Fallen Haven [Baneful] Book 1

A Ruthless Beginning

William paces around upstairs in his study. "WHY DOES THIS WOMAN HAUNT MY DREAMS" he yells as he throws everything off his desk. "That damned woman! I can hear her voice in my head like some recording machine lurks back there!" Is frustration only grew as he pleads played out in his mind over and over again.

One of his henchmen bravely spoke up, "Do you perhaps feel guilty for part of it?" William gave his henchman a glare that sent shivers down his spine.

"I will never feel guilty when that woman sealed her own fate! And that son of mine running off and pretending his lineage doesn't exist!" William thinks back to the moment he caught Atlas's head with his boot before it hit the ground. It was a moment of compassion for the little obedient boy his son used to be. "I will never feel guilt for any of it. I did what needed to be done."

"You killed your son's wife, sir. Don't you think that was a bit much?" William scoffs, almost laughing to himself.

"A bit much? That girl was not worthy of my son the only thing she was useful for was giving birth to Nicolette and her counterpart Nyx. Then again, all women are good for is reproduction. If they can't do that, they are rather useless."

"But your son loved her-" the henchman was cut off.

"And? What's so good about love in a world like this, where riches can bring you anything you want in life. I could easily buy over someone's love if I felt like it-" William shakes his head as he hears Melody's voice calling out to him, pleading with him. "SHUT UP YOU DAMN WOMAN."

"Perhaps you never truly felt love because you didn't allow yourself to open up."

"Do you want to die?" William approaches the henchman leaning down to eye level and making eye contact. "Cause if you keep talking, I know one hundred and one ways to kill you." The henchman gulps and shakes his head, fear-stricken by William's intense and suffocating aura.

William backs off, allowing the henchman to finally breathe. "If any of you question me like that again, I will not hesitate to end your life. You can always be replaced."

The other henchmen stood in place and nodded their heads once, showing they understood precisely what William meant. William sat back down at his desk as he stared at a small red gem. "How is Darren handling the girl?"

"He's gotten along with her though she made him have a small breakdown of his own it seems she is good at digging into the emotions of others." William's eyes narrow. In everything he'd read, Nyx was never the compassionate type. Perhaps her counterpart Nicolette was affecting her. If that was the case, he needed to take care of her as soon as possible. "We're heading to the lab."

William enters the lab with a few of his henchmen, finding Nicolette cozied up in Darren's lap. "You mind telling me what's going on here? I didn't expect to see you coddling her." Darren faces William with a solemn expression.

"Unlike you, I'm trying to ensure she is kept safe and happy. She is a child who has been through hell and back within the span of a couple days." Darren's softness and tenderness towards the girl were showing, which displeased William.

"Where is Nyx?" Darren shrugs.

"She disappeared, and Nicolette returned, and we've been like this since." William examines Nicolette's eyes seeing the familiar golden color.

"How I wish I could take those awful colored eyes out." Nicolette buries her face in Darren's chest, her body shaking in fear at William's words.

"Don't say that to her, William! She is a child, and her eyes are beautiful." William scowls and taps his chin, thinking.

"I think it's about time we put my next piece of the plan into action" Darren's face displays a horrified expression.

"No, no way. She is far too young, and the serum isn't perfected yet! You'd be sending her into years of endless torture!" Darren pleads.