Heya guyss!! After so long I finally got the time to write another chapter😮‍💨 I hope it doesn't disappoint.

So, here it is, let me know what you think!✨

Dominic Gray

The sound of my brush against the canvas was the only thing keeping me grounded. The Red Series was almost complete, each stroke a release of the turmoil inside me. Victoria's face haunted my thoughts, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and defiance.

It has been a week since I had anonymously dropped the location of Victoria's abduction to the police. That night I lost control which made me realise my growing feeling towards Victoria was dangerous. She was a potential threat, a loose end that was ruining my carefully orchestrated plan. I could not afford to get distracted. Not when I was so close.

But there was something about her that made me hesitate, something that stirred emotions I thought I had buried long ago. After she passed out, I knew if I stayed with her any longer, I would do something I'd regret so I cleaned and clothed her and carried her back to her room. After carefully taking care that no clues were left in the warehouse that could connect the police to me, I left. I placed an anonymous call to the police with my burner phone and led them right to where I had left Victoria captured.

Victoria is still a threat because even though I have released her, this time I knew if I faced her again, she would not hesitate to put the bullet right through my skull and the worst part was I'd let her.

The fire that burned within me to take my sweet awaited revenge with The Prophecy was now being redirected to finding out about Victoria's parents. She had lost her parents as the same day as mine. What connected us?

The Prophecy was more alert now. A week of no killing must have driven them to the edge, which would cause them to make mistakes and that's when I would strike. I would find their weak spot and press it until it would hurt.

I need one last victim. One last victim to fully erupt chaos in The Prophecy. One last victim to finish my series. And one last victim to tell Victoria Blackwood I was not stopping.

And my last victim would be Xander Cruz. My little doll's favourite puppy.

A sinister smile curled my lips as I picked up my phone and dialed a number from memory. The line rang twice before a familiar voice answered.

"Hey Ryan, sorry for ditching you before. Do you still have time for an old friend?" My voice dripped with a calculated mix of nostalgia and menace.

There was a brief pause before he responded, his tone cheerful but cautious. "Dom! Long time no see. Sure, man. Anything for an old friend. But you owe me a drink for ditching me last time, you asshole."

I chuckled darkly, the sound echoing off the walls of my studio. "Noir Café, 7 PM. Don't be late." My words were laced with an underlying threat, a promise of things to come.

Ryan hesitated for a moment, sensing something was off, but he brushed it aside. "Sounds great! But if you ditch me again, I might just come at you with a knife," he joked.

I ended the call, my smile widening. If only he knew the darkness that awaited. The only person I would allow to do something like that would be Blackwood.

.....

I arrived 15 minutes late at the café and found Ryan sitting smack dab in the middle of the café with his head buried in his computer.

He looked exactly like before, boring. Nothing had changed about him. He was still the golden boy with blond hair, green eyes that would help him sway any person. But these are the kind of people with the deepest and darkest secrets. They wear a mask to blend with the crowd to hide the darkness inside them but that was what separated me from the ton, I did not hide. I carried my darkness with me. And the mask I wore was to help me get the things I wanted, because here is the thing about me, I don't like people touching what belongs to me and that was exactly why Xander was going to die.

"Hey, Dom!" Ryan waved from the table, signaling me over.

Time to put on the mask.

I smiled walking towards him "Hey Ryan! It's been so long no?"

"It has," he smiled. "You have changed Dom, an artist huh? It suits you. You have always had a wild imagination and I am so glad destiny brought us together once again. I have missed my best friend," his voice filled with nostalgia as he spoke.

Ryan delving into the past was the last thing I needed. He might have moved on but I have not, not until I take my revenge.

"So.." Ryan cleared his throat. I knew exactly what he was going to say. "Are you going tomorrow?"

"No," my voice was loud and firm.

"Dom, it's been 20 years. You need to let it go. Accidents happen, and you need to learn to move on," he spoke.

This was exactly why I didn't want to meet this motherfucker. He loved my sister, and the day she was taken away, I was not the only person whose heart was shattered into a thousand pieces. Trying to mend each piece only meant more pain.

"Easy for you to say. Nobody called you crazy when you tried explaining what happened. Do you not remember why we stopped being friends, you bastard? Because the one person I thought would believe me was you and," I scoffed, "you were the person to leave. You were the first person to run away."

His expression darkened. "She was gone, Dominic, and no one knew where. They could not find your parents, and your story wasn't exactly believable. I had no choice; you were not in your right mind. People tried to help you if you have not forgotten, but you were too stubborn to see the truth."

I leaned in closer, my voice a low, threatening whisper. "The truth, Ryan, is that I was right. And you, of all people, should have stood by me. But you ran, just like everyone else. Well, I've found my truth now, and it's darker than you can imagine."

Ryan's eyes flickered with a mix of fear and confusion. "What are you talking about, Dom? What have you done?"

A slow, sinister smile crept across my face. "I've found a way to make them pay. And you're going to help me."

"Help you? With what?" Ryan's voice wavered.

"With Xander Cruz," I said, my tone dripping with malice. "I need information, and you're going to get it for me."

Ryan swallowed hard, realizing the gravity of his situation. "Dom, I don't think—"

I cut him off, my grip tightening on his wrist. "You don't have a choice, Ryan. You owe me that much. Or have you forgotten what happened to people who cross me?"

He paled, nodding slowly. "Alright, Dom. I'll help you. But this is the last time."

I released his wrist, my smile widening. "Good. I knew you'd see reason. You have 2 days."

"But that's impossible you motherfucker"

I smiled. "I'm sure you'll find a way, old friend. Regretting you reached out now, aren't you?" Leaning closer, I whispered, "Destiny would have caught up with you eventually, Ryan. I would have found a way to collect your long-due debt, one way or another."

We finished our drinks in silence, the tension between us palpable. As Ryan left the café, a shadow of his former self, I knew he would come through. He always did, in the end.

The game was far from over, and I was just getting started. Soon, Xander Cruz would be within my grasp, and Victoria Blackwood would see just how far I was willing to go.