Vicious
Vicious
She heard footsteps coming towards her after hours of silence, after battling her mind about what's her next move. She was kept bound, and nothing budged no matter how much she tried to wriggle her way out.
She could hear someone come closer, and her body shook and trembled again, but she willed it to go away. She felt the sack lift from her face, and she looked up at the faceless man defiantly, despite her tear-stained and tousled appearance.
"What do you want?" she shouted, voice quivering.
"I want to meet the Empress," he said.
Shi Ailin furrowed her brows. "What are you talking about?" she questioned, demanded. She couldn't see his expression, but she could have sworn that he was taken aback. Perhaps because she was genuine since she didn't know what he was talking about.
"You are the Empress? Are you not?" he questioned, his voice chilly and devoid of emotion. It was as if he never felt anything before.
"Empress?" she asked, still unsure. "Can you, instead, tell me why I'm here? I don't know an Empress, and I've never done anything wrong in my life. I have no quarrels with anyone. Why the fuck am I here?"
The Emporer took a step back. "Idiots," he cursed filthily. He turned to his side, grabbing a man by the collar, dragging him towards the strapped chair. "Is this Shi Yen?" he asked him, pointing at her.
The man trembled. "I…I was positive, Lord Emperor. She is the only one that lives in the Shi Estate, and the eldest was supposed to inherit."
The Emperor tightened his grip around his collar. "That doesn't prove someone's identity. This one is most likely her sister, you fool!" He punched the man across his jaw, knocking him down. The man groaned on the floor, spitting out blood.
Shi Ailin watched eyes-wide in horror. They were after Yenni…but why? In that instant, she knew the answer. She bowed her head, the realization overcoming her. Some part of her had always known—but she didn't want to believe it. Shi Yen used to come home late; sometimes, she had bruises and cuts that were unexplainable, but it was always with the same excuse: It happened during training. But that wasn't it; it was never that. She trained relentlessly, and that was because her sister was the Empress of the Underworld, and she hid that secret from her.
The Emperor straightened, shaking the hand he used against that man's face. "No matter," he said, looking at her. "You will be perfect to lure your sister, and I look forward to meeting her."
"No!" Shi Ailin shouted. "I don't have a sister…You must be mistaken!"
"Now, now," he said, "the resemblance between you two is uncanny. I've only met your sister once before." He approached her, lifting her chin with his gloved hand. "But now I see the differences. It's unfortunate that you're involved now, but nothing you say can convince me to back down against her. You could have said, 'she's dead' rather than 'I don't have a sister' because the latter is more of a lie."
"Please," she spoke hoarsely, "Use me instead. Whatever you want with her, use me instead. Please…"
The Emperor didn't say a word. The faceless man looked at her, contemplating it, almost as if he understood why she would sacrifice herself instead.
"You're not the real Empress, and I've spent long enough trying to get her."
He walked away, and Shi Ailin shouted after him. For once, she wanted him to turn around and come back. "Please!" She said. "Use me instead! I beg of you!"
But he ignored her.
…
The next morning, the phone vibrated from the coffee table and collapsed on the floor, startling Shi Yen awake.
She peeled away from Yuan Shun, who was still fast asleep beneath her. She groggily checked her phone, noticing a dozen missed calls. A dozen miss calls was never a good sign.
The phone vibrated in her hand, and she immediately answered.
"Hello…?" her voice wavered.
"YEN!" Fang Qi shouted from the other line. "What the hell? I've been trying to reach you and Shun all morning!"
She glanced down at Yuan Shun, who was still dozing off. She shook his shoulder, trying to stir him awake. "Shun. Shun." She called.
He opened his eyes and lifted himself, sitting up. He rubbed one of his eyes as Shi Yen put Fang Qi on speaker.
"What's wrong?" she asked, taking one of Yuan Shun's hands to keep her from trembling. He gripped it, giving her reassurance. His ears strained to listen and catch up on what's going on.
Fang Qi sighed. "Luo Wanting is at the hospital from a car crash. But his injuries are not life-threatening."
"What about Ailin? Was she with him?"
It took Fang Qi a moment too long to answer, but Shi Yen knew that she was with him. Luo Wanting always made sure that she was with him.
"She was apparently with him," he said.
"Apparently?"
"She went with him, but when Luo Wanting woke up this morning, he asked us where she was. I tried to call her last night, but her phone was damaged in the car wreck. And no one had seen Shi Ailin since. There was a trace of blood and signs of bile, but the trail met a dead end. It was as if she vanished."
Shi Yen's lips quivered. She felt as if her heart shattered.
"Yen," Fang Qi said, surprisingly calm," I don't think it was an accident."
Shi Yen sucked in a sharp breath. "No," she said, "it wasn't an accident; otherwise, she wouldn't have disappeared."
"Do you know what might have happened?"
Shi Yen gripped her phone so tight that her knuckles turned white. "Yes," she answered. "Please gather who you can and meet me at my house urgently. I will tell you, then."
"Will do," said Fang Qi.
Shi Yen ended the call, and it took all her willpower not to fall apart during the phone call. She toppled over Yuan Shun's arms, and he caressed her back, cradling her body against him. She sobbed until she was dry of tears, and then Shi Yen awakened a callous and vicious part of her that she spent long suppressing.