David Larson (The Psychopath)

Chapter2

Ang unang opisyal na session ay nagsimula nang eksaktong alas-nuwebe ng umaga. The heavy smell of ozone and damp concrete felt thicker today, or maybe it was just Dianna’s heightened senses. She had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing those crystalline hazel eyes dissecting her composure, peeling away her academic armor until she felt completely bare.

She smoothed down the skirt of her pristine white lab coat, took a deep breath, and entered the observation room.

David was already there, bolted to the center of the interrogation table. Today, they had added a heavy magnetic collar around his neck, wired directly to the floor. It kept his head centered, preventing him from lunging forward like he did the day before. Yet, the moment Dianna stepped inside, his entire posture shifted. He didn’t look restricted; he looked like a king waiting for his subject.

"You're three minutes late, Dianna," David noted, his voice smooth, dropping her title with an intimate, dangerous ease. "Did you spend the morning convincing yourself that you’re safe in here?"

Dianna sat down across from him, deliberately clicking her expensive fountain pen. She refused to let him see the slight tremor in her fingers.

"I was reviewing your childhood records, David. A foster care system that failed you, a series of 'unfortunate accidents' involving neighborhood animals, and a foster mother who mysteriously fell down the stairs when you were twelve." She leaned back, crossing her legs. "A classic start ng isang sociopath. You destroy things because you can't control them."

David’s chuckle was low, vibrating through the metal table. He leaned his head back against the collar, his hazel eyes darkening with a twisted sort of amusement.

"Ganyan din ang sinabi ni Dr. Evans. The twenty-fourth doctor. He was so obsessed with my mother," David murmured, his gaze dropping slowly to Dianna’s lips, then tracking the movement of her throat as she swallowed. "Gusto mo bang malaman kung anong nangyari sa kanya, Doktora? I found out his wife was sleeping with his brother. I just... planted the seeds. By the third month, Evans was drinking his breakfast. By the fifth, he hung himself in his own garage using his wife’s favorite silk scarf."

"Are you trying to threaten me, David?"

"No. I'm warning you," David whispered, his torso straining against the leather chest strap as he tried to get closer to her. The magnets in his collar hummed aggressively. "My poison doesn't come in a quick stab. It seeps into your skin while you think you’re curing me. So tell me... what is your poison, Dianna? What makes a pretty girl like you want to lock herself in a basement with monsters?"

"My personal life is not the subject of this session," Dianna replied firmly, but inside, a cold sweat was breaking out along her spine. He was shifting the dynamic, flipping the mirror back onto her.

"Sshh... huwag kang magsinungaling sa akin. I can smell it on you," David interrupted, his voice dropping into a raspy, seductive purr that made the hairs on her arms stand up. "You dress like a nun—buttons all the way to your chin, hair tied so tight it must hurt—but your eyes? Your eyes are starved, Dianna. You don't want to fix me. You want to feel the chaos because your own life is a suffocating, boring prison."

Dianna stood up abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the concrete floor. "This session is over."

"Tatakbo ka na agad?" David sneered, a dark, predatory grin stretching across his flawless face. He flexed his forearms, the thick leather straps digging into his skin, veins bulging with terrifying strength. "We're just getting to the good part, sweetheart. You can leave the room, but you can't lock me out of your head. I'm already inside, Dianna. Napapanaginipan mo na ako, 'di ba?"

Hours later, the sun had long set over Saint Jude Asylum, but Dianna remained in her private office on the upper floors. The facility was quiet, save for the rhythmic humming of the ventilation system.

She was staring at David's file, a glass of neat whiskey in her hand. Her mind was a chaotic mess. He was right. She was fascinated. The sheer brilliance of his malice was intoxicating. It was a drug she knew she shouldn't touch, but her core ached with a sudden, dark thrill every time she thought about his voice.

Suddenly, the lights in her office flickered and died.

Total darkness.

Dianna froze, dropping her glass. It shattered against the floor. "Santos?" she called out, reaching for her desk phone. The line was dead.

Before she could stand up, a heavy, warm hand locked around her waist from behind, slamming her back against her own mahogany desk. The scent of rain and dangerous electricity filled her lungs.

"Looking for the guards?" David’s velvety voice whispered directly into her ear, his breath hot against her skin.

Dianna’s heart hammered violently against her ribs. He was free. Somehow, the monster had escaped Ward 4. She tried to scream, but David’s other hand moved with lightning speed, gripping her jaw firmly, his thumb pressing hard into her cheek to force her mouth shut.

"Sshh... sabi ko sa'yo, walang kuwenta ang mga nakaraang doktor," David growled softly in the dark, pressing his heavy, muscular body flush against her back. She could feel his rigid length hardening against her thighs through the fabric of her skirt. "They thought chains could keep me away from you. I orchestrated the security blackout from my cell two weeks ago. I just needed the right reason to come out."

He turned her around roughly in his grip, pinning her chest to chest against the desk. Even in the shadows, his crystalline hazel eyes burned with an insane, brilliant light.

"You wanted to analyze my mind, Dianna?" David murmured, his grip on her jaw loosening just enough to let his fingers slide down her neck, tracing her frantic pulse. He leaned down, his lips brushing against hers, teasing her, but refusing to give her the full contact she didn't realize she was craving. "Ngayon, ibibigay ko sa'yo ang buong laro. Let's see how long your sanity lasts when I'm the one breaking you."