NIGHTMARE OF BLOOD
Rain beat against the windows like a drum, but Valeria Knox barely noticed.
She sat on the edge of her bed, knees drawn up, hands trembling.
Nightmares had returned—images she never wanted to see.
She remembered her little brother laughing as he chased her through the market.
Her mother calling her name in the sunlit courtyard.
Her father smiling, the last warmth she’d ever known before he died.
And then… the men in the dark.
They came for her while the world slept.
No warning. No goodbye.
She imagined her mother pacing the empty streets, screaming her name.
Her brother turning a corner, expecting to find her… and finding nothing.
Her chest ached. Her throat burned. For a moment, she let herself feel the loss she had buried long ago.
But tears were a luxury she couldn’t afford.
A harsh knock on the door shattered the silence.
Her men dragged a man into the room, bound and bruised.
Valeria’s eyes glinted as she stepped forward.
“Good evening,” she said, voice smooth, deadly.
He flinched. “I… I don’t—”
“You’ll speak,” she interrupted, circling him. “And you’ll like it.”
Her hands moved with precision. She twisted his wrists, forcing him onto the floor.
“Talk,” she demanded.
He whimpered. “I… I don’t know anything important!”
She struck his shoulder lightly—not enough to hurt seriously, just enough to make him realize she was serious.
“I don’t ask twice. Your pain is irrelevant. What I want is the truth. Everything you know, everything you’ve hidden.”
He shook his head frantically.
“I—please… I’m just following orders—”
“You’re lying,” she said, crouching close. Her breath tickled his ear, cold and sharp. “I can smell it. The fear. The hesitation. Don’t waste my time.”
Her men stood behind her, silent, waiting for her signal.
She pressed a finger to his chest. “I could break you. Piece by piece. But I don’t need to. All I need is one crack in your loyalty, and the rest will spill.”
Minutes stretched. The storm outside mirrored the storm inside her mind.
Her eyes flicked to the bruised man, her thoughts drifting—her mother, her brother, the girl she used to be.
Pain, loss, rage… and now control.
Finally, he stammered, fear raw in his voice.
“I—I don’t know everything, I swear…”
“Then you’ll learn,” Valeria said softly, almost a whisper.
She stood, letting him scramble slightly on the floor, his fear radiating like heat.
The room went silent except for the rain and the man’s shaky breathing.
Valeria’s eyes narrowed.
She walked to the window, staring out at the city drenched in rain.
Some secrets would come tonight. Others… later.
And whatever came, she would be ready.
The night had only just begun.
