The Billionaire’s Regret -Alessa (by Bukolami) novel Chapter 46

46 /112

**Shadows Beneath the Silent Moon**
**Rising Echoes by Aiden R. Vale**
**Chapter 46**

“Are you seriously going to let me leave? Just like that?” he questioned, bewilderment etched across his face.

“Who ever said I was going to do that?” she shot back, her tone laced with playful malice. The expression on his face shifted from confusion to alarm, and a knot of anxiety began to tighten in his stomach. What on earth was she planning to do to him?

“You executed the task you were assigned quite well. Now, it’s time for you to take on another job—for me,” Alessa declared, a satisfied smirk dancing on her lips.

She relished the flicker of fear that seeped into his eyes, despite his desperate attempts to mask it. It was a familiar game to her, one she had played with men far more hardened than him.

With a deliberate motion, she extended her hand, and Thane, her loyal enforcer, placed a gleaming knife into her palm.

He swallowed hard, watching as Alessa toyed with the blade, her fingers gliding over its surface with an unsettling grace.

“Wha… what are you planning to do?” he stammered, his voice trembling with dread.

“Just sending a little message back home. I want whoever sent you to know that I received their memo,” she chuckled darkly, her eyes glinting with mischief as she turned her attention to Thane.

“Untie him and extend his hand,” she commanded, her voice unwavering.

“No! No! What are you doing?” he shouted, panic rising as they seized his wrist and forced his hand outwards. He struggled against their grip, but it was futile; he was ensnared.

Alessa fixed her gaze on the knife, lightly pricking her own finger with the tip, allowing a bead of crimson to escape. A smile crept across her face, a cruel delight in the pain she could inflict.

“Ready?” she asked, her voice low and taunting. He met her gaze, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, but his expression remained resolute. He refused to show any sign of weakness.

Leaning in closer, she placed the blade against his finger, her breath a whisper of menace.

“You will pay for this,” he warned, his voice quaking.

“I’ve taken the lives of a thousand men, and most of them uttered similar threats. But nothing ever came of it. No, I won’t be intimidated,” she replied, slowly dragging the knife back and forth across his skin.

A cry of agony escaped his lips as he writhed in pain, but Alessa’s men held him fast, their grips like iron.

She savored the moment, drawing out his suffering, relishing the control she wielded. With a swift, deliberate motion, his index finger fell away, and she erupted into laughter, the sound echoing in the dimly lit room.

“You’re a complete psycho!” he screamed, horror evident in his voice.

Alessa’s laughter intertwined with his cries, creating a twisted symphony of torment that filled the air around them.

Later, as she stepped into her private quarters, a jolt of terror shot through her when she spotted Aiden seated on her bed, his gaze fixed on her with an unsettling calm.

“Ugh, Aiden. You really need to stop doing this,” Alessa groaned, her heart racing. He merely chuckled, an amused glint in his eyes.

“Don’t you ever sleep?” she inquired, making her way toward him, her mind still reeling from the earlier encounter.

“Well, when I returned to my room, sleep eluded me after that snack. I thought I’d come check on you, but you weren’t around. Let me guess, you went for a ride?” he asked, arching an eyebrow playfully.

“Yeah, just a quick lap around the estate,” she replied, trying to shake off the remnants of her earlier darkness. He shrugged, nonchalantly accepting her explanation.

“Alright then, good night,” he said, rising from the bed. He leaned in for a brief hug before darting out of her room, leaving her to exhale a heavy sigh.

Collapsing onto her bed, she closed her eyes, allowing a torrent of thoughts to wash over her. Who was hunting her and her children? Was this all just a twisted game?