Chapter 71: #SEVENTY-ONE

Nicholas’s POV

Jayden was quick with what he had in mind.

He circled me, flicking a syringe in his hand, then pressed the needle into me.

My vision swam and I struggled against the ropes. "W— What the hell is that?"

He smirked. "Just a little gift."

The betrayal should have been the only thing occupying my mind, but the moment the pain in my body intensified, everything else became secondary.

I had barely finished processing the fact that Jayden was responsible for my kidnapping when the pain returned with such force that I had to grip the sides of the chair and lower my head.

My wrists were still tied behind me, my ankles secured to the legs of the chair, and there was nothing I could do except sit there and wait for the feeling to pass. It didn’t. Instead, it spread through my body until even breathing became uncomfortable.

I lifted my head and looked at Jayden, who was standing several feet away and watching me without the slightest indication that he intended to help.

"Did you just inject more poison into me? Fucking bastard. Give me the antidote," I said, forcing the words out despite the weakness in my voice. "You know exactly what you’ve done to me, and you know I need it. Whatever you put me into me now is making everything worse, so stop standing there and watching me struggle. If you have something that can counteract it, give it to me."

Jayden’s expression barely changed. He walked toward me slowly, then stopped in front of the chair and looked down at me. "You still haven’t learned how to ask me for anything. You’re talking as though you’re in a position to demand things from me, Nicholas, when you should be paying attention to the fact that you’re completely dependent on me right now. You’re tied up, you’re weak, you don’t have your phone, you don’t know where you are, and nobody knows that I’ve brought you here. If you want something from me, especially something that can keep you alive, then you’re going to have to understand that I decide when you get it."

I stared at him in disbelief. "I’m asking you to save my life, not asking you for a favour. You poisoned the medication I took, you took me from the road when I was already weak and now you’re standing there telling me I don’t know how to ask? What exactly do you want me to say?"

"Beg."

I almost laughed, but another wave of pain stopped me. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, forcing myself to breathe before looking at him again. "Fine. Please give me the antidote. Is that what you wanted to hear? I’m asking you to give it to me because I don’t know how long I can keep feeling like this."

Jayden watched me for several seconds before moving away again. "That’s better."

I couldn’t understand how someone I’d once considered a friend could stand there and behave as though my suffering was entertainment.

He seemed completely comfortable, almost relaxed, and that was somehow worse than if he’d been shouting at me. There was no anger in his face, nor fear. He had planned this. He knew exactly what he had done, and he had brought the antidote because he’d known from the beginning that I would eventually need it.

He turned toward me again. "Do you know what I’ve been thinking about since I brought you here? Your brothers. They’re probably tearing that house apart looking for you. They probably have no idea where you are, and they’re going to keep searching because none of them will accept that they can’t find you. They’ll check your school again. They’ll check the places you’ve visited recently. They’ll probably question people who saw you that day. They might even start looking into the people you spent time with."

I said nothing.

Jayden continued, apparently enjoying the thought. "But they’ll never think to look here. They’ll keep searching for a stranger because they won’t know that the person who took you was someone you trusted. They’ll probably spend days blaming themselves when they realize you’re gone. Elijah will blame himself most of all. He’ll remember every argument between the two of you and wonder whether he should have stopped you from walking away. Your other brothers will do the same thing. They’ll start asking themselves what they missed, what they should have noticed and whether they could have done something before you disappeared."

I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t going to tell him that my brothers had already been suspicious of him lately. They hadn’t forgotten. There was no benefit in giving him that information now. If Jayden believed he’d fooled everyone completely, I would let him believe it.

He walked toward the table at the side of the warehouse and picked something up.

"You know what’s funny?" he said. "They’re going to be devastated when they finally find you."

"Stop talking about them." I hissed.

"Why? You think I’m wrong?" He looked up at me.

"I don’t care what you think."

A smirk pulled at his lips. "You do. That’s why you’re trying so hard not to react."

I looked away from him and he smiled before continuing. "Imagine them finding you too late. They’ll probably think about all the things they could have done differently. Your mother will blame herself. Your father will probably become impossible to deal with. Elijah will be destroyed. He’ll probably spend the rest of his life wondering whether he could have saved you if he’d just paid more attention."

"Shut up." Jayden stopped as I looked at him. "Don’t talk about my family like that."

His smile returned. "You really are protective of them."

"I said stop."

He ignored me and walked closer. "Do you know what I enjoyed about watching your family? The cameras."

My expression changed. "What cameras?"

"The ones I installed in your house."

For a moment, I simply stared at him. "You what?"

"I put cameras around the house. I wanted to know what everyone was doing when I wasn’t there. I wanted to understand your routines, know who was around you and see how everyone behaved when they thought nobody was watching. It was useful. I learned when people left, when they came home, who spent time with you and who avoided you. I knew when you were alone. I knew when someone was suspicious. I knew enough about that house that I rarely had to guess what was happening."

My stomach turned.. "You’ve been watching my whole family?"

"Obviously."

I shook my head slowly. "You’re sick."

"Maybe, but it worked. I knew things about your family that they didn’t realize anyone could know. I watched the house and learned how everyone behaved. Sometimes it was boring, sometimes it was useful, but it always gave me information."

"You invaded our home, you psycho."

Jayden shrugged. "Call it whatever you want."

The pain intensified again, and I bent forward, struggling to catch my breath. Jayden watched me for a moment before walking back toward the cabinet.

This time, I looked up. "Please."

He stopped.

"I don’t care about the cameras anymore. I don’t care what you’ve seen. I don’t care what you wanted to know. Just give me the antidote." I pleaded.

He opened the cabinet and removed two small vials.

My eyes immediately went to them. "Those are the antidotes?"

"Yes." He brought them over and held them up. "Two doses."

"Then give me one."

"I will, but you’re going to agree to something first." He smirked.

I frowned. "What?"

"You’ll stay here." I stared at him as he continued. "As my sex toy. I’ve seen what you do to your brothers and Gareth. Such a nice body you’ve got. Might as well get a bit from it."

For several seconds, I couldn’t believe he was serious. "You kidnapped me, tied me to a chair, poisoned me and brought me to some warehouse, and now you’re asking me to agree to stay here to keep fucking you?"

He smiled. "I’m giving you the opportunity to live. I want you to stop fighting me. You’ll stay here, you’ll cooperate and you won’t attempt to escape. If I tell you to stay somewhere, you’ll stay there. If I ask you a question, you’ll answer it. If I need you to do something that doesn’t put you in danger, you’ll cooperate. In return, I’ll keep you alive."

I stared at him with disgust. "You really are sick."

"Maybe." He shrugged. "What’s your answer? I don’t have all day."

"I’d rather take my chances." I forced the words out.

The look on his face was nothing short of cruel. "You don’t have many chances left."

"I’m not agreeing to this."

Jayden looked at me for several seconds, then glanced down at the two vials. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He raised a brow. "Even if it means you don’t get the antidote?"

I looked directly at him. "Yes."

He nodded slowly. "All right."

He opened the first vial and my eyes widened. "Wait."

He tipped it over and the antidote spilled onto the concrete floor.

Oh fuck.

I watched in disbelief. "You just wasted it."

He shrugged. "You refused my condition."

My heart was slamming into my ribcage. "You could have saved me with that."

"I could have." He placed the empty vial on the table and picked up the second one. "This is the last one."

I stared at it as he opened it slowly and waited.

The anger inside me was almost overwhelming. I wanted to refuse him just to prove that he hadn’t broken me. I wanted to tell him he could keep the vial and leave me alone. But the pain running through my body made it impossible to pretend that I wasn’t afraid.

I didn’t want to die.

I looked at the remaining vial again. Then I looked at Jayden. "Fine."

He said nothing and I swallowed. "I’ll stay."

His expression remained expectant, and I knew what he wanted me to say.

"I’ll be your captive. I’ll do anything. Just please let me live."