CHAPTER 396: CHAPTER 396 BLOOD

Dom: He is probably in his room thinking about his life.

Scar: You all live together, right? Go check him.

Dom: No, I am lazy.

Jason: Lazy.

Zeke: I am here.

Bella snorted before she could stop herself, a soft bubble of laughter slipping out of her as her fingers curled around her phone. The chat was pure chaos, the same whirlwind energy her friends carried in real life. She still could not believe she had already met her online friends—the same people she had been curious about, wondered about, and quietly hoped to meet someday.

She typed slowly, smiling as she imagined their faces.

Bella: You all sound exactly the same even in chat

Within seconds:

Dom: And you sound too innocent even in chat. Please keep your purity away from my sins.

Jason: TRUEEEEEE.

Zeke: I second that

Scar: I third it

Bella: *Angry emoji* What does that mean?

Dom: Your husband will kill us if we corrupt you. I like being alive.

Jason: I do not mind dying to be honest XD

Zeke: Dom stuffed your mouth with socks once for talking nonsense. I mind.

Jason: ...oh

Bella shook her head, warmth spreading through her chest as she slipped her phone onto the blanket.

The room felt strangely silent without Leo. She was not sleepy at all, not after dozing half the day away, so she pushed the blanket aside and stood up, her feet sinking gently into the soft carpet as she stretched her arms.

She walked toward his study first, fully expecting to find him there with papers scattered around him and his expression focused and sharp. But the room was empty. His chair was pushed under the desk. The lamp was off.

She frowned and checked his work room next.

Empty again.

A small knot formed in her chest as she stepped back into the hallway, hugging her arms. She walked back to the study, scanning the room slowly, and that was when she noticed it. A small door beside the bookshelf, narrow and almost hidden in the shadow of the shelf. It was slightly open, and warm orange-yellow light flickered from below, as if coming from a place far beneath the house.

Her heartbeat tapped unevenly against her ribs.

You should not go inside. It looks private.

The thought whispered through her mind like a warning.

But her feet moved anyway.

Her hand reached for the small door, pushing it wider just enough to slip through. A narrow staircase spiraled downward. She placed her foot on the first step. Then another. The air felt different here, heavier, thicker, carrying a faint metallic scent that made her stomach twist with unease. She did not recognise it at first. Not until the cold truth crawled icy fingers across her skin.

Blood.

Her legs trembled, but she kept walking down, clutching the cold wall for balance. Every step made her breath tighten. Then, before she reached the bottom, she heard it.

A deep voice. Rough. Unfamiliar.

"Boss, we transferred this pig into the basement just like you said. We made sure he was treated fully for your next fun."

The man laughed, the kind of laugh that sounded rotten and vicious.

Bella froze. Her fingers curled tight around the railing.

Then she heard Leo’s voice.

Calm. Cold. Merciless.

"Well done. He does not deserve an easy death."

A shiver tore through her spine. This was not the Leo who brushed her hair aside with gentle fingers, or kissed her forehead, or warmed her cold hands inside his palms. This was something else entirely. A tone she had never imagined he possessed.

"You can go," Leo said, voice coated with danger so sharp it made the air vibrate.

Bella reached the last step slowly. Her heart thudded loudly, echoing inside her chest like a warning drum. She turned toward the warm orange light, and the moment her eyes adjusted, her world cracked apart.

Leo stood in the center of the basement, wearing white gloves that gleamed in the dim light. His expression held no softness. No warmth. Only a ruthless, focused satisfaction. In his hand was a long, sharp tool—silver, thin, gleaming. She did not even know what it was, but every instinct in her body told her it was horrifying.

And then she saw him.

The man tied to the metal chair.

Fat. Trembling. Face swollen. Lips cracked. Blood staining his chin in long streaks. His breath rattled painfully as he tried to lift his head. His shirt was torn. His chest heaved painfully. His eyes were wide with terror.

Even bruised and broken, Bella recognised him instantly.

Her uncle.

Her legs buckled, and she nearly collapsed where she stood.

He wheezed as Leo tightened his grip on his swollen face, Leo’s fingers digging into his jaw with controlled cruelty. Leo leaned in closer, his shadow spilling over the man like a nightmare.

"A lifetime of torture sounds fair, right?" Leo asked with a smile that did not look human. "For what you did to my bunny."

Bella’s breath shattered in her throat.

Leo’s smile widened faintly, a quiet madness flickering in his dark eyes.

"You will die a thousand deaths," he whispered gently, almost lovingly. "And every time, I will treat you and make you whole again so you can experience every idea that comes to my mind."

He chuckled softly. "Do not worry. I never get bored."

Then, without warning, Leo lifted the sharp tool and drove it straight into her uncle’s wrist bone.

A cracked scream tore out of the man’s throat, echoing across the basement like a broken animal.

Blood sprayed across the floor.

Bella gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as her entire body trembled violently. She could not breathe. Could not move. Could not even blink. Her uncle coughed hard, blood spilling from his lips and dripping down his chin, staining his torn shirt and filling the air with a hot metallic scent.

Bella felt sick.

Her knees gave out, and she barely caught herself on the railing, eyes wide and unblinking, her heart pounding so loudly she could hear nothing else....