She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother

Chapter 444: The Siblings

Catherine stood at the entrance of the underground chamber, taking in the full view of the room.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and sweat. Several men were tied to wooden chairs, their heads hanging low, some barely conscious. The floor beneath them was stained dark red.

Catherine’s eyes moved across the room before finally settling on her brother.

James stood in the middle of it all.

His upper body was bare, revealing the scars that covered his torso... old and new. Fresh blood was smeared across his chest, arms, and hands. His breathing was heavy and uneven, and his eyes held a wild, distant look, as if he was no longer fully present in reality.

He looked like a man who had been consumed by his own darkness for far too long.

Catherine watched him quietly for a few seconds. There was no shock on her last... only a deep, tired understanding. She had seen him like this before, but every time it felt worse than the last.

She took a slow breath before finally speaking, her voice calm but firm as it echoed through the chamber.

"You’re still here, James."

James, who had been staring at one of the tied men with a twisted smile, froze for a second. Then, slowly, he turned around.

The moment his eyes landed on her, his expression changed. A wide, almost childlike smile spread across his blood-stained face. It wasn’t a normal smile... it was the kind that sent chills down the spine of anyone who saw it.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at her with an unsettling mix of madness and strange warmth.

"Ah... Catherine," he said, his voice rough and hoarse. "You finally came down to see me."

He took a small step toward her, still holding the bloodied knife loosely in his hand, and gestured around the room with an almost proud look on his face.

"Come in, come in," he said invitingly, as if he was showing her something wonderful. "Come and look at these bastards’ faces. Check if there is still any arrogance left in them."

James let out a low, broken laugh as he turned toward the tied-up men. He pointed the tip of his knife at one of them.

"This guy..." James said, his voice dripping with mockery as he slowly walked toward one of the tied-up men.

He stopped right in front of him and without any warning, grabbed the man’s shoulder and forcefully twisted the knife that was already buried in one of his wounds. The man’s body jerked violently as a loud, muffled scream tore through the gag in his mouth.

His eyes widened in pure agony, tears streaming down his face as he thrashed helplessly against the ropes.

James watched the man’s suffering with a cold, satisfied smile before pulling the knife out slightly and twisting it again, deeper this time.

"Remember what he told me?" James said, his voice low and filled with bitterness. "He said, ’I’m a cripple. I’m finished. He won’t associate himself with me anymore.’ That’s what he said. After everything he got only after associating with me."

He walked closer to the next man, who was already shaking violently in fear. James stopped right in front of him, staring down at him with a cold, empty smile.

"I took him from his pathetic, ignorant life," James continued, his smile widening. "I gave him status. I gave him power. I made him respected. And the moment I fell... he turned his back on me like I was nothing."

Without warning, James pressed the knife against the man’s shoulder and slowly dragged it across his skin. A muffled scream escaped through the gag as the man thrashed in pain.

James laughed again, clearly enjoying the sound.

He then turned to another man tied to the chair beside him. This one looked younger, and his eyes were filled with pure terror.

James turned to the next man and pointed the knife at him. His smile had completely disappeared now, replaced by a cold, bitter expression.

"Look at this man," he said, his voice low and heavy. "I saved him when he was about to die. I pulled him out of his ignorant, pathetic life and brought him into this lavish luxury. I gave him everything... money, connections, protection, status. I treated him like family. I trusted him more than most of my own blood."

He took a step closer to the man, who was now trembling uncontrollably.

"But when I needed help the most..." James continued, his voice turning colder, "he disappeared. Just like the rest of them."

He stared at the man for a long moment, his eyes filled with betrayal and rage.

Catherine looked at her brother for a few seconds. The sight of him standing there, covered in blood and lost in his own madness, made something tighten in her chest. Without saying another word, she stepped forward from the entrance and walked toward him.

Her heels clicked softly against the cold stone floor as she moved closer. There was no fear in her steps... only quiet concern.

When she reached him, she gently placed her hand over his and took the small twisted knife from his grip. James didn’t resist. He simply watched her with that same unhinged smile, as if her action amused him.

Catherine held the knife for a moment before placing it aside on a small wooden table. Then she looked at him properly.

"You should stop focusing on this so much," she said softly. "This isn’t helping you, James. You’re only making yourself worse."

James tilted his head, but didn’t reply.

Catherine’s eyes moved over his bare upper body... the scars, the fresh wounds, the dried blood. Her expression softened with worry.

"You should take care of your body first," she said. "Look at you... You haven’t been eating properly. You haven’t been sleeping. You’re covered in blood and wounds, and you don’t even seem to notice."

She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a clean white handkerchief. Without hesitation, she stepped even closer and gently began wiping the blood from his face. Her touch was careful, almost tender.

James stood still, letting her clean him. For a brief moment, the wild look in his eyes seemed to calm down a little.

"You used to hate it when I got even a small cut," Catherine continued quietly as she wiped the blood from his cheek. "Now look at you... standing here like this. Do you even realize how much you’re hurting yourself?"

She paused for a second, her hand still resting on his face as she looked into his eyes.

"I know you’re angry. I know you want revenge," she said. "But if you destroy yourself like this... then what’s the point of it all?"

James stared at her in silence. The manic smile on his face had faded, replaced by something quieter and more complicated. For a moment, he looked less like a madman and more like the brother she once knew.

Catherine continued wiping the blood from James’s face, her movements slow and gentle.

For a moment, the underground chamber was quiet, the only sound being the faint, pained breathing of the men tied to the chairs.

Then, without turning to look at them, Catherine spoke again. Her voice was calm, but there was a clear edge of contempt in it.

"Don’t concern yourself with these small fries," she said, gesturing toward the tied-up men with a flick of her hand, as if they were nothing more than dirt beneath her feet. "They’re just pawns. Useless pieces that were thrown away the moment they were no longer needed. Don’t waste your energy on them."

She lowered the handkerchief and looked directly into James’s eyes. Her expression was serious, but there was a quiet fire burning behind her gaze.

"Listen to me," she continued. "All those who were truly behind what happened to you... all those who betrayed you, poisoned you, and left you to rot... they will end up right here. In this very room. Tied to these same chairs. Just like them."

James stared at her, his expression unreadable.

Catherine’s voice grew firmer as she went on.

"We will take everything from them," she said. "Their power. Their status. Their wealth. Their connections. We will strip them of everything they hold dear... until they have nothing left but fear. And when that day comes, I want you to see it with your own eyes."

She reached out and gently placed her hand on the side of his face, forcing him to keep looking at her.

"I don’t want you to miss a single moment of it, James," she said softly. "I want you standing right here when they beg. When they break. When they realize that everything they did to you... will be returned to them tenfold."

She paused for a second, her thumb brushing lightly against his cheek.

"So stop wasting your time on these nobodies," she said. "Save your strength. Because the real show is still ahead of us."

She then looked at him with quiet certainty.

"And don’t worry too much about your current situation," she continued. "I’ve found a real cure for it. You will be able to cultivate again. And not just that... you’ll be able to reach heights you never imagined before. Stronger than you ever were."

James looked at her in silence for a long moment. The wild, unhinged look in his eyes had softened slightly, replaced by something deeper... something almost hopeful.

For the first time in a long while, the madness in his gaze seemed to recede, as if her words had managed to reach him through the darkness he had been drowning in.