BLACK DRAGON'S REVENGE: FROM SERVANT TO NIGHTMARE

CHAPTER SEVEN

The elevator doors opened with a soft ding. Dante stepped out and walked briskly down the hallway, tension etched across his face. The address Camilla sent led to the door at the end of the corridor, slightly ajar.

He pushed it open and stepped inside. The apartment was dimly lit, filled with expensive furniture and the faint scent of spilled wine. He had taken only two steps when his foot struck something heavy.

Dante stumbled, catching himself against the wall. He looked down.

A broken glass ashtray lay on the marble floor, stained with dark red blood.

A chill ran down his spine. Before he could process it, soft footsteps approached from the hallway.

Camilla entered the living room. Her hair was disheveled, her dress wrinkled, and bruises marked her arms and shoulders. She looked pale and shaken.

“Miss Ashcroft?” Dante’s eyes widened with genuine concern. “What happened? Who did this to you?”

He instinctively moved toward her.

BANG!

The apartment door burst open. “Police! Don’t move!”

Officers flooded the room, surrounding him instantly. Dante froze in confusion. “What’s going on?”

Camilla raised a trembling hand and pointed at him. Her voice shook with fear. “It’s him! He killed Jessica!”

Dante stared at her in disbelief. “What?”

“When I found out…” Camilla continued weakly, tears welling in her eyes, “he tried to kill me too.”

Cold metal snapped around Dante’s wrists. “This is a lie!” he shouted, struggling against the officers. “I didn’t kill anyone! I’m being framed!”

Camilla clutched her bruised arm, her voice breaking. “He wanted access to the Ashcroft family’s fortune. He planned to kill Jessica first… then me.”

One officer shoved Dante toward the door. “Save it for the station.”

“I don’t even know this Jessica!” Dante protested desperately. “Why would I hurt my own wife?”

Camilla lowered her gaze, looking fragile and terrified. “We never signed a prenup,” she whispered. “If I die… everything legally goes to him.”

The officers’ expressions hardened. “So that was the plan? Marry into wealth and start killing for the inheritance?”

“That’s not true!” Dante shouted as they dragged him out. “Camilla, tell them the truth!”

She said nothing. As Dante was hauled away, the broken expression on her face slowly melted into a faint, cold smile.

---

Several Days Later

The interrogation room was suffocating under a single harsh light. Dante sat handcuffed to the steel chair, dark circles under his eyes and stubble shadowing his jaw.

Two officers entered. One dropped a thick file onto the table with a thud.

“Dante Morrell,” the lead officer said coldly. “Last chance. Confess.”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

The officer scoffed and spread out photographs: Jessica’s body, blood pooling on the marble, the shattered ashtray. “Blunt force trauma. The murder weapon has your fingerprints and hers.”

A surveillance video played on a tablet. It showed Dante holding the ashtray, his face caught at a dark angle.

“That was already on the floor when I walked in,” Dante said.

“All other cameras in the building were disabled,” the officer continued. “Premeditated. You targeted Jessica because she was close to your wife. When Camilla found out, you tried to kill her too.”

Another video played — footage from the Ashcroft mansion. Camilla’s cold voice: “Bark.” Dante obeyed on screen, humiliated.

“That must’ve hurt your pride,” the officer mocked. “Enough to plan revenge after your mother’s death.”

Dante remained silent, eyes hard. No matter how overwhelming the evidence, he refused to confess to crimes he didn’t commit.

---

Two hours later, the door opened again.

“You have visitors.”

Bryce Ashcroft and Camilla stepped inside. Camilla looked fragile and red-eyed, drawing sympathetic glances from the officers outside. The moment the door closed, her demeanor shifted.

Dante looked at them with pure disgust. “Are you two stupid or just shameless?”

Bryce chuckled and sat across from him. “Stop wasting time. Confess to killing Jessica and attempting to murder my sister.”

Dante’s voice dripped with contempt. “Get out. Your threats won’t work on me.”

Bryce smiled and turned his phone toward Dante. A live video feed appeared. Elena was tied to a chair, face streaked with tears.

“B-Brother…!”

Dante’s blood ran cold. “Elena!”

Bryce leaned back casually. “She’s very pretty. We’re thinking of sending her to an underground ring. Once she’s there, her life won’t be worth anything.”

Dante’s fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. “You bastards…”

A man in the video raised a glowing red-hot leather belt.

“No—!” Dante roared.

The belt cracked across Elena’s back. Her scream tore through the speaker.

“STOP!”

Another strike. Blood trickled from Elena’s mouth.

“Please!” Dante begged, tears streaming down his face as he dropped to his knees. The chains rattled against the floor. “I’ll confess! Just spare her! Please!”

Bryce stood up, satisfied. “Good boy.”

Camilla stepped closer and looked down at Dante kneeling before her. A soft, cruel chuckle escaped her lips.

“Good dog.”

They turned and left without another word, leaving Dante broken on the cold interrogation room floor.