Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 51: Roommates

Then they opened the container, tossing the lid back into the light. They swung the container back and forth before tossing something live into the room. Many somethings from the squeals and scurrying toenails across the tile floor. The odor wafted in more slowly.

I strained to see as my terror ratcheted up. One something tried to dart out the open door. I saw a glimpse before one of my captors booted it back into the room with enough force that it crashed into the mirrored wall near my head. The creature’s scream accompanied my own.

The men at the door laughed and slammed the door shut, cutting off my access to the outside world and leaving me trapped with my new roommates. One of which may be dead just inches away.

The creature that was drop-kicked fell to the floor, either knocked out or dead, I assumed, since I didn’t hear it scurrying away. I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t about to go reaching out for it.

From the blurry image I’d seen, it was smaller than a cat and a mammal. My mind jumped to rat, and I cringed. Rats bit. Rats smelled. Rats could see in the dark, but I couldn’t. Rats would eat my meager rations.

I’d rather be alone. It could be worse, though. Spiders or snakes, I’d never hear coming.

Now, I wasn’t sure if the lack of music was a blessing or a new form of torment as I strained to determine how many new friends I’d made where they were in the room.

Charlie arrived with his tool kit. Jake didn’t stick around to watch. He’d seen enough of Charlie’s work. It wasn’t pretty. It was amazingly effective.

Jake checked out the rest of the house. The men had either just moved in or were relatively neat. Their beds were made, and their laundry was in hampers.

He snapped on a pair of latex gloves and started a methodical search just in case he found anything helpful. All the while, Jake blocked out as many of the sounds from the other room as he could. He’d thought he’d seen and heard the last of that kind of viciousness when he flew home from overseas that last time.

Jake settled down with an unlocked tablet. He was amazed at this guy’s porn collection. The guy must have spent all his free time adding to the collection. Momentarily, he wondered which guy it was before pushing the thought away with a shudder. The answer didn’t make what was happening to them any better.

He tossed the tablet on the bed and moved on to the next bedroom. Nothing.

Sampson caught Jake as he was exiting. "We’ve got it."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." Sampson handed Jake a slip of paper. A bloody fingerprint stated the edge of the paper.

Jake called Stiff. "Hey, run this address. Let me know what you think." He texted the address.

"How’s the damage?" Jake asked Sampson.

"They’ll live."

Jake grunted. "Remember to call an ambulance before you leave."

"Normal cleanup?"

"Yeah."

Normal clean-up was a chemical spray that eroded fingerprints. A second spray contaminated blood splatter. It was quicker than trying to wipe down surfaces.

He wasn’t worried about being identified by sight. None of the guys had criminal records, and it would take something really big before the military would share their files.

"Oh, and Sampson, grab the tablet in there." Jake grinned. "Christmas gift for Charlie."

Stiff called back before Jake reached the car.

"The address is a defunct school about thirty minutes from you."

"The same school?"

"No, a different one. Two schools seem like more than a coincidence. I set CK to checking the properties’ ownership. Both are owned by Mammoth Enterprises. He’s looking to see what else Mammoth owns."

"Not Heavenly?"

"Hang on, let me finish. Daniel Heavenly owns Mammoth Enterprises."

"Interesting."

"So, we can at least tie Daniel to the illegal activity."

"And Lettie. Min can testify to her involvement."

"True."

"Do we have any footage from the new school?"

"None."

"Alright. I’ll head there and recon the situation. My guys will swing by Crazy Code to pick up our gear. Call Min. He’ll want in on this."

"I’m at the office. I’ll bring the gear. Your guys can go straight there."

"No, Stiff, we need you on the outside."

"CK can do my job. I need to be there for Teela."

"Stiff, this isn’t up for negotiation. Teela would never forgive me if you got hurt. Besides, my guys and I are used to working as a team. You’ll slow us down."

"I can stay outside until you give me the all-clear. I promise I’ll stay out of the way, but Teela will need comforting when she comes out. As an old friend, I can do that for her better than you."

"Dammit, Stiff."

"Jake, don’t make me beg because I will."

"Yeah, and I bet you’ll show up anyway, won’t you?"

"You know me so well."

Jake knew this was a bad idea, but at least if he agreed, he could retain the most control over the situation.

"Put on a bulletproof vest and hang onto a stun gun."

Min called while Jake was driving. He used the car’s hands-free option to pick up the call.

"What do you need from me?" Min asked.

"Back up, man. We’re going in blind."

"You’re sure Teela is in there?"

"Unless she was moved again, I am. My guy is very good at extracting accurate information."

"On my way."

Good. Everything was falling into place. Teela would be safe soon.

King stared at the message, counting down the seconds from beginning to end. Timing the lights on and lights off business didn’t help. The lights were on a random timer. The message, though, was consistent. No matter how many times it flashed on the mirrors, it took the same amount of time. That consistency was his lifeline to sanity.

He thought it strange that no matter how many times Mom locked him in here, it never got easier.

How many times had it been? Ten? Twelve? More? To be honest, he couldn’t remember anymore. In fact, there were whole months in his youth that were blacked out.

He remembered going to the emergency room after one visit. His mother blamed his condition on football. Right. The only way football was involved was when he fumbled the ball and lost his temper afterward. He had cursed loud enough for the entire stadium to hear.

But that alone wasn’t enough to earn him time in the reflection room. He’d gotten caught dipping into Mom’s favorite vodka.

As he remembered it, he was so frustrated with his failure that he didn’t even try to hide his underage drinking.

Lights out. It matched his mood. Mom had agreed to let Teela go. She’d locked King up to punish Teela before releasing her.

Mom was big on punishment. Her anti-corporal punishment was a farce. She might not hit them anymore. She’d stopped when Daniel no longer flinched at the belt. But she did punish them in other ways. Humiliation, starvation, modified squats, bondage—the list went on.

Teela would never forgive him. Mom was right about that. When Mom released him, he’d be giving away his company ownership for nothing. Well, besides personal freedom at the most.

King would be lucky if Mom just disowned him. More than likely, she would find a way to ruin his reputation without dirtying the family name. He’d never be able to work for anyone who did business with the Heavenlys again.

Maybe he would start his own company.

The lights came on as if he’d hit on a bright idea.

But what kind of business? He’d never considered doing anything but work at the family business. King didn’t have any close friends. Min was the closest, and he was as much an employee as a friend. He had no hobbies, no real interest.

Just exactly what would he be if he wasn’t CEO of Heavenly Enterprises? The thought depressed him. There had to be a way to talk his way out of this with Mom. Maybe if he kept Teela and Mom separated. He could live with Teela in the condo he’d purchased and divide his time between there and home. But he didn’t see either Teela or his mom liking that idea.

Or he could refuse to sell. Min was resourceful. Maybe he could work with Night Shadows to locate Teela. If he acted quickly enough, he could possibly rescue Teela before Mom expected him to hand over the shares.

Once Teela was safe, though, something must be done to prevent a repeat transgression. Maybe it was time for Mom to retire to a facility for the aged. Somewhere that answered only to him and could keep her safe but harmless for the first time in her adult life.

Lights out. Again. How many times had it been now? Was it morning yet? It had to be morning soon. Mom would let him out soon, and as soon as she did, he was destroying this room. He would destroy it so badly that she could never put it together again.

Of course, he’d need to piss now.