Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

44

Noah

My fingers gripped my phone tightly as I paced mindlessly in the entrance hall of my home. Several hours passed since we last saw Milla.

At first, it looked like she fled the hospital suite to get away from the reality of her mother’s death. We didn’t go after her, believing she needed space to accept the truth.

When several hours passed and Dad asked us about her, we realized she was missing from the hospital. My brothers and I looked for her everywhere and eventually, we were forced to ask help from the hospital’s security staff.

The camera feeds showed us a glimpse of Milla running out of one of the exits. She was still in her hospital gown, her long auburn strands wildly flowing about her petite frame. Her feet were bare too.

I closed my eyes, willing to erase that pathetic image from my mind.

Guilt and anxiety swirled in my gut, making me feel sick.

I’d caused so much to pain to Milla and her mother. They didn’t deserve my hate and suspicion. There was no one to blame for this situation but me.

I wanted to make it up to her, help heal her wounds. Only one thought ruled my mind. Milla’s safety. I was desperate for her to return home safe and sound.

I wanted to be out there looking for her, but Corey refused to let me accompany him and Caleb. My brothers were furious with me. It was true that I did manipulate them against her.

I wanted to blame Dad but even he was innocent in this matter. He treated Eva a hundred times better than my mom. Out of everyone in this family, he’d been the kindest to Milla.

Now, Dad was buried in grief and Milla was missing. As the eldest son of the family, I was proving to be utterly useless.

The sound of familiar voices came through the open doorway. I ran to the threshold immediately, hoping to see Milla.

Disappointment filled my chest. It was just Corey and Caleb. They met my anxious gaze and shook their heads. They failed to find Milla.

“She wasn’t at the apartment?” I asked my brothers.

“Her roommate thinks Milla returned there,” said Caleb in a grave tone. “But, she’d been asleep. She checked Milla’s room and found her suitcase and clothes missing. Milla is gone.”

“Gone?” I breathed. “What do you mean by ‘gone’?”

“She’s gone!” Corey shouted, glaring at me with hate-filled eyes. “No one knows where she’s disappeared.”

“What about the apartment where her mother lived?” I urged.

“We checked there too,” said Caleb. “The neighbors haven’t seen her in months. Also, the apartment is already rented out. A different family lives there now.”

Corey walked past me and threw himself in a couch. Lowering his head, he gazed at the floor.

Caleb moved past me and sat down beside his twin.

Jealousy pinched me. We were triplets but their bond was stronger. They were like halves of the same soul. One understood the other perfectly well. No matter the situation, they always had each other.

“What if she’s lost somewhere?” Corey moaned in a pained voice. “She’s out of her mind right now. What if someone takes advantage of her? She’s too vulnerable at the moment.”

Caleb wrapped his arm around Corey’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.

“We need to contact the cops,” I said in a strict tone. “The sooner they know, the better. We can find her quicker.”

“Milla isn’t missing,” said Corey, staring at me with cold eyes. “She’s run away from the people who’ve hurt her and taken the most precious person away from her. I’d be the same if I were in her shoes.”

“Have you gone mad too?” I asked him. “Where can she go by herself? We need to get the cops involved if we want her coming back to us safely.”

“I’m sure she’ll come back,” said Caleb. “She won’t miss her mother’s funeral. No matter how much she hates us all, she’ll show up for that.”

Corey looked a little hopeful. I felt a sliver of hope too at those words.

Milla loved her mother more than she hated us. She’d have to come back here to say goodbye to her.

“You’re not going anywhere near her,” Corey hissed, staring at me. “I’ll seriously beat the crap out of you if you even look at her. Do you understand?”

“She belongs to me too,” I said.

“She doesn’t,” said Caleb in a grim tone. “Haven’t you had enough of your sick pleasures? Stop trying to force yourself on her.”

His words were stabs in the chest. He was right. I’d taken out all my sick sexual fantasies on Milla. I was nothing but a monster to her.

A trilling sound diverted my attention to my phone. A new text came in, notifying me that Milla’s phone was switched on and available to receive a call.

“What’s with that look?” Caleb asked at once. “What does it say?”

“Milla switched on her phone.”

“Really?” Corey gasped, looking up too.

They were in the middle of calling her when all our phones suddenly rang out with trilling noises, notifying us of an incoming message.

“It’s Milla,” Caleb whispered, staring at his phone.

I checked my phone, noticing she sent me a message on a chat app as well. Curious, I opened it up.

To my horror, a video was sent to me. The thumbnail was recognizable at once. She sent me the same clip I sent her yesterday to get her away from Luke. It was the same video I used to blackmail her.

“What the fuck,” Corey’s whisper rang out in the quiet room.

“Where did she get this clip?” Caleb muttered. “And why did she send it to us?”

“I sent it to her yesterday,” I said, deciding to be honest. There was no way my brothers could get angrier than they already were. “She was being a little too friendly with Beckett. I sent it to her so she’d be forced to leave him and follow me to the bar’s pantry room.”

Corey stomped toward me and before I knew it, he’d punched me in the face.

“You fucking asshole!” Corey screamed, hitting me again. “You said you’d delete it. You said this was only to scare her. Why the fuck did you keep it?” Holding my collar, he punched me again.

The pain nearly blinded me. The tang of blood coated my tongue.

“Let him go, Corey,” Caleb said in a grim tone.

“I’m going to kill him!” Corey shouted. “He’s the one who sent her over the edge.” He pushed me away hard.

I stumbled backward, desperately trying to stay steady on my feet. Corey’s fists packed a mean punch.

Corey whirled around to face Caleb. “Do you know what she did?” he asked in a gasping, choking voice. “She sent that clip to everyone on her call list. Everyone’s going to see it.”

The shock in Caleb’s eyes mirrored mine.

“But why...” Caleb suddenly looked lost. “Why would she—”

“Why else?” Corey hissed. “She just sacrificed herself. Everyone’s going to know her shame now. And everyone will know what we did to her.”

Shock spread through me in icy waves. I couldn’t believe Milla would do something like this.

I made a call to her phone. To my dismay, a robotic voice announced that her phone was switched off.

“She’s free now,” said Corey, glaring at me with tear-filled eyes. “You can’t use that clip to blackmail her anymore. She isn’t chained to you anymore, Noah. What are you going to do now?”

I fell into a couch. There was no reply in me anymore.

Milla hurt us right back.

If Corey was right and she sent that video to everyone, we were all going to end up in a ton of trouble. I didn’t even know how we’d explain it to our father. He was already grieving for the woman he lost. If he saw the video, he’d lose it all.

A small part of me was grudgingly impressed by her. She burned herself to take her revenge on me. Something like this was going to bury me. I’d be a true criminal in the eyes of my father and anyone else who saw that video.

My brothers looked dejected. They had to face the same reality as me.

Milla was gone and there was nothing we could do to get her back. Unless she decided to come back, she was lost to us forever.