Entangled With My Rival CEO

Chapter 130

"Pull the trigger." the male whispered behind Charles as he held the loaded GLOCK 19 pistol pointed at Mary who was huddled in a corner, drenched in sweat and covered in bruises as a result of all kinds of torture, sobbing quietly.

His hands holding the pistol trembled, "Please," he begged for the second time. "I can't do this."

The shadowy figure behind him persisted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do it, Charles. You know you want to. End her life quickly and painlessly. It won't take more than a second."

"I can't," Charles whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "I can't kill her."

"If you don't pull the trigger, I'll do it myself," the menacing figure threatened from the darkness, causing Mary to shake her head vehemently and sob louder than before.

"No, Charles, don't listen...to him. You love me. You won't...kill me. You don't have to." She said in between hiccups and gut-wrenching sobs.

Charles's breaths were ragged as he shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clung to the gun.

"I don't want to," he managed to reply, his voice trembling. "I don't want to hurt you."

The figure in the shadows laughed in response to Charles's hesitation.

"Yes you do, Charles. You hate her." the voice taunted.

"She betrayed you, gave your love to someone else. Pull the trigger."

Charles gritted his teeth and shook his head once more.

"No," he repeated, trying to steady his trembling hands. "I won't do it."

"Pull the trigger, Charles," the voice persisted, the pressure mounting with each passing moment.

Charles shook his head, his fingers tightening around the gun as he tried to resist the urge to comply with the figure's demands.

"No!" he yelled, his voice filled with determination.

"Pull, damn it!" the figure shouted, their anger resonating through the air. The sound of a gunshot echoed, piercing the silence.

Charles, his hands trembling uncontrollably, still held the pistol. His gaze fixated on the lifeless body of his fiancée, a pool of blood forming around the bloody hole on her forehead.

The weight of the situation pressed down upon him, paralyzing him with shock and grief.

He looked at her with a startled expression, as if he couldn't believe his own actions.

"She's dead..." he managed to say, his voice tinged with shock. "I...I killed her," he admitted, his face transitioning from anguish, disbelief, and fear to a disturbingly contented smile.

Seconds later, he erupted into uncontrollable, crazed laughter.

Emerging from the shadows, the sinister figure revealed himself to be a tall, pale man with intense black eyes and a twisted grin. He joined Charles in his maniacal laughter.

Abruptly, Charles ceased his laughter and turned to face the man, who immediately stopped laughing too, adopting a stern and serious expression.

Intrigued, Charles tilted his head slightly, fixing his gaze upon the man.

"Who gave you permission to laugh?" His voice dipped dangerously low, conveying a sense of menace. The man swallowed nervously, clearly fearful.

"Boss... I thought our performance had concluded, so I..." The man's explanation

was cut short, as Charles swiftly shot him in the head. The man dropped to the floor, lifeless.

He scanned the room filled with his fellow workers, who were busy tending to their recording tasks.

In a menacing tone, he inquired, "Is there anyone else here who feels the urge to laugh?"

His words hung heavy in the air, sending shivers down their spines.

The workers trembled, wide-eyed and frightened, as they held their silence, unanimously shaking their heads in response.

"Good," Charles said with a smirk, his eyes gleaming with a maniacal spark. "Remember who's in charge here. No laughter, no joy. Only fear and obedience."

The room fell into a heavy stillness, and Charles, with intentional and unhurried steps, approached Mary's motionless form.

He lowered himself to a kneeling position beside her, his fingertips tenderly caressing her cheek.

"See what you've driven me to," he whispered, the timbre of his voice carrying a haunting blend of sorrow and madness.

His fingers traced the bullet hole on her forehead, a macabre gesture of affection.

He brought his hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against his bloodstained fingers.

"Nathan!" he called out, and a tall, strong man stepped forward from the frightened crowd of workers. Nathan's face showed signs of fear, but he did his best to hide it.

"Yes, sir?" Nathan responded, his voice filled with a slight trembling.

Without diverting his gaze from Mary's lifeless body, he spoke, "Please ensure that the video is edited properly, okay?..."

"I want my family to believe that I had no choice in this, so the editing must be flawless, okay?"

Nathan nodded, his hands shaking as he glanced at Charles. "Yes, sir. I'll make sure the editing is done perfectly. No one will suspect anything."

Charles nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. "Good. And Nathan... please make sure to dispose of the bodies afterward."

"We can't leave them here to decompose." He said, and the man behind him also nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Charles lingered at Mary's side for a moment before abruptly rising to his feet and exiting the room.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Flashback Ends

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Camilla stood frozen in a mix of fear and disbelief, her body trembling under the weight of the shocking revelation.

"You...you took her life?" Her voice quivered as she gazed up at Charles, his face twisted into a sinister grin.

"Yes," Charles responded, his grin spreading wider, evoking a macabre sense of satisfaction.

Camilla couldn't comprehend the darkness that enveloped this man.

"Ironically, it was on the night I met you that I committed that act. And my, oh my!... You bear such a striking resemblance to her, only you exude an even greater beauty."

Camilla's shock quickly transformed into a surge of revulsion. "You're a despicable monster," she spat, her voice fueled with an unmistakable loathing.

She mustered the courage to continue "How could you kill your own fiancee?" Her words drifted into the air, heavy with the realization of the monstrous truth.

Charles laughed, the sound echoing through the room. "Oh, of course," he said, his tone mocking. "But you know what they say, Camilla. Monsters aren't born, they're made."

Charles, for a fleeting moment, showed a crack in his twisted facade.

His amusement faded, replaced by a cold determination.

"I must say, Camilla, I once had a fondness for you. The night we met, I saw potential. But as time went on and I saw the men you rejected, I began to question your tastes. I thought you preferred something else entirely...like women perhaps."

His gaze became piercing, his eyes locked onto hers. "So, you can imagine my surprise when the news of the hotel scandal between you and Alexander came."

"And then, the news of your pregnancy and the hasty marriage. No..." He paused for a moment.

"I couldn't let you two have a happy ending. I couldn't bear to see you succeed. That's why I took it upon myself to eliminate your child, to sow discord between you and Alexander."

"But it seems, no matter what I do, you two can't stay apart, can you?" His words lingered in the air, filled with a sinister undertone.

"You know Camilla...it took a very long time before I realized that love and trust....they were such naïve concepts, Camilla. They make you weak. Vulnerable."

"Love can make you vulnerable, like pawns in the games people like me play," he said, abruptly stopping in his tracks before leaving the room.

The heavy metal door slammed shut, filling the dimly lit room with a resounding thud. Camilla found herself alone, her mind filled with fear and confusion.

How had she ended up here? How had she become entangled in Alexander's family feud?

As tears streamed down her cheeks, she struggled to calm her racing thoughts. There seemed to be no way out of this terrifying situation, as she sat tightly bound to the chair.

Who was she kidding? A bitter laugh escaped her lips, tinged with sadness.

Suddenly, the door swung open again, revealing Charles entering with someone else who was forcefully thrown to the ground as soon as the metal door closed.

Camilla strained her eyes, trying to make out the features of the man sprawled on the ground.

His torn clothes, disheveled hair, and the dried blood and cuts on his face made it difficult to recognize him.

But it didn't take long for her to realize that it was Pablo, her father's trusted driver, as his long hair lifted slightly, revealing his face.

Charles let out a cruel chuckle, walking over to Pablo and roughly gripping his hair, forcing him to look up at Camilla.

As she saw the state Pablo was in, her breath caught in her throat. "Pablo..." she whispered, her heart sinking at the sight of his battered and broken form.

Trembling, Pablo pleaded with Camilla, his voice filled with desperation. "Please, ma'am... save me... I don't want to die... Please."

Camilla's heart shattered, hearing the fear and pain in his voice.

She could see the terror in his eyes and the evidence of his suffering etched onto his bruised face.

"Charles," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "Please, don't hurt him anymore. He's innocent in all of this. Let him go. Please..."

Charles smirked, his distorted grin revealing his twisted pleasure.

"Oh, Camilla, my dear," he mocked, loosening his grip on Pablo's hair, causing the young man's head to droop to the ground from exhaustion.

"I wish I could grant your plea, but loose ends like him can't be tolerated. He saw me driving you to your destination, and I can't afford anyone else knowing that."

"I'd become the prime suspect in your disappearance," he explained, his voice dripping with menace.

With a swift movement, he pulled a pistol from his pocket, causing Camilla to gasp in horror.

"No... Charles, please, no... I beg you," she pleaded, her voice breaking as desperation consumed her.

She watched in terror as Charles aimed the gun at Pablo's head, his finger applying more pressure to the trigger.

The room was filled with the deafening sound of a gunshot, causing Camilla to let out a piercing scream.

With her eyes squeezed shut, tears streamed down her face as she was overcome with sorrow.

Summoning the courage to open her eyes, Camilla's heart shattered at the sight of Pablo slumped lifelessly on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him.

His once vibrant eyes were empty, extinguished forever.

Overwhelmed with grief and despair, Camilla's body convulsed with choked sobs.

In such a short time, she had witnessed too much. The weight of it all threatened to engulf her, suffocating her spirit.

Charles refocused his gaze on Camilla, a deceptive smile crossing his face as he approached her and delicately positioned the gun against her temple.

"Hush..." his whispered words dripped with both gentleness and malice. "There's no need to shed tears, Camilla. This is only the beginning."

Camilla's whole body trembled as she stared into Charles's deranged eyes. The fear consumed her, but so did a raw anger and determination to survive.

"You won't get away with this," she spat, her voice filled with defiance. "You can't keep doing this to people and expect to go unpunished."

Charles let out a low chuckle, his grip tightening on the gun. "Oh, my dear Camilla," he said, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. "You underestimate what I am capable of. There's no one left to stop me."

With a tone of delight, he proclaimed, "I'm invincible, I'm like a god!" As he withdrew the gun from Camilla's temple, he casually held it at his side.

Camilla's heart tightened, her breathing catching as she observed him with swollen, teary eyes.

Letting out a satisfied sigh, he cast a brief glance at Pablo's lifeless body and playfully nudged it with his foot.

"You know, this is nothing compared to my previous exploits. I mean, just last Wednesday I orchestrated the demise of both my father and biological mother," he mused, directing his gaze upwards as if lost in thought.

"I believe it was either Wednesday or Thursday of last week," he mused, his thoughts momentarily drifting. He returned his focus to Camilla.

"But it doesn't really matter now. They're gone, and it could be a considerable amount of time before anyone stumbles upon their lifeless bodies..." He chuckled sinisterly.

"No one has even noticed their disappearance yet, so it could be quite some time."

As laughter spilled from his lips, Camilla stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't comprehend how he could be so proud and joyful after taking the lives of his own parents.

In that moment, a chilling realization washed over her.

If he was capable of killing the woman he once loved, his own father, and the person who gave him life, then what did that mean for her?

He would show no hesitation in ending her life, just as he did with poor Pablo.

Her heart constricted with pain as her eyes involuntarily traveled to Pablo's lifeless body. One thought echoed in her mind - there was no escape.

Charles abruptly interrupted her thoughts as he filled the room with his resounding voice.

"You see, Camilla, I am more than a mere murderer... I am an artist. A connoisseur of chaos," he declared, his tone low and bone-chilling.

He paced around the room, emphasizing his dominance. "And you, my dear..." His sentence trailed off as he directly faced her, his gun pointed her way. "...are my latest masterpiece," he concluded, and without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

Camilla instinctively closed her eyes, bracing herself for the point of impact as the bullet tore through her delicate flesh.

After summoning the courage to open her eyes, expecting to find herself in a serene white space, far removed from the chaos and malevolence, she instead found Charles standing a few steps away, still clutching the gun in his hand.

For a brief moment, he locked eyes with her, before erupting into hysterical laughter. The sound reverberated through the room, a cruel and mocking taunt.

"You really thought I would dispatch you so easily, didn't you?" Charles sneered, savoring the sadistic pleasure in his eyes.

"Oh, no, my dear Camilla. I have much more elaborate plans in store for you." His phone suddenly rang from his pocket, prompting him to retrieve it.

As he glanced at the caller ID, a smirk formed on his lips, and he purposefully flipped the phone around to allow Camilla to witness the identity of the caller as well.

"Would you look at who's calling... Alexander," he said, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

Camilla squirmed against her restraints upon hearing the name, to which Charles merely chuckled.

"I'll take this call outside. In the meantime, my dear, be a good girl and... don't go anywhere, alright?" He spoke with a mocking tone, playfully winking at her before making his way towards the door.

Once outside, in a quieter and more secluded area, Charles answered Alexander's call and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Alex..." he said, a sigh of relief escaping from the other end of the line.

"Charles... are you alright?... Where are you?... Everyone has been so worried... we feared you were captured as well," Alexander's voice rushed out in one breath.

"I'm with a friend at the moment, why would I be captured?" Charles responded, pretending to be clueless.

He could hear the weight of concern in Alexander's sigh on the other end.

"Uncle Rey was taken from the hospital... and Camilla too," Alexander explained.

"Camilla and Uncle Rey were kidnapped?! How did that happen? And wasn't Camilla supposed to be in Paris with her fiancé?" Charles questioned, feigning surprise and ignorance.

"I'll give you all the details when you arrive. Grandma suddenly fell ill and she wants everyone at the mansion," Alexander informed him.

Charles's smile grew wider upon hearing about Grandma's illness. It appeared as though fate was aligning with his plans.

"Of course, Alexander. I'll be there as soon as possible," Charles replied with false concern. "Just give me an hour, and I'll be on my way."

He ended the call, carefully sliding his phone back into his pocket, a sinister glimmer in his eyes.