Twisted loyalty

CODE

“My lovely rose, I will set them free as you want. After all, I am a man of my word.”

“Boys, let them go.”

Lisa knew something was up. Richard always kept his word, but something didn’t add up. Why would he listen to her after everything she had done to him? Still, she held herself back from saying anything. She knew her people were somewhere nearby. Any moment now, they would come.

Richard was just smiling as his men looked at him. They took some of the hostages out of the room and left the others behind.

Lisa couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you not freeing everyone like you promised? I thought you were a man of your word. Let them go now!”

“My, my, my, love. Don’t do this, my rose. I know you didn’t just come here without a plan. I know you all too well. Did you really expect me to just let all the hostages go at once? Do you think I’m dumb or something? I need something to hold over you. But don’t worry. When everything is over, I will let them go.”

Lisa couldn’t even comprehend what Richard was saying. She knew he would pull all kinds of tricks, but this was beyond what she expected.

Still, no worries. The others would have saved the hostages before Richard could do anything.

She watched as his men led some of the hostages away and prayed that Raymond would help them in case they encountered any of the zombie patients.

When they were gone, only a few of Richard’s men remained to safeguard him.

Lisa heard Richard’s voice and was brought out of her thoughts.

“Now that’s finally done, let’s get back to the matter at hand. My rose, please come and have a seat. You must be tired from standing there all this time. You know you’re pregnant with our child.”

Lisa simply ignored him and went to sit down because the exhaustion was starting to get to her.

After she sat down, she noticed that the table was decorated with her favorite flowers—lilies. She didn’t know what to think of it.

“What kind of nonsense is this? Does this look like a game to you? People are dying because of what you did, and here you are putting on a show. Are you okay, Richard?”

“My lovely rose, don’t be like that. I did all this for you. Everything I did was for you. I wouldn’t have agreed to do any of this if you weren’t involved. I know you love me too. You’re just confused. That’s why you married that bastard. But soon, you’ll be free from that burden. When I find him and kill him, we can finally be together as it should have been.”

Lisa was enraged by what he said, but one part of his statement caught her attention.

He had agreed to do this.

So she had been right. Richard was not working alone. Someone had helped him, and she was going to find out who. But she had to be careful.

Lisa calmed herself before replying.

“You must be insane if you think I was ever yours. And don’t you ever call my beloved husband a bastard, you sick psycho. That’s why I left you. And whoever the f**k sent you or is working with you, I don’t care. Please, just stop this madness. It’s not worth it.”

“It is!” Richard shouted. “You’re worth everything. You’re mine. Mine. Mine. Mine… and that’s all I want and need. That’s why I did all this. That’s why, when the offer came, I immediately took it.”

He suddenly turned the table upside down, grabbed Lisa, pulled her toward himself, and hugged her, burying his head against her neck and planting small kisses along her skin.

Lisa tried to push him away, but he held her tighter.

“Let me go, Richard! Who’s helping you do this? And I’m not yours. I belong to no one! And how the hell are there no signs of the zombie patients storming this place or even coming near here?”

With one final push, she managed to shove him away and send him stumbling to the ground.

She was panting when she heard Raymond’s voice.

“Lisa, are you okay?”

He planned on coming to help her, but Lisa quickly stopped him. She needed to find out who was working with Richard.

Raymond reluctantly agreed but promised that he would come to her immediately if Richard tried anything again.

Richard slowly got back on his feet. He gave her a sinister smile before sitting back down in his chair. He gestured for Lisa to sit, but she refused.

She had enough of this.

She wanted answers.

“It’s someone close to you,” Richard said with a smile. “And I promise you, you will be surprised when you find out. That’s when the real fun begins. Ha ha ha!”

He leaned back in his chair.

“And about those patients I turned crazy—cool, right? Oh, and by the way, I created the medicine that was used. Aren’t I a genius?”

Lisa wasn’t surprised. She knew how smart Richard was, but who could this person be?

She needed to find out.

“Well, about them not attacking here right now, it’s quite simple. They can’t attack their creator.”

“What do you mean by that?” Lisa asked.

“Like I said, I created them, and I also know how to control them. With just one word from me, they would storm this place. I also have this area secured with my scent blocker. It acts as a shield. Once I spray it on someone, they can walk past the patients like nothing happened. They will run away from the smell because it irritates them.

“That’s why you can’t find them anywhere near here. I took my time to spray it around my entire area. You can call this place your safe haven, my lovely rose.”

Lisa tried to process all the information at once.

Even Raymond and the others had managed to get some of the hostages out without Richard knowing because he had been so focused on Lisa.

“Then you must have a cure. It can save them before the curfew is over. Please, Richard.”

“Don’t cry, my love. I would love to do that, but I have no other choice than to do this for us. Now, if you don’t mind, head up.”

Before Lisa could comprehend what was happening, she felt something sting her.

She suddenly collapsed, taken completely by surprise.

“Lisa! Lisa, answer me! f**k! I’m on my way. Hold on for me. I’m coming!”

The call ended.

Lisa could barely hear what Raymond was saying as the line broke up. Whatever Richard had sprayed on her was already affecting her.

She heard Richard laughing and looked at him.

“What did you do to me, bastard?”

Richard bent down to her level and forced her face toward his.

Lisa felt frightened. His eyes were bloodshot with rage, and his expression sent a chill through her.

“My lovely rose, you know I love you, I could never hurt you. I just sprayed you with something that will make sure those zombies don’t touch you. We’re getting out of here, but first, I need you to do something for me.”

He stared directly into her eyes.

“Give me the code.”

Lisa was confused.

“What code are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I need access to the safe. I lost a lot of my assets because of you, and I need them back. I need you to grant me access to the CIA safe bank where my assets were hidden. I know you still remember the code because you created it.”

He grabbed her chin.

“So, if you want your loved ones and those hostages to live, you’re going to tell me everything I need to know.”

Richard gave her a kiss on the lips.

Lisa froze, allowing him to do what he wanted as her mind raced.

She finally realized why he had wanted her there.

Before Richard was arrested, Lisa had created a code that allowed her to hack into his systems and drain his bank accounts, making him lose all claims to his wealth, laboratories, and facilities.

So when he was finally caught, he had no way to save himself, leaving him with nothing.

But when Lisa quit her job, she left the code with the agency. They never had a reason to change it, and only a few people knew about it. It was nearly impossible for anyone else to figure it out.

Now, after all these years, she thought she had left that life behind.

But it had come back to haunt her.

And she could never tell Richard the code. Only God knew what he would do once he regained access to his assets.

Before she could react, Raymond stormed into the room.

His eyes were filled with rage, and blood stained his clothes.

Lisa's heart sank.

Oh God… this is going to be bad.

“You bastard!” Raymond roared. “Get your disgusting hands off my wife before I kill you.”

Richard released Lisa and slowly turned to look at Raymond.

A smirk spread across his face.

“Well, look who finally showed up.”

His eyes narrowed.

“The rat who has been hiding.”

He chuckled.

“And don’t call her your wife.”

Richard's smile widened.

“She’s mine!”