Chapter 194: Chapter 194: The Monster in the House

Hearing that, Mark’s expression shifted. A sudden wave of panic hit him, but he forced himself to stay calm for his brother’s sake.

Matteo ran a hand through his hair, his voice tight with worry.

"Now I’m even more worried about his eyes. He’s still recovering from surgery. I just hope Adrian has enough sense to cooperate and not argue, purely for his own safety."

"He’ll be fine," Mark repeated, though his voice sounded less certain now.

"Look, you’ve never been on the receiving end of Adrian’s mouth before, Mark. That’s why you’re saying that," Tony interjected bluntly. "When that boy decides to insult you, I don’t care how mentally strong you think you are, he’ll get under your skin and make you see red. I completely understand what Matteo is terrified of. If Adrian knows his captor, things over there are probably already turning ugly."

Mark rubbed his forehead, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "This is serious."

Matteo stood entirely frozen as a sudden, sharp realization hit him. The puzzle pieces in his mind began to shift, and a specific name flashed in his head. He turned sharply to Tony.

"Tony," Matteo commanded, his voice deadpan and lethal. "Confirm Kelly’s schedule for me right now."

Tony didn’t question the sudden shift. He opened a secure database on his laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "Alright. Give me a minute."

Tony’s fingers flew across the keyboard, searching the secure database. After a moment, he stopped. "Kelly’s last update says he’s out of the country for a football match. He’s in Europe."

Matteo’s chest tightened. "So Kelly isn’t behind this."

"No," Tony confirmed, looking up.

Matteo slammed his fist onto the table. "Then who the fuck could it be? And Kevin is right here at home under our noses."

"It’s a cheap game, Matteo," Tony muttered, his eyes narrowing. "They’re trying to throw us off." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

As they spoke, Matteo’s phone buzzed.

He ripped it from his pocket and stared at the screen.

The anonymous text read:

Your boyfriend says he’s willing to be my slave and serve me in bed. 😂

Matteo stared at the message, his face darkening with rage.

"If the idiot behind this lays a single finger on my man, I’ll make sure he disappears from this world without a trace," he growled.

Tony immediately grabbed the phone and checked the message route.

A few moments later, he shook his head.

"It’s routed through a ghost server. The message is completely untraceable."

All day, the estate hung in a suffocating silence. They waited for another message, a ransom demand, or a call, but nothing came until nightfall. The entire team gathered in the living room, tension radiating through the space.

Kevin walked in, shifting his weight nervously. "Have you guys managed to reach Adrian yet?"

"No," Mark answered flatly, not looking at him.

"Then why are you all just sitting here?" Kevin pressed, his voice rising with forced anxiety. "Why not go to the police and report a missing person? It’s been hours already. What if something terrible happened to him?"

Matteo’s head snapped up, his eyes black with rage.

"Quiet. Nothing bad is going to happen to him."

"But you should still report it—"

"I said quiet."

The room fell silent.

Kevin looked around the room in disbelief.

"I’m worried about my friend, and you’re telling me to be quiet?"

"Please be quiet, Kevin," Tony cut him off, his voice dropping into a dangerous warning.

Kevin opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could say a word, Matteo’s phone suddenly rang.

An unknown number flashed across the screen.

The entire room went still.

Matteo answered immediately and switched the call to speakerphone.

"Speak."

"Hello," a woman’s voice came through the line, calm and chilling.

"Don’t waste your time trying to track down my husband, Matteo. I’ve finally taken back what belongs to me. Stay away from him."

Tony immediately signaled to Matteo, his fingers typing furiously as he bridged the call to his monitoring software, desperately trying to lock down a location.

"Who is your husband?" Matteo demanded, his voice trembling with controlled fury.

"Adrian Grayson," the woman replied smoothly.

Matteo forced his voice to remain steady. "Fine. But let me speak to him. Just let me know he’s doing fine."

"No," she said flatly, and the line went dead.

Tony slammed his hand on the desk. "Damn it! The call was too short. I couldn’t pin the coordinates before she cut it."

Matteo rubbed his face, his mind racing. "What kind of sick game is this? A woman’s voice? Calling Adrian her husband?" He paused, a sudden thought striking him. He quickly dialed Marissa’s number.

Marissa answered on the second ring. "Hey, bro?"

"Is Iris still at your place, or did she leave?" he asked without greeting her.

"She’s still here," Marissa replied, entirely confused. "His men haven’t come to pick her up yet. She’s sitting right across from me. Why?"

"Alright. Thank you," Matteo said, hanging up. He looked at Mark and Tony. "If Iris is there, who the hell is that woman?"

Matteo didn’t get his answer that night. He didn’t blink or sleep a single second, sitting on the balcony smoking a cigarette after a cigarette until the sun began to rise.

The next morning, Matteo got ready early and left the estate with Tony and Mark.

Kevin tried to follow them to the cars, begging to help, but Matteo flatly refused and ordered him to stay behind.

Left with no choice, Kevin stayed at the house alone while the team drove out to scour the city for leads.

Meanwhile, Adrian was proving to be a nightmare for his captor. Tied to the chair, he refused to cooperate. When Kelly leaned in, trying to force a kiss onto his lips, Adrian violently threw his head forward, slamming his forehead directly into Kelly’s mouth.

Kelly stumbled back, howling in pain as his lip split open. Infuriated, he lunged forward and delivered two brutal, ringing slaps across Adrian’s face.

"How dare you hit me?" Kelly snapped.

Adrian looked him straight in the eye and scoffed.

"To hell with your stinking mouth."

The hours dragged on painfully. But late in the afternoon, the heavy electronic lock on the door suddenly beeped. Someone was entering the correct password from the outside.

Adrian raised his bruised face, blinking past the swelling to see who was walking through the door. The moment the figure stepped into the light, Adrian froze. He wasn’t scared, but the sheer shock of reality made his breath hitch.

"Kevin..." Adrian murmured. "You."

Kelly immediately stood up and rushed toward Kevin.

"Brother, he—"

Before Kelly could finish, Kevin marched across the room in a blind rage. He didn’t hesitate; he swung his hand back and delivered a devastating, heavy slap across Adrian’s face that nearly tipped the chair over.

"How dare you say my name, you spoiled little rat?" Kevin hissed, his face twisted with pure malice.

He grabbed a fistful of Adrian’s hair and yanked his head back.

"By the time I’m done with you, Matteo will be carrying your corpse out of here. And when he does, he won’t find a single clue telling him how you died, you idiot."

Fresh blood dripped from the corner of Adrian’s mouth. Kevin leaned in, expecting to see tears or terror, but Adrian just stared at him. Then, a dark, mocking laugh bubbled up from Adrian’s chest.

"Well, well, well," Adrian chuckled, spitting blood onto Kevin’s shoes. "So you two are brothers. I should have known better. You both act the same... pathetic, desperate, and deeply disturbed. You two must have come from a seriously broken, miserable home to turn out this disgusting."

Adrian leveled both of them with a look of supreme disgust.

"Look at you, Kevin. Acting like a loyal puppy at the estate while your lowlife brother does all your dirty work."

He let out a mocking laugh.

"Both of you are absolute losers. You’re trash, and no matter what you do to me, you’ll always be beneath Matteo and me."

The insults hit a nerve. Screaming in rage, Kevin violently kicked the leg of the chair. The wooden frame gave way, and Adrian crashed sideways, his head slamming hard against the cold concrete floor.

Kevin stood over him, panting. "I fucking hate you. You think you’re so precious? I’m going to make you beg me to fuck you. Not just me, both my brother and I are going to ruin you."

Kevin reached into the duffel bag he had brought with him, pulling out a sealed medical kit. He tore it open to reveal a syringe filled with a clear, heavy fluid. It was a highly potent aphrodisiac drug, a dose that would force Adrian’s body into intense, uncontrollable heat, stripping away his ability to resist.

Kelly helped hoist Adrian’s chair back upright. He looked down at Adrian with a sick smile. "Don’t think my brother is being cruel, Adrian. This is exactly what your precious boyfriend used on my boyfriend, isn’t it? Inserting high doses of drugs just to have sex."

Kevin knelt down in front of Adrian, tapping the needle. "Since Matteo treats you like you’re so special and wants to be so gentle with you, I’m going to help him out. You are going to beg for it. And by the time we are entirely done with you, there is no way Matteo will ever want you the same way again. He won’t be able to stand the thought of you sleeping with another man."

Adrian looked directly into Kevin’s eyes, his gaze unbroken and completely fearless despite the needle hovering inches from his skin. "Do it," Adrian hissed, his jaw clenched. "I would rather die right here than let either of you loser brothers touch me."

"We’ll see about that," Kevin snarled. He stepped forward, grabbed Adrian’s arm tightly, and plunged the needle deep into his skin, emptying the syringe.

As Adrian gasped from the sudden sting, Kevin leaned in close...