The Strange Groom's Cursed Bride
Chapter 87: Where is Hades?

Chapter 87: Where is Hades?

The Morning After

Alice’s sleep was restless, haunted by fragmented images: Derren’s contorted face, Suzy’s terror, the terrifying glint of the knife, and Gavin’s chilling silence as he dangled a man over an abyss. It didn’t help that just at the crack of dawn, her phone began to ring, a jarring intrusion.

She reached for it sluggishly, eyes still adjusting, but the name on the screen made her open her eyes fully. It was Suzy.

"Aurora?" Suzy’s voice was urgent, hushed. "I just sent you a message. Check it, quick."

Alice pulled up her messaging app. The image that loaded was like a punch to the gut, so forceful it made her sit bolt upright in bed, her eyes bulging out in disbelief.

It was a screenshot of a morning news page. The headline screamed about a "Young Man Rescued at Brink of Death After Brutal Attack."

An accompanying was a article followed, "Young man rescued from attempted murder in the city’s south district—identified as Derren Ringland. Heir to R&C Construction. Multiple cuts, fractured ribs, signs of strangulation. Currently unconscious."

Attached was a photo, blurry. The article detailed how he had been found in a "private location" with several cuts on his wrists, legs, and even his face. The police were investigating, baffled by the brutality, but another interesting realization was that a rare, highly potent illegal drug, currently circulating the city, had been found in his bloodstream. A high dosage of it.

"What... is this?" Alice breathed, the words barely a whisper, her heart beginning to pound wildly in her chest.

It got even worse when she tried to open the link Suzy had sent but then, it was 404. The news was no longer there.

Poof. Disappeared.

"Who do you think did this?" Suzy whispered back, her voice laced with a mixture of horror and grim satisfaction.

Again, that was a rhetorical question.

Alice wanted to believe Hades was not like that. She desperately wanted to. But then, she remembered the effortless brutality with which he’d stabbed Vik with a fork without a second thought. She recalled the primal, chilling precision of Gavin dangling Derren over the edge, the utter lack of humanity in his eyes.

"Aurora?" Suzy called, cutting into her frantic thoughts.

At the same instant, a polite but firm knock echoed on her door, making Alice jump. She clapped a hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Miss Boss?" It was Rowan’s voice on the other side.

"Let’s... talk later," Alice said into the phone, her voice shaky, before hanging up. She took a few shuddering breaths, trying to collect herself.

"I’m just waking up, Rowan," Alice called, forcing a casual tone. "Could you... return in ten minutes?"

"Of course, Miss Boss," he replied promptly.

She pushed herself out of bed, her limbs heavy with exhaustion, and stumbled into the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked... she couldn’t even tell.

The cut on her lip was a little swollen and purple, a stark line of red against her skin. Her bandaged hand throbbed. She felt so... crazy. She was going insane, caught in this whirlwind of violence.

And at once, her eyes darkened. A cold resolve settled over her. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t her. She splashed cold water on her face, ignoring the sting on her lip, didn’t even wait to brush her teeth. She used a mouthful of mouthwash, then dabbed concealer onto her skin with grim determination, like preparing for war. She left her contacts out, her natural grey eyes sharper, more intense.

It was less than ten minutes later when she threw her door wide open and marched into the hallway, her phone clutched in her hand, the rough edge of the key card, car key and black card rubbing against each other inside her pocket. She was still in her silk loungewear, a stark contrast to her furious demeanor.

She almost bumped into Rowan. He took in her disheveled state, her furious expression, and looked momentarily stunned. "Miss Boss, are you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face. "What kind of breakfast would you prefer this morning?"

She cut him off, her voice low and simmering. "Where is Hades?"

Rowan hesitated, his gaze flicking nervously away. "Miss Boss, I can take any message for you..."

She ignored him, walking past him with a swift, purposeful stride, trying the handles of the closed doors as she went, searching.

He followed closely behind her, a hesitant shadow. "Miss Boss, why do you want to meet him this morning? I assure you, I can pass any message..."

Alice stopped abruptly, turning to face him. Her patience had worn thin. "Tell me where Hades is, Rowan, or you can keep following me like this while I search the entire apartment." Her voice was dangerously calm.

Just then, Milo emerged from the next door ahead, a questioning look on his face as he took in the scene – Alice, disheveled and fuming, Rowan looking flustered.

"Where do I find your boss?" Alice asked him instead, her eyes flashing.

"Is there a problem, ma’am?" Milo asked, his tone carefully neutral.

Not this guy too, Alice thought, a fresh surge of exasperation. She moved, going to the next door, but before she could try to open it, the door Milo had stepped out of opened even wider.

Gavin stepped out. The sight of him, cool and collected, made Alice pause, a tremor of fear, quickly suppressed, running through her.

"W-Where... is he?" she asked Gavin, trying to pry into the room, her voice strained.

It was still early. Were they already having a secret meeting?

"Why?" Gavin asked, his tone detached, almost bored.

Alice’s hand flew up, showing Gavin the screenshot on her phone. Her finger tapped Derren’s battered face. "Was this done by you?"

Gavin’s eyes, as he scanned the screen, remained utterly blank. The door behind him opened even wider then, as a figure stepped fully into the hallway.

"So noisy," Hades said, his voice a low rumble, a hint of annoyance in his tone. He looked impeccably dressed, as if he hadn’t just been involved in a brutal incident hours before.

When Alice saw him, saw his almost bored expression, a fresh wave of annoyance bubbled inside of her. The fact that he was in there, calm and collected, while she had been tearing through the house, consumed by dread and anger.

He was looking at her, his gaze sweeping over her face, lingering on her bruised lip, then dropping to her bandaged arm. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Did you meet Derren last night?" she demanded, her voice tight with accusation.

Hades was quiet for a while, a strange stillness about him. Then he leaned against the wall, and folded his arms, his expression unreadable.

"Why?"

"Did. You. Meet. Derren?" she repeated, her jaw set, her voice rising slightly.

Rowan and Milo exchanged quick, nervous glances. Gavin remained impassive.

He didn’t answer. Instead, a tiny smirk, barely perceptible, touched the corner of his lips. A ghost of a smile that gave her all the answers she needed. Her fist balled beside her, nails digging into her palm.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" The outburst came out of nowhere, startling all of them. Rowan flinched, Milo’s eyes widened, and even Gavin’s stoic expression flickered with surprise.

"How could you beat someone up to the brink of death?!" Alice’s voice cracked with raw emotion, a mixture of fury, disgust, and a bewildering sense of betrayal.

She wasn’t innocent, she’d punished men in the North for their transgressions, but never with this callous disregard for life, and she’d always carried the weight of it.

He, on the other hand, seemed to treat it as a triviality, an amusing pastime. "Why are you all insane? You do not value people’s lives? Is it because of the money? The influence? Because you can easily cover it up? What right do you have to do that to someone!?"

She remembered Vivian. Her friend. The hit and run. How it had simply been covered with money. No justice. No nothing.

Hades stared at her, his dark eyes wide with what seemed like genuine disbelief. He took a slow step towards her. "Are you... taking his side right now?" His voice was low, edged with a dangerous incredulity.

"Taking his side?" She scoffed in disbelief, a harsh, humorless sound. "I am simply saying that you almost killed someone! That is animal behavior. Also, drugs? I know someone on drugs when I see one. He wasn’t on drugs last night. Drunk, yeah. But then there was suddenly illegal drugs involved. Was that you too?" Her voice was laced with a profound disappointment, a cutting realization that the magnetic pull she felt towards him was leading her into something far darker than she could ever have imagined. It was as if she had expected him to be above such depravity, despite all evidence to the contrary.

"Miss Boss..." Rowan started, stepping forward nervously, but one cold, withering glare from Hades instantly silenced him.

Hades took another step closer to her. She didn’t step back, her gaze fixed on him, a fierce, burning anger in her eyes that dared him to challenge her.

"I do not get involved with drugs," he said simply, his eyes dark and unwavering as he met her defiant gaze.