By Zephyria 
Hoo-ooh.
Ezra stared at one wall with hazy eyes and sighed deeply. His mind was blank, and nothing came to mind. He habitually moved his hand to bring the glass to his lips, but stopped for a moment. Only then did he realize the glass was empty, and he cursed in a low voice.
As he tilted the liquor bottle, which was already nearly half empty, he suddenly sensed someone’s presence. Ezra turned his head and froze. His wife, with her gaunt face, was leaning against the paneling.
“Sandra…”
Ezra was momentarily flustered, and the alcohol seemed to evaporate from his system. He hurriedly got up and approached her, noticing the shadows cast on her sunken cheeks, making her look even more haggard. His heart ached, and he held back the tears that threatened to spill as he spoke.
“Why did you come out? Do you need something? Should I get you some water?”
She shook her head at her husband, who was hastily looking around.
“No, I’m okay. I just saw you weren’t sleeping and wondered if something was wrong…”
“Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry.”
He readily replied and kissed her forehead, but Sandra still looked up at him with a worried expression.
Recently, her husband had been like this every night. He would pretend everything was fine, but after putting the children to bed and being left alone, he would drink in the kitchen until he was completely drunk, then collapse on the table and sleep until morning. Sandra couldn’t help but worry about Ezra’s behavior.
“What’s wrong? Ezra. Tell me, is it because of money?”
“No, no, Sandra. It’s not that.”
“Yes, it is, that’s right. I’m sorry, because of me… I’ll ask my father one more time.”
“No, don’t. It’s okay, Sandra. Really.”
Sandra’s mother had passed away early, and her father had remarried, leading to a long estrangement. Despite this, she had mustered the courage to ask him for help in their desperate situation, but he had coldly refused. Sandra had cried for half a day after being subjected to a barrage of insults. He couldn’t let his wife, who was already in poor health, endure such humiliation again.
“It’s okay, Sandra. I can hold on longer.”
Ezra said, embracing his wife tightly. But in truth, Sandra’s words were not wrong. Ezra’s family situation was not much different; he had been estranged from his parents for a long time, which meant they only had each other in the world. So it was only natural that they were even more affectionate…
Knock, knock, knock.
He had just let out a short sigh when he was startled by the sudden knocking on the front door. He could feel Sandra, still in his arms, flinch as well. They looked at each other with bewildered faces. Who could it be at this hour?
“Go to the room.”
Ezra instructed Sandra before turning and leaving the kitchen. He glanced through the living room window to see who was outside and was shocked. He recognized one of the two men. Seeing the incredibly tall, red-haired man, he was flustered and headed for the front door. He opened the locked door and peeked out, saying,
“Dane, what brings you here at this hour…”
Before he could finish, Dane grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out. Before Ezra could even figure out what was happening, he slammed into the wall with a thud and screamed. Dane immediately leaned in close and spat out,
“What did you do to Grayson?”
thirty one
Ezra’s face immediately turned ashen in the sudden situation. A strong smell of alcohol wafted from his panicked, panting breaths. Dane, his brow furrowed in anger, gritted his teeth and said,
“You sold Grayson off and are just drinking? Ezra, I’m disappointed in you. I can’t believe you’re such trash.”
“S-sold off, n-no, that’s, that’s not it. I d-don’t know, I don’t know anything!”
Dane gripped Ezra’s neck tightly as he stammered desperately. Ezra’s breath was immediately cut off, and a painful groan escaped his lips. Joshua, who had been silently watching Ezra’s face turn red and swollen with blood, finally spoke.
“Easy, Dane. We’ll just waste time if he loses consciousness.”
The man’s cold voice and expression were more terrifying than Dane, who seemed to be consumed by rage. He checked his wristwatch and said in a chilling voice,
“Let him go for a moment, he’s about to pass out.”
At those words, Dane clicked his tongue briefly and released his grip. Ezra immediately collapsed to the floor.
“Cough, cough, hack, hack… cough.”
Dane glanced at Joshua as he watched Ezra gasp for breath, his body shaking. Joshua, who had been looking at his wristwatch, gave a short nod, and Dane immediately grabbed Ezra by the scruff of his neck, pulled him up, and slammed him against the wall.
“Ugh!”
Dane whispered in Ezra’s ear from behind as he gasped and screamed, rubbing his head against the wall.
“Tell me now, the more you stall, the rougher we’ll get.”
“L-let go, let go… ugh!”
Ezra struggled to escape, but he was drunk, and Dane’s strength was immense, so all he could do was squirm and rub his body against the wall. Joshua, watching, swept his fallen hair back from his forehead and advised,
“We don’t have time. Let’s just put him in the trunk.”
“W-what?”
Ezra’s eyes widened in surprise. Joshua looked at him with a blank expression and said,
“It’s noisy to talk here, everyone’s asleep. We need to be considerate of the neighbors.”
He was pretending to be quite considerate, but his true intention was different. He was worried that someone might hear the screams and report them to the police, which would be a hassle. Noticing the hidden meaning, Joshua added in a seemingly kind tone to Ezra, who had turned pale,
“Even the bravest soldier will scream in pain if you cut off his fingers.”
His smiling face looked so refreshing, but that made it even more chilling. Looking into the man’s green eyes, Ezra thought he must be a Dominant Alpha. How else could he say such terrible things so cheerfully? Like a California billboard with a bright sun and freshly picked oranges.
“N-no, no! Please, spare me… no!”
Ezra screamed as Dane lifted him up. Dane glanced down at him as he struggled and said,
“He’s being noisy, I’ll have to knock him out.”
“N-no! Wait! Wait a minute!”
Ezra screamed, his face turning white, as Dane moved to cover his nose and mouth.
“I, I did it. I did it…”
He confessed, sobbing. Dane exchanged a brief glance with Joshua before putting Ezra down. The two men stood straight and looked down at him with cold faces.
“Tell us, what happened.”
Ezra began to stammer and recount the events between sobs. He started with how a man had approached him when he was worried about money, how he had received money to lure Grayson out, and the last memory of him being kidnapped in front of Ezra.
Dane, who had been listening with a grim face, let out a dumbfounded sigh when he finished speaking.
“So, you’re saying you’ve been keeping your mouth shut ever since? Like nothing happened?”
“I was suffering too…!”
Ezra cried out, sobbing.
“I, I’ve been tormented by guilt. I can’t sleep because of it, because of me… because of Miller.”
Dane and Joshua were silent for a moment, looking at the man on the floor crying like a child. It was something they had expected to some extent, but it was even more absurd knowing the reality. Dane rubbed his forehead with one hand and cursed under his breath. Joshua, who was watching from the side, stroked his chin with one hand and fell deep in thought.
Time passed again. They couldn’t just keep hesitating like this forever.
“Speak.”
Ezra, who had been sobbing until then, stopped at Dane’s rough voice. Dane gritted his teeth as he looked down at the swollen face of the grown man, who was still looking up with tearful eyes.
“Tell me, where are those bastards?”
“I-I don’t know… I really don’t.”
Ezra repeatedly shook his head in denial.
“I just took Miller to the place those guys told me to. And that was the last time… I haven’t contacted them even once since then. Really.”
He repeated the same words as if begging them to believe him. At those words, Dane frowned and offered a solution.
“Then tell those bastards to come out.”
Ezra’s eyes widened in shock. Dane continued to speak threateningly.
“Say whatever you have to say to make those bastards come to meet you. We’ll take care of the rest.”
“Ah… no, no, that’s!”
Ezra’s face turned white in an instant, and he shook his head wildly.
“I-I’m sorry, but if that happens, Sandra, my children will be in danger! Do you know how scary those guys are? They know everything about me too. If they know I’ve said this much, they definitely won’t leave me alone. They might hurt my children, my whole family!”
At Ezra’s desperate cries, Joshua, who had been silently watching until then, opened his mouth in a quiet voice.
“Do you think Ashley Miller will leave your children alone?”
At those words, Ezra froze. The darkened residential area became silent in an instant. Joshua looked down at Ezra, who was dazed as if he had lost his soul, and gave him an ultimatum.
“Choose. Either keep your mouth shut and be killed by those bastards, or confess now and let Ashley Miller make you pay the price alone.”
Ezra couldn’t say anything and just looked up at them. A cold night breeze brushed past their bodies.