Chapter 268 Dark Amusement
The room fell silent except for the faint sound of Derek's labored breathing. His confession hung in the air like a curse, heavy and suffocating.
Iris's lips quivered, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Derek…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. The weight of his words crushed her.
She looked at her son, this broken, arrogant shell of a man, and realized the horrifying truth.
She had raised him to believe the world owed him everything.
She had turned a blind eye to his faults, excusing his behavior, spoiling him at every turn.
And now, here he was, a monster of her own making.
Tears slid silently down her cheeks as the reality of her failure as a mother settled into her heart.
She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no words came.
Ross straightened, his cold eyes flickering to Iris.
"Now you see," he said, his voice cutting through the silence.
"This is what your 'good boy' has done. Six lives destroyed because he thought he was entitled to them. And you, Iris… you enabled him."
Iris could only stare at Ross, the weight of his words crushing her further.
This nightmare wasn't just about Derek's sins—it was about her complicity in creating them.
"So, what are you going to do about it?" Ross asked, his voice calm but laden with menace.
"Your 'good boy' wanted to steal my girl," he continued, his eyes narrowing.
"And he almost succeeded." He paused to make his lie work better, his gaze drifting over Derek's bloodied, broken form before returning to Iris.
"I should just kill him right here and now and feed him to the fishes."
Ross leaned closer, his cold smile cutting like a knife.
"What do you think, Iris Davies?"
"No! That's not right!" Iris shouted, her voice trembling.
Her eyes brimmed with fresh tears, which she wiped away angrily, more out of frustration at herself than fear of Ross.
"If you really have evidence against my son, then turn him over to the police! Let justice take its course. This vigilante justice of yours is cruel… it's inhumane!"
Ross raised an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his lips.
"Justice?" he echoed mockingly.
"That word sounds nice, doesn't it? But justice takes time, Iris. It's slow. It's blind. And it's messy."
His smile darkened as he turned to glance at Brandon, who stood silent and imposing like a statue.
"I don't have the patience for that kind of ugly mess. So, I'm back to square one—back to my original intent."
He chuckled softly, the sound chilling in its sincerity.
"Hehehe."
"Wait!" Iris blurted out, her voice desperate.
She took a step forward, her hands trembling as they clutched at her bare chest to shield herself.
The vulnerability in her stance was stark, but her resolve remained firm.
Ross stopped mid-turn, his interest piqued. He turned back to face her, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Why?"
"You brought me here," Iris said, her voice steadying despite her obvious distress.
"I don't know how you did it—how you took me away from my home and brought me to this… place. But you must have a reason. What do you want from me?"
Her tone was sharp, almost accusatory, but there was a flicker of fear behind her anger.
She was a smart woman—too smart to not understand the implications.
And yet, she forced the thoughts aside, unwilling to let herself fully believe them.
Ross chuckled again, this time more openly.
"You're a smart woman, Iris," he said, tilting his head as if to appraise her.
"You've got an intelligent head on those lovely shoulders. And you know exactly what men want from you."
He stepped closer, his smirk widening.
"I'm not so different from the rest of them."
"You're a maniac!" Iris spat, her voice rising in pitch as her frustration and fear collided.
"Evil shouldn't be repaid with more evil! It's madness!"
"In a perfect world, you might be right," Ross said, shaking his head slowly.
"But you, of all people, should know that this world is far from perfect. And I'm not here to play by its broken rules."
His words hung heavy in the air, the gravity of the situation crashing down on Iris like a tidal wave.
She gritted her teeth, her mind racing to find a way out, but the realization that she was utterly trapped made her chest tighten with dread.
Still, a mother was a mother to the very end.
"Take my son to the hospital, and I'll agree to whatever you want," Iris said finally, her voice breaking as she made the ultimate sacrifice.
Ross tilted his head, his expression unreadable.
"No," he replied coldly. "He stays here. This will be part of his forceful rehabilitation."
"You're a monster," Iris whispered, her eyes filled with both anger and despair.
Ross let out a low chuckle, his dark amusement chilling.
"I know I am," he said with a shrug.
"But if you're thinking you can go along with this now and then escape later—maybe call your husband for help—you'll find yourself sorely mistaken."
Iris froze, her breath catching in her throat.
"This isn't Washington, D.C. anymore," Ross continued, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
"You're in Parkland City now. About 6,000 miles away from where you were originally. If I have the means to transport you here without anyone noticing, do you really think a mere Secretary of Defense matters to me at all?"
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He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near whisper, yet it carried an undeniable weight.
"Your husband's power? His influence? It's meaningless here."
Iris's heart sank as Ross threw his head back and laughed, his confidence unshakable.
The horrifying reality of her situation began to settle in—this wasn't a man bluffing.
He was in complete control.
Iris thought for a few moments before reaching a decision.
She couldn't bear to make her husband go against someone she knew nothing about.
She resolved to do everything in her power to prevent that, even if it meant making a sacrifice.
For her husband and her love for him, she was willing to give that much without hesitation.
"Okay, you win," she sighed, laying down on the bed and closing her eyes.
She wasn't a soldier's wife for nothing.