hotel room floor. Alexander stood to his left, his hands hanging loose at his sides, a silent guard.
Harsh groaned, the air hissing through the gap in his teeth where a front tooth had been knocked loose by Akshat's earlier assault. Blood smeared across his chin, mixing with the dried grime of the street. His bravado had evaporated instantly, replaced by the pathetic whine of a beaten dog.
"Coordinates," Akshat said, his voice low and dangerous. He didn't need to ask again.
Harsh nodded frantically, wiping blood from his lips. "Latitude 47.8921° N, Longitude 189.5543° E. That's where the Fallen Star Auction Hall is. They have a back room set up for their VIP guests."
"Now, start talking," Akshat ordered.
Harsh took a shuddering breath, his eyes darting between Akshat and the unconscious Ravenna. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I... I made Vanya fall for me. She was different. I charmed her, you know? I made her feel special." He laughed bitterly, a wet, choking sound. "Then one night, after we... after we slept together, I showed my true colors. I told her about the auction. I told her she was perfect for it. I sold her out, Akshat. I sold my own best friend to that place."
Harsh's voice cracked. "She's there right now. In the backrooms. She's being treated like an animal toy. They're using her for their own twisted pleasures. I just wanted the money."
"I'm sorry," Harsh wept, clutching his ribs. "I'm so sorry. Don't kill me. I'll give you everything. Every penny I have."
Manya stood frozen in the center of the room. The news hit her like a physical blow. Her best friend, the one person she trusted more than anyone, had been sold into a life of degradation. Tears blurred her vision, but she couldn't move.
Akshat's face went blank, his expression turning into stone. "Who made you join that Fallen Star Auction Hall?"
Harsh looked toward the floor, his voice barely a whisper. "Ravenna," he said. "That mysterious woman right there. She approached me. She offered me the commission if I brought her a pretty girl."
Akshat turned slowly. Ravenna was lying on the floor, her dark hair splayed out around her head. She looked up at him, her eyes devoid of fear, mocking him with a slight tilt of her head.
"Do you regret it?" Akshat asked.
Ravenna started laughing, a low, throaty sound that seemed to vibrate in the air. She pushed herself up to her elbows, looking at him with pure disdain. "Regret? Akshat, you really think you can save anyone? Vanya is just a plaything right now. She's being banged by multiple people, treated like a dog, used until she breaks. That's exactly what she's worth."
Akshat's eyes narrowed, a low growl building in his chest. He grabbed Ravenna by her hair and hauled her up, forcing her to look him in the eye. "How many girls, Ravenna? How many have you sold? And where are the orphans from AUMC University that went missing?"
Ravenna smirked, her lips curling into a cruel smile. "I get a ton of money for them. They fetch a good price for their innocence."
Akshat's grip tightened. "Did everyone become a slut toy?"
Ravenna spread her mouth into a wide, crazed grin, her eyes glinting with a terrifying, unbridled lust. "Why don't you ask them how much they enjoy it?" she taunted. "The pleasure they get from being used... it's amazing."
Manya's patience snapped. She lunged forward and slapped Ravenna across the face, the sound echoing through the room like a gunshot. Ravenna's head snapped back and crashed against the wall with a sickening thud.
"Where is she!" Manya screamed, her voice cracking. "Tell me where she is!"
Ravenna slumped against the wall, dazed, a trickle of blood flowing from her nose. She looked at Manya with a mixture of surprise and contempt. "You think you can just—"
"It's not just about Vanya anymore," Akshat said, his voice cutting through the air. He stepped closer to Ravenna, towering over her. "You're the one who started this, Ravenna. But did you ever experience the thing they suffer? Have you ever been treated like nothing more than a piece of meat?"
He looked around the room. Everyone stared at him. Akshat's expression was a terrifying mix of rage and sorrow, his eyes burning with a cold intensity that made the air feel heavy.
Akshat's gloved hand tightened around the grip of his handgun, the suppressor muffling the sound as he aimed at Harsh. Ravenna stood frozen, her taunt still hanging in the air "Kill me if you can." But Akshat's eyes flicked to the man kneeling beside her.
Three suppressed shots cracked through the silence. pffft, pffft, pffft. Each bullet found its mark not in Ravenna's defiant frame but in Harsh's exposed right hand. The first shattered his radius, splintering bone through flesh. The second severed tendons near his wrist. The third obliterated his thumb joint.
Harsh howled as blood gushed across the concrete floor. "Alex!" Akshat barked without turning away from Harsh's writhing form. "You're a surgical student also, grab that medkit and wrap these wounds tight! Don't extract anything!"
Alexander hesitated for half a heartbeat before scrambling to comply. He packed gauze around each entry point with shaking hands, the bullets would remain embedded, their jagged edges grinding deeper into bone with every twitch of Harsh's body.
Akshat stepped closer to Harsh now, pressing his boot down onto the man's face until teeth scraped against leather. "That's what you're worth," he growled, voice low and even despite the violence of his actions.
His gaze shifted to Ravenna finally her smirk had fainted a little when she saw what was happening to her accomplice. "And you," Akshat continued, unholstering a combat knife from his belt with deliberate slowness and lick it with his tongue, "you get to feel everything Vanya did... and worse."
He knelt beside her then, blade glinting under dim light as it traced an idle path along her thighs. "Tell me is pain just something others endure? Or does it hurt when it's your turn?"
End of ch RD 5
To be continue...
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