Burn Me Right

Chapter 73

Zyler reached his office. He was working on his construction project when Eric busted in.

"Police dogs aren't allowed into my office," Zyler didn't lift his head from the papers he was keenly observing. This time, it was Eric's turn to smirk.

"Your time is up, Stone." He threw an envelope that hit the glass table and made a clink.

"Get the fuck out," Zyler wasn't taking lightly to Eric's bravery. But Eric did not; he grinned widely, and that enraged Zyler.

He unbuttoned his suit and pulled the chair. Sitting on it, he crossed one knee, resting on the other. "Open it up," Eric jutted his chin with a smug look. Zyler's eyes darted between the envelope and Eric. He resisted the urge to bust Eric's brain open.

Zyler violently tore the envelope, and a pen drive hit the table with a clink. "You might want to know what's in there, Mr. Stone," he leaned his head back and waited for Zyler's reaction. But Zyler, a master at masking emotions, picked up the pen drive and inserted it into his laptop.

A voice met his ears, a voice he recognized all too well. But there was no change in his expression as Eric watched him. They were as calm as saints.

"I take it Varney is dead?" she asked as she twisted her hair into a bun and pinned it. There was no answer.

She unbuttoned his bloody shirt, asking. "Do you feel it?"

He raised his brow. "Do you feel the peace that you wanted so badly? Was the revenge worth it?"

"Every bit of it,"

He smiled, but there was no happiness. A sad expression took over him.

"Take this to court, to the jury. I will tell the jury that this is fabricated," Zyler said, leaning in his chair and laughing. Cockiness was evident in his laughter.

"Here is another one," Eric placed another pen drive on the table, and Zyler inserted it into the laptop.

"Wasn't killing Varney enough for you? Ryle, Matt... weren't their deaths enough of a punishment for Liam?" Her voice cracked a mix of disbelief and horror at the realization she was entangled with a murderer.

"Does the sight of blood empower you? Is that your path to peace?" Her voice rose, a crescendo of anger and desperation. The notion of power in bloodshed, in the relentless pursuit of revenge, was unfathomable to her.

Zyler's response was chilling, his voice a calm contrast to her distress. "I killed Varney with my own hands. I chopped his body to pieces, and no, it wasn't enough. His blood was sanctification. And no, it wasn't enough. Matt, Ryle... no number of lives can quell my thirst for vengeance. For revenge and FOR YOU. Everything I do, I do for YOU AND MY VENGEANCE." His stillness was unnerving, his resolve unshakeable.

She heard a knock at their door. "Autumn," she heard Carly call her.

"I will be out in a minute, Carly,"

"I wonder who was skilled enough to imitate your girlfriend and your maid's voice," Eric chuckled, a note of triumph lacing his laughter. It was the sound of a man who had achieved his goal of ensnaring the lion into his trap. Now, all that remained was to decide whether to tame the beast or eliminate it.

Zyler sat in his chair, and his expressions were still unreadable to Eric. Zyler, a man who had faced death and danger with steadfast resolve, was now undone by an unexpected adversary: betrayal. The revelation pierced through his hardened exterior, reaching into the core of his being, a place he had long thought invulnerable. For the first time, his heart didn't just ache; it shattered, each fragment a testament to the depth of his pain.