Davian's stomach churned with rage as he moved through the squalid house, taking in the signs of neglect and abuse that seemed to lurk in every corner.
But it was the small bedroom at the back of the house that made his blood run cold. The walls were a dingy yellow, the single window covered in rusty bars.
A small, stained mattress lay on the floor, with a tattered blanket tossed carelessly over it.
But it was the faded drawing on the wall that made Davian's heart ache - a childish scrawl of a sun, a house, and a little girl with a smiling face.
Winter's room.
He could hardly bear to imagine his little girl living in these conditions, sleeping on that filthy mattress, looking out at the world through those bars. The thought of it made him want to go back to the living room and inflict even more pain on the monster who had put her there.
Taking a deep breath, Davian forced himself to move on, to see what other horrors this house held. But as he turned to leave, he saw something that made his heart skip a beat - a small, hidden compartment in the wall, just big enough for a little girl to squeeze into.
Had Winter hidden in here, curled up in the darkness, while her father raged outside? The thought of it made Davian feel sick, made him want to weep for the tiny, brave girl who had endured so much.
Davian's anger reached a boiling point as he searched the house, his heart pounding in his chest. Every room he entered seemed to hold new horrors, new evidence of the hell Winter had endured.
He found a tiny, locked closet with no windows, the walls covered in childish scrawl...obviously where Ezra had kept his daughter "in time out". His stomach churned with rage.
But the worst was yet to come. In the kitchen, he found a belt buckle on the counter, a big, silver thing with a sharp edge. Next to it was a photograph...of Winter, her small body covered in ugly bruises, the belt buckle the weapon used to inflict them. Davian felt a roar of fury build in his chest, his vision blurring with red-hot anger.
By the time he returned to the living room, his sons had gotten some answers out of Ezra. The man was a bloody mess, his face unrecognizable, one leg twitching wildly where Sylas had stabbed him. Davian barely kept himself from launching at the pathetic excuse for a human being.
"Well?" he growled, his voice low and deadly. "What did he tell you?"
Kain turned to him, his eyes icy with rage. "He said Winter 'deserved' everything he did to her," he spat. "Did you get him to sign the paper?" he said since both of his hands were fucked by this point.
Davian felt his anger spike even higher, his hands shaking with the urge to wrap them around Ezra's neck and squeeze. "Sylas had to do it before Kain broke the other?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom. While laughing like a maniac.
Davian nodded, feeling a cold satisfaction. They had gotten the truth out of the bastard, even if it was laced with lies and excuses. "Good," he said, his voice icy. "I think it's time we ended this."
With that, Davian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small syringe. His sons watched in silence as he knelt next to Ezra, whose eyes went wide with fear. "You see, we've been looking for a new way to deal with scum like you," Davian explained, his voice conversational. "Something...longer-lasting than a bullet."
Ezra tried to struggle, but the boys held him firm. With a swift motion, Davian jabbed the needle into Ezra's neck, pressing down on the plunger. The man let out a strangled scream as a white-hot pain spread through his body, his muscles locking up.
"It's a slow-acting neurotoxin," Davian explained, standing up. "You'll be paralyzed from the neck down within minutes. And then...well, let's just say you'll have a lot of time to think about what you've done."
As they watched, Ezra's body began to stiffen, his face contorting in agony. But Davian felt no satisfaction, no pleasure in the man's suffering. Only a cold, grim sense of justice.
"Let's go," he said finally, turning to his sons. "We've done what needed doing. Now it's time to get back to my baby."
With that Davian ordered his men to put him in the basement of one of their ports that they had instated, letting them know they could do what they wanted with him since they also despise people like this.
They left the house of horrors behind, ready to return to the little girl who had brought them into this mess...and the one they would do anything to protect.
