~IAN~

The crowd closed in, their faces warping with judgment, disgust sharp in their eyes. A thousand whispers slithered through the air, each one cutting deeper than the last.

“I knew it! He’s been acting shady all day.”

“A poor, hungry, desperate thief.”

“Thief!”

The word echoed like a curse, bouncing off the walls and drilling into my chest.

Mr. Barry’s polished shoes clicked across the floor like a slow, merciless countdown. With each step, my heart thundered louder, like it might crack my ribs open. My palms were slick with sweat, knees trembling as I tried to steady my breath.

Suddenly, I remembered the video, Brenda, her guilty glances... everything.

Then it clicked.

Wait!

Everything makes sense now.

Brenda...

She was the one! She was the one who-

Mr. Barry was still talking, threatening.

“After today,” he sneered, pacing in front of me like a predator, “you’ll understand why people call me a no-nonsense man. When the police are through with you, you’ll-”

His voice faded beneath the storm building inside me.

No. Not anymore. Enough is enough!

I wiped my dewy eyes and rose to my feet, slow and deliberate, eyes zeroing in on the true serpent in the room - Brenda. Her smug expression trembled, just slightly. She wasn’t expecting me to stand.

But I wasn’t going to cower anymore.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve, Brenda,” I said, voice low and steady, the words slicing through the chaos like a blade. “Stealing from the boss and framing me? Classic move for a chameleon like you. You always did play the victim so well.”

Her eyes widened for the briefest second before narrowing into slits. “What are you talking about, Ian?” she hissed, trying to mask the tremor in her voice.

But I saw it. Everyone did.

I took a step forward, the crowd parting instinctively. “I’ve kept quiet. Endured your jabs, your gossip, your little power trips. But this? This crosses the line. And guess what? I’ve got the receipts.”

A crack appeared in her composure.

Her fake smile faltered. Her hands twitched.

“Nonsense,” she laughed, shrill and unconvincing.

She spun to face the others, her voice rising. “Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn the tables. He's playing tricks. He’s just trying to save himself! Hahaha!”

But her laugh - too sharp, too forced - sounded like balloons popping under pressure. Nobody was laughing with her.

I reached into my back pocket, my fingers brushing the worn edges of my phone. “Not so fast,” I muttered, unlocking the screen and scrolling to the saved file. “Let’s roll the tape.”

I tapped play. The video began to echo throughout the room.

It didn’t show her taking the money.

But it showed her inside the boss’s office, crouched by his desk, her hands fumbling to close a leather bag. A bundle of cash slipped out and hit the floor.

She froze, glancing around like a thief in the dark, then snatched the bundle and stuffed it back into the bag before zipping it shut.

That was it.

But it was enough.

Gasps filled the room like a tidal wave.

Before the video could finish, Brenda shrieked.

“Give me that, you bastard!”

She lunged at me, hands clawing for my phone, her nails grazing my wrist.

I spun away and lifted the phone above my head. “Back off!” I growled, using my shoulder to block her. She tripped and landed hard on her ass, the air knocked from her lungs in a graceless thud.

She scrambled up and charged again, but this time, a thunderous voice cracked through the room.

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE, BRENDA!”

Mr. Barry’s voice.

She froze mid-step, as if struck.

“I-i-i... boss, I can explain-”

“Not another word!” he barked.

He turned to me, his voice like ice. “Ian. Let me see that video.”

I handed it over.

The footage played to the end.

Silence.

Then Mr. Barry’s gaze snapped toward Brenda like a whip, eyes blazing with betrayal.

“You sneaky little devil,” he spat. “You stole my money? You fucking stole my money, huh? And you were the one who came to report to me that Ian did. You're evil! Accepting you into this bakery was a huge mistake."

“Please sir, I-i didn’t mean to,” she stammered, tears springing to her eyes. "It was the devil! H-he made me-”

“Oh, shut up,” I muttered, too low for most to hear.

But Mr. Barry did.

“SHUT UP, YOU BLOODY LIAR!”

The sound of his hand slapping her cheek cracked through the room like a gunshot.

Brenda stumbled, clutching her face, her act disintegrating. No one moved to help her.

Mr. Barry’s hands shook as he wiped his mouth, glaring at her like she was filth under his shoe. “You’ll regret ever crossing me,” he snarled.

But I didn’t feel vindicated. Not yet.

Because while she stood there trembling, and the others whispered in shocked tones, I could still feel the sting of every accusing glance from earlier.

Still taste the fear in the back of my throat.

Still wonder what kind of world lets someone like her nearly destroy someone like me.

Memories of her atrocities flooded my mind. All of them!

My teeth clenched, my chest tightened, and my blood roared.

And suddenly, I didn’t want to walk away.

Not this time.

I crossed the room in three strides, the weight of a hundred humiliations burning under my skin. Brenda flinched as I got closer, but didn’t move fast enough.

CRACK!

My palm collided with her cheek, sharp and final. Her head snapped sideways, and a collective gasp followed.

She staggered back, clutching her face, eyes wide with shock.

I leaned in, my voice low, savage, and clear.

“That’s for every lie, every look, every time you made me feel small. Burn in your own venom, bitch!”

Then I turned and walked out, marching to my station, the silence behind me louder than any applause.

~IAN~

I was walking down the alley. Night had already claimed the sky, and the atmosphere was mercilessly cold and windy.

Tucking my hands deeper into the pockets of my woolly sweater, I exhaled. Smoke puffed out from my lips and dissolved into the air like ghosts fleeing the living. My ears stung from the biting chill, but that wasn’t what made me grit my teeth.

It was her.

“Sly bastard,” I muttered, heat bubbling beneath my skin despite the cold. Rage pumped through my veins like molten lead.

When she flashed that smirk inside the bakery’s mixing room, I knew something was off. Brenda always smirked before launching her venom. And this time? She went nuclear - accusing me of stealing a hundred thousand dollars. Me! A man who’s never taken so much as a donut without paying for it.

That girl… she wasn’t just toxic. She was a principality. A dark force sent to make my life hell.

She sabotaged equipment and blamed it on me. Spread rumors like wild disease. Two months ago, she whispered the lie that I had AIDS. I saw the way the other workers recoiled from me like I was a plague. Some even went to Mr. Barry, whispering behind closed doors, trying to get me fired.

They nearly succeeded.

But I fought back. I shoved a clean test result in their faces, and just like that, the whispers died. I stayed. But the damage never really left me.

“Stupid bitch!” I snapped, not caring if the wind carried my voice to some startled pedestrian.

When the truth finally surfaced, she tried to flee. But karma caught her red-handed. The police showed up just in time. We discovered the money stashed in a trash bag, hidden in the ceiling of the women’s restroom.

She got dragged away in cuffs.

Good riddance.

After the chaos, Mr. Barry begged for my forgiveness. Apologized until his face turned red. But my answer was final.

“It’s over. I’m resigning,” I told him. “I won’t keep working in a place where I have no peace.”

And just like that, I quit.

I should’ve felt empty, but what I felt was freedom.

I lifted my eyes to the dark sky, the stars blinking down like little gods watching from afar. “Good riddance to rubbish,” I muttered.

No more Brenda. No more Barry. No more pretending I was okay.

Then my stomach growled - long, loud, and furious.

“Ughh.” I groaned, pulling out my phone with stiff fingers. My thumb hovered over my banking app before opening it. My eyes locked on the screen.

$50.00.

That was all I had left.

My jaw tightened. No salary yet. No backup plan. Just this little whisper of cash between me and starvation.

“I’m not crawling back to beg,” I hissed. Not even if Mr. Barry offered to double my pay.

Still, I had to eat. A hungry man can’t chase dreams. A dead man definitely can’t.

Tomorrow I’ll start job hunting. But tonight, I needed to silence the claws of hunger gnawing at my insides.

I turned onto a narrow, dimly lit path, heading for the only place still open - Bernie’s Palace Chops.

That’s when my phone buzzed.

I paused, confused. I hadn’t called anyone. No one ever texted me this late.

It was an AirDrop.

From an “Unknown Sender.”

My thumb hovered, then tapped ‘Accept’.

A video.

My brows furrowed as I hit play.

The screen lit up and my blood ran cold.

It was a man. Tied to a chair. Gagged. He was screaming through the cloth.

The camera shook, but the images were clear enough - blades flashing, fists pounding. Blood splashing. The sickening crack of bone echoed. They were killing him. Slowly. Deliberately.

I yanked the phone away from my face like it burned.

“What the fuck,” I whispered.

Terror surged through me. My hands trembled as I stuffed the phone back into my pocket, heart pounding like a war drum.

Who sent this to me? And why?

Or was it a mistake?

I tried to breathe. Shrugged it off. Told myself it was fake. Just some twisted internet sicko trying to scare people.

But then I heard something - a rustle.

My heart skipped.

I turned.

Two cats. In the shadows. Mating.

“Fuck,” I exhaled, relief washing over me. “Mummy and daddy games again…”

I chuckled nervously, shook my head. This street wasn’t popular at night. That’s why I liked it. It was quiet. Peaceful. Solitary.

The main street? Too crowded. Too loud. Too full of… people.

But ten feet later, I heard another sound. This one - sharper.

I clenched my jaw. Kept walking. “Probably another cat sex-tival,” I muttered, trying to sound unfazed.

But I was wrong. I was fucking wrong.

What I saw, stole the breath out of my lungs.

Another shadow...

Not mine.

A grotesque shape loomed behind mine, tall and massive, holding something… something blunt.

I didn’t even have time to turn or scream.

A hand grabbed my collar and slammed me against the wall.

CRACK!

Pain exploded in my back. My vision whited out.

“AAARGH!” I howled as I crumpled to the cold, damp pavement.

My body screamed with agony.

A figure stepped forward - dragging a bat that scraped against the concrete like the whisper of death.

I tried to scream again. Nothing came out but hoarse gasps.

“P-pl-ea-se… Pl-eas-se d-on-t k-ill me…” I begged, blood running from my scalp down my face like a red waterfall.

The figure didn’t speak. Just stood there, silent. Like death personified.

And then…

I heard heels. Clicking against the concrete like a ticking bomb, each steps a countdown to something horrific.

Next was a voice.

“Just where I wanted you to be."

I froze.

No. No way.

A shadow walked over to me.

Perfume I knew too well filled my lungs.

I blinked through the pain, my vision swimming.

The street lamp flickered above us like it too wanted to blink and look away.

It was her. It was really her.

Alive. Free. Smiling.

“B-br-brend-da?” I choked out her name, jaw trembling.

How? How the fuck was she here? I saw the cops take her away. I watched her get hauled into that van.

She crouched, her face too close, a smile carved with cruelty.

“Well, well, well,” she whispered, voice as sweet as cyanide. “Still think that slap made you a man?”

I tried to speak, but my throat had suddenly forgotten how to form words.

She ran a finger down my cheek, slow. Mocking. "You got the video I sent to you, huh?"

My eyes bulged.

So she was the one who sent that video to me?

"Darling, what you saw happen to that man in that video, will become your lot soon enough. Or maybe something even worse.”

My chest tightened with panic.

“I warned you, Ian. Didn't I? You should have stayed in your place.”

She leaned closer, her lips brushing my ear.

“But don’t worry… you’ll never make that mistake again.”

She locked eyes with the cloaked man. A silent exchange. A shared understanding.

Then her voice rang out like a gavel of doom.

“Take him.”

Everything happened in a blur.

The cloaked man moved.

I opened my mouth to scream.

The bat swung through the air with deadly grace.

And then-

WHAM!

It struck my head.

Darkness slammed into me like a falling building. My heartbeat slowed. My vision blurred. Numbness seeped into my limbs like venom.

My brain began shutting down.

And the last thing I felt…

Was oblivion.

~IAN

Slowly, I opened my eyes, and the first thing that greeted me was the harsh sunlight pouring in from my left. It pierced my sight, forcing a wince as I hurriedly squinted.

Wait. Morning already? Where am I? Last night… I was attacked. Brenda… she-

My mind was still foggy, disoriented. Each attempt to recall what had happened only worsened the throbbing ache in my head.

As I turned my head to the side, a hammer of pain pounded into my skull.

"Hmmm…" I groaned, raising a hand instinctively.

But my hands wouldn’t move.

Panic exploded in my chest. I looked down, and my vision cleared just enough to see him - a hefty, cloaked man.

A flash, like a clock’s pendulum, jolted my memory.

It was him. The man from the alley. The one who attacked me. Only now, he was unmasked. His face was a map of horror - taut, unforgiving skin etched with grotesque scars.

And he was strapping me into a wheelchair.

"What are you doing?! What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed, hysteria rising in my throat.

I bucked wildly, every fiber in my body struggling against the ropes biting into my flesh.

"Let me go! Fucking let me go!"

But he ignored me, calmly securing the straps.

"I said let me go, you monster!"

I bent my head, aiming for his hand on my chest. When I caught it, I bit down hard.

"Hmmm!!!" he grunted, then swung a heavy fist into my face.

CRACK.

Pain exploded through my jaw. I felt something loosen. Then it hit the floor - my front tooth.

"Bastard," he muttered.

Blood flooded from my mouth, painting my white shirt with thick, crimson ink.

I raised my head, glaring at him through tears and fury. "You monster! You dare hit me? You dare-"

His fist struck again, this time with brutal force. The blow toppled both me and the chair.

I cried out. Pain seared through my ribs and cheek. Bound, helpless, I writhed in the chair.

"Look who's awake."

That voice - icy, familiar.

I turned.

Brenda.

She stood there, arms folded, lips curled into a smirk.

"Get him up," she commanded.

The brute obeyed, lifting me and setting me upright before her.

Brenda stepped closer and crouched to meet my eyes. "Oh my! Did Figo do that to you?" she cooed with a mock gasp, her eyes twinkling with dark amusement.

"But you could've just complied. Figo doesn't like troublesome little pests like you."

Rage bubbled inside me.

"Untie me, you sick freak! You’re insane!"

Brenda's smile faded. She turned to Figo, irritation flashing in her eyes. "I told you to break him. Why is he still flapping his lips like a goddamn parrot?"

"I'll fix it," Figo grunted, stepping forward.

Brenda raised her hand, stopping him. "No. But just know there’s a deduction coming when I pay the rest."

Her words struck me like lightning.

She… hired him?

My breath caught. The realization was swift and suffocating.

She orchestrated this.

Brenda caught my expression. "Oh, poor Ian. You're just figuring it out?"

More blood slid from my lips as I stared at her, disbelief and sorrow roiling inside me.

"Why?" I whispered, voice hoarse. "Why are you doing this to me, Brenda?"

Her smirk dissolved into a bitter frown. "Don’t act clueless."

"Because I am clueless! What the hell did I do to deserve this?!"

WHAM!

Her hand lashed across my face.

"You ruined everything!" she screamed, seething.

I flinched, pain slicing my already throbbing cheek. My voice broke. "If this is about the hundred thousand do-”

Another slap, this one even fiercer.

"You sabotaged my plan! I would've been in Bellaham by now, spending that money. But no! You, Ian, you ruined everything. You even slapped me!"

Tears blurred my vision. "You tried to ruin my name. I only defended myself."

"Defended yourself? You exposed me! I lost my job because of you! Everyone thinks I’m a thief now!"

I choked on a sob. "I lost mine too."

She laughed coldly. "Lost it or ran away like a coward?"

How did she know? How did she know that I resigned?

I opened my mouth, but she cut in.

"Enough games. It’s time you die."

"W-what? D-die?"

She wheeled me around, pointing. "There. That’s your stage. That's where you'll spend your last minutes of relaxation."

My eyes followed.

A railway track. Just a few feet away.

My heart stalled.

Then I heard it.

"PONNN PONNN PONNN!!"

A train horn. Distant but fast approaching.

Vibrations rumbled beneath us.

Click. Click. Click.

I froze.

"Please, Brenda! Don’t do this!" I begged.

She smirked. "We’re in Kumasa now. Miles from the city. Took a boat ride. You might wonder how I escaped the station? Touched a few heads, sucked a few cocks. Got me favors."

She leaned in, voice like poison. "Did you think I’d let you ruin me and walk away?"

"Brenda, please! It hasn’t come to this-”

"It has!" she exploded.

"You’ll die here. No trace. No body. Just meat and bones under a speeding train."

Terror ripped through me. Tears poured freely.

"I’ll do anything! I’ll tell Mr. Barry I took the money! Just pleaseee. Don’t do this!"

She leaned in, her breath cold on my ear. "You want to do something for me?"

"Yes! Anything!"

She straightened and spat her answer.

"I want you to die. Die, Ian! Fucking die!”

She turned to Figo. "You know what to do."

And like that, he shoved the wheelchair onto the tracks.

My blood turned ice.

The rails shook beneath me. The train was coming.

"PONNN!"

I screamed. I bucked. I pleaded.

"Brenda!! Brenda, please!! We can fix this! We can talk!"

She looked at her watch. "Time’s up. Say hi to hell."

Then she walked off.

"Let’s go, Figo. I don’t want to see his limbs flying."

I screamed after them, raw desperation in every word.

"Brenda! Brenda!! Please! Don’t leave me here!"

They disappeared.

"PONNNN!!"

I turned to the oncoming train. It blazed forward, unstoppable.

"BRENDAAAA!!!"

But it was too late.

GBOAA!!

The train hit.

Silence followed.

No pain. No sound. Nothing.

Just… silence.

Just death.