Fool Me Once | T. Drake ✔

[20] Dead Or Alive

It had been two days since Roxanne's unexpected departure from Gotham.

Tim had been unable to contact her but Jason was already in Ireland, following the leads collected from the Outlaws' investigation of the Castellan case.

He found out that Adrian had been using a fake identity for the past three years so that his existence could be kept a secret. He was also living in a small town near Edinburgh rather than his native city Dublin and Jason was able to get that information through a former colleague of the man who had helped him escape from the Donnelleys.

Jason was asked to keep an eye on the man and alert them if something suspicious was detected about him.

He was the most important link to the Donnelley sibling's past that they had yet to solve. And that could only be possible by finding out what exactly happened that night three years back.

If Adrian was alive, which Jason had confirmed, then all the evidence for the case was fabricated. And it couldn't have been possible without at least one of the Donnelleys' help. Judging by what Tim had discovered through his discussion with Romero, it was possible that Roxanne had helped Adrian instead of killing him.

Tim still couldn't think that Roxanne could go as far as to commit murder, even under pressure. Especially not when the victim was someone so important to her.

He had seen her stand against Romero multiple times so it didn't make sense that she would give in and kill Adrian just because her brother threatened her to. She was a woman who managed to get her way no matter how hard the situation was.

Right then, he had received a call from Jason telling him to take the next flight to Edinburgh and reach as soon as possible.

He hadn't gotten any trace of Roxanne yet but he felt that Adrian was up to something suspicious as the man had cleverly shaken them off his trail and vanished. So it would be better if Tim was there to handle the situation as well.

***

She opened her eyes when cold water struck her face, roughly waking her up from the exhausted slumber she had lapsed into. It was dark around her so she couldn't clearly but one thing was certain, she was no longer in her room at Anya and Colin's place.

Instead, she was tied up to a chair, and judging by the suffocating atmosphere, she was probably kept in a basement.

She tried to speak but found her mouth gagged, restricting any sound to escape. As she tried to struggle to break free, she found her limbs unable to respond to her will. She had probably been drugged and the effects would take time to wear off.

"Wake up, Roxanne."

A shockingly familiar voice addressed her and she stilled, her face paling as if she had seen a ghost. She had barely seen those unforgettable features when a blazing yellow light struck her next and she squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the glare. Being struck by the light after so much darkness made her feel almost blinded.

She couldn't open her eyes again until the light was turned away from her and when she tried to look around, she could only see dark spots clouding her vision. The silence around her unnerved her too and she wasn't sure whether the voice she had heard was a superstition or not.

Roxanne tried to wake her numbing brain up as she struggled to remember who could have brought her there and where had Anya and Colin gone. She was more worried for them as she did not want two innocent lives to be put at stake due to her.

She had enough enemies already to expect that someone would abduct her and try to kill her. She hadn't yet found out where the death threats were coming from so it was a possibility that whoever was sending those death threats had finally managed to get hold of her.

But the worrisome aspect was that she had been with her nephew and sister-in-law prior to that. Perhaps they were held hostage as well and if that was the case then she had to negotiate with her abductor to let them go.

She knew she wasn't alone in the basement so as soon as she felt that the numbing effects of the drug were wearing off, she struggled to direct the captor's attention toward her.

Shortly after, the silhouette of a man approached her and she stilled, squinting to see clearly who he was. He had bent down to be on her level, his hand reaching out to remove the gag.

But as he drew closer to her and she caught sight of those green eyes, her blood froze in her veins.

"Adrian?" His name escaped her in a hushed whisper, unable to process that he was standing right in front of her.

Adrian was alive despite that night three years ago when she had been forced to kill him.

"Oh, you remember me? I thought after so long you would have even forgotten my name," his voice sounded and she realized it was the same voice that had addressed her earlier.

That was why she had felt it was familiar earlier as well.

"You're... Alive?"

"Fortunately, yes. Despite the many bullets you drilled into my body," his tone was bitter and Roxanne knew why.

He had every right to be angry at her and punish her for the past but she hadn't expected him to resort to such extreme measures.

"I hadn't wanted to do that. You were there, you know Romero forced me," she tried to justify herself, to remind him again that Romero had forced her into pulling the trigger. But her words were cut off by his derisive laugh.

"Save it, Roxy. Your brother was right; you are selfish and you play people for fools whenever you see fit. You didn't pull the trigger because your brother forced you to. You pulled the trigger because I was no longer of any use to you," he reached out, holding her face in his palm as he looked at her closely, "but now the tables have turned. You have nowhere to run anymore, no one to save you."

She could see the hatred in his eyes and the coldness of his tone was enough to ascertain that he wasn't going to be lenient with her. So she tried to bargain for the lives of her nephew and sister-in-law instead.

"You're right... I am responsible for everything that happened to you and if you want to take revenge then so be it," her voice was heavy as she voiced out those words, sealing her own fate, "but Colin and Anya... They were never involved in this. Let them go."

He didn't reply immediately and Roxanne felt that she would have to be more convincing. But right as she was about to say further, his green eyes locked with her grey ones deliriously.

"Colin and Anya? Do you mean my sister and nephew? Why would I hurt them? Of course, they weren't involved in whatever your monstrous brother got you to do for him. In fact, it was due to Anya that I managed to survive."

She stilled, registering his words clearly but still feeling quite confused. "What do you mean? Your sister...?"

"Your brother never bothered to check that Anya and I are related, did he? Well now you know," he twirled a lighter in his hands and Roxanne felt the strong stench of gasoline pouring in through her nose, making her feel nauseous.

"Then... Where are they? Do they know you are keeping me here?"

"They gave you up, Roxy," he replied, his finger pressing the button on the lighter as a flame popped up, "because you and Romero Donnelley have only ever hurt them."

"What...? No... I would never..."

"I have to cut this meeting here now," he stood up despite Roxanne trying to stop him, "goodbye, love."

"Where are you going? What the hell are you going to do?" She got alarmed as he dropped the lit-up lighter on the floor and flames erupted where it struck, "Adrian! Come back, don't do this... You know I never wanted you dead. Please!"

"Too bad, now I want you dead. And unlike you, I finish my tasks, seeing them to the very end," he remarked darkly, stepping out of the basement that was going to catch fire very soon.

***