Your sins will always follow you
Emma's eyes went wide for only half a second when she read the words of the paper that smuggled into her cell:
"Come back to me, or she dies. —Vencor."
Her hand trembled faintly before curling into a fist. The name was a scar burned into her soul.
Vencor.
The monster who had forced her to murder her parents.
The man who had dragged her into hell, molded her into a killer, and branded her with blood.
Emma sat still on the edge of her bed, the bandage on her shoulder tugging as she clenched her jaw.
Valeria barged in a few minutes later, laughing at first about a cigarette deal she had hustled, until she saw Emma's face—serious, colder than usual.
Valeria:
"What now, bestie? You look like you saw a ghost."
Emma slowly raised the paper. Valeria took it, reading out loud, her voice cracking at the end.
"Come back to me, or she dies… Who the hell is Vencor?"
Emma looked at her with unreadable eyes.
Emma: "My past. The man who made me what I am."
Valeria frowned, puffing her chest in mock bravado.
"So? Let him come. He doesn't scare me."
Emma leaned closer, her whisper like a knife against skin.
Emma: "You don't understand. Vencor doesn't make threats he won't carry out. If I don't deal with him… you'll be dead before sunrise."
For the first time, Valeria saw something flicker in Emma's eyes—not fear, but memory. The ghost of chains, the shadow of a cage, blood dripping from her hands as a child forced to obey.
Emma rose, determination sharpening her voice.
Emma: "If Vencor came here… then he's already watching us. He thinks he owns me. He doesn't."
Valeria smirked, trying to mask her unease.
"So, what now?"
Emma tilted her head, her hair falling over her eyes as she cracked a cold smile.
Emma: "Now? I hunt him… before he touches you."
------
The prison gates clanged open at midnight. Nobody ever visited at that hour—nobody dared.
But the guards stood in rigid silence, faces pale, as the man stepped inside.
A tall, gaunt figure with sharp eyes that seemed to pierce through bone. His presence was heavier than iron shackles.
Vencor.
Emma was hauled out of her cell in cuffs, Valeria shouting furiously from behind the bars,
"Where are you taking her?! Let her go, you cowards!"
None of the officers looked Valeria in the eye. Their grips shook as they dragged Emma to the visiting chamber.
Rourke, the only officer who had shown Emma a shred of fairness, was there. His jaw was tight, his hand clenched into a fist, but he didn't move. Fear chained him to the spot.
Vencor leaned back in the chair, his lips curling.
Vencor: "Emma. My Cutie. Still beautiful even behind bars."
Emma's empty eyes stared at him.
Emma: "…You're still alive."
Vencor chuckled, ignoring the police standing nervously at the walls.
Vencor: "Alive? More than that. I own them. These officers, this prison—fear makes loyal dogs. They would sell their souls before crossing me."
One of the guards flinched but said nothing.
Emma stayed silent for a moment, then tilted her head, her voice quiet and sharp.
Emma: "So this is it? You crawled all the way here to drag me back into your cage?"
Vencor leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with hunger.
Vencor: "Not a cage. A throne. With you at my side, the world remembers who the you belong too. Refuse me… and I will carve the screams of your little prison friend into your mind until you beg for mercy."
Emma's hands tightened against the cuffs, blood rushing where the metal cut into her skin. Her gaze didn't break.
Emma: "…If you think I'm still yours, you've already lost."
The room went silent. The officers dared not breathe.
Then Vencor smiled—slow, cruel, certain.
Vencor: "We'll see."
The cold night air bit at Emma's skin as the guards marched her out, chains rattling with each step. The prison yard was lit by floodlights, cutting through the shadows where Vencor's black cars waited like vultures.
Valeria's voice thundered behind them.
Valeria: "NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER! SHE'S NOT YOUR TOY!"
She slammed herself against the bars of her cell, shaking them so violently that two guards rushed to hold the door shut. Her voice cracked, raw with fury.
Valeria: "You bastards! Fight me instead! COWARDS!"
Emma glanced back, her face still and empty. Their eyes locked—Valeria burning like fire, Emma cold as stone.
Vencor stepped forward with a smirk, his coat brushing the snow.
Vencor: "Fiery little thing, isn't she? Maybe I'll keep her alive long enough for you to watch, Emma. Might even let her scream your name."
Valeria spat through the bars, her face twisted with rage.
Valeria: "I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL RIP YOU TO PIECES!"
The officers shoved Emma forward, forcing her into the back of one of Vencor's waiting cars. She didn't resist—her eyes just stayed locked on Valeria until the metal door slammed shut between them.
Valeria banged her fists against the bars, her voice breaking into a roar.
Valeria: "EMMA! DON'T LET HIM WIN! YOU'RE NOT HIS SLAVE!"
But the engines growled, drowning her out.
The convoy of cars rolled into the night, carrying Emma Elarat back into the hands of the man who made her a monster.
Valeria collapsed to her knees, her knuckles bleeding from how hard she'd struck the bars. She whispered, trembling, almost praying:
Valeria: "…Come back alive, bestie. Please."
-----
The car stopped. Emma was pulled out, chains clinking. The cold air was replaced by the suffocating silence of Vencor's mansion—grand, yet rotten with decay.
The guards shoved her into a large room. Its walls were lined with mirrors, forcing Emma to see her reflection from every angle.
Vencor stepped inside, slow, deliberate, carrying a glass of wine. His shadow stretched across the floor until it merged with hers.
Vencor: "Back where you belong."
Emma sat on the floor, her wrists bleeding from the cuffs, her gaze sharp but expressionless.
Emma: "…You should've killed me when you had the chance."
Vencor chuckled, swirling the wine.
Vencor: "Kill you? Oh no, Emma. I didn't raise you to die. I raised you to obey."
He leaned down, close enough for her to smell the alcohol on his breath.
Vencor: "You thought you escaped me? Built a little life? Going to prison to escape me?, Cute. But you'll always be mine."
Emma's lips parted slightly, but no words came out. Instead, she slowly tilted her head, her empty eyes locking on his—no fear, just a void.
He slapped her across the face, the sound echoing through the mirrored chamber. Her head snapped to the side, but she didn't flinch. She didn't give him the satisfaction.
Vencor: "That silence… oh, how I've missed it. You were my masterpiece, Emma. And tonight, I'll remind you what you are."
He dropped the glass of wine, letting it shatter across the floor. The red liquid bled into the cracks like spilled blood.
Emma stayed on the ground, breathing slow. Inside, her chest tightened—memories of her bad Past life.
As the guards chained her to the bedframe in the center of the mirrored room, Vencor leaned down one last time.
Vencor: "Tomorrow… your training begins again. The Hell cracker will return "
Emma whispered—so quiet, even Vencor almost didn't hear it.
Emma: "…I'm not yours anymore."
For the first time, his smirk faltered.
The guards slammed the door shut. Emma was left alone in the mirrored chamber, her own reflection staring back at her a thousand times—broken, chained, but unyielding.
Chapter end