Crimson Nights

Chapter 9 [WEB OF DECEIT]

The Flashback

The moon hung high over Vesper, casting a pale glow that barely penetrated the thick shadows clinging to the city’s streets. Inside Isaac’s apartment, the atmosphere was thick with an unspoken tension, a silent anticipation as Isaac and Lennie lost themselves in each other’s embrace. Their lips met in a fervent kiss, a temporary escape from the chaos that surrounded them.

Isaac’s hand traced the line of her jaw, his touch tender, but something in Lennie’s mind stirred—a dark, dormant force awakened by the intimacy of the moment. As her eyes fluttered shut, she was no longer in the safety of Isaac’s arms but hurled back into a nightmare she had fought to forget.

The apartment around her dissolved, replaced by the dilapidated walls of her childhood home. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol and the unmistakable scent of blood. Lennie was a little girl again, hiding in the corner, her heart pounding as she watched her father, a monstrous figure towering over her mother, his eyes wild with fury.

“You’re worthless!” her father’s voice echoed in her mind, each word a lash against her psyche. Lennie watched in helpless horror as he struck her mother, the sound of flesh meeting flesh ringing in her ears. Her mother’s cries for mercy were drowned out by his drunken rage.

Lennie’s small hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms as the memory flooded her senses. She remembered the moment her father turned his wrath on her, the way his hand had closed around her throat, the pressure building until she was sure she would die.

And then, the final, terrifying night—when she had finally fought back. She had grabbed the knife from the kitchen, her small fingers trembling as she plunged it into his back. The moment of impact, the warmth of his blood splattering across her face, and the sight of him collapsing to the floor, the life draining from his eyes—it had all seared itself into her memory.

“I’m better off without you,” she had whispered to his lifeless body, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and satisfaction. “We’re all better off.”

The Snap

In the present, Lennie’s body stiffened against Isaac’s, her breathing shallow as the memory’s grip tightened around her heart. The lines between past and present blurred, and she no longer saw Isaac in front of her—only the ghost of her father, his sneering face taunting her, daring her to fight back again.

Isaac’s concern grew as he noticed the shift in her demeanor. He pulled back slightly, searching her eyes for some clue to the storm raging inside her.

Isaac: “Lennie…what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

But Lennie didn’t hear him. The terror and fury from her past bled into the present, and her hands—still resting on Isaac’s shoulders—tightened their grip. Without warning, they moved to his neck, her fingers curling around his throat with a strength fueled by years of repressed rage.

Isaac’s eyes widened in shock as he felt her hands close around his windpipe, cutting off his air. Panic surged through him, and he grasped at her wrists, trying to loosen her hold.

Isaac: “Lennie—stop—” he gasped, his voice choked and strained.

But Lennie was lost to the darkness, her vision clouded by the image of her father’s sneering face. The harder Isaac struggled, the tighter her grip became, her nails digging into his skin. Isaac’s face turned a shade of purple as he fought to breathe, his strength waning.

Just as Isaac’s vision began to fade, a flash of clarity cut through Lennie’s haze. She saw Isaac’s face, contorted in pain, his eyes pleading with her. In that instant, the illusion shattered. She was not a helpless child anymore, and Isaac was not her father.