Tony Brindell never saw it coming.
Tall, polished, and composed, he was the kind of marriage counsellor who disarmed clients with calm eyes and a warm handshake. But now his wrists were bound to his chair, a rope tight around his throat tethering him to the headrest, and Mitchell stood across from him—no longer the meek, wounded husband, but something else entirely.
The knife hadn’t just cut skin. It severed trust, expectation, the illusion of safety.
“You should’ve known,” Mitchell whispered. “You were supposed to guide her. Help her. Help us. You did nothing.”
Tony’s voice trembled. “I’m not your enemy.”
Mitchell leaned in, close enough to feel the heat of his breath. “Then why am I the only one bleeding from this marriage?”
Tony saw it now—not the man, but the beast inside him, coiled like smoke, intelligent and vengeful. Mitchell wasn’t here for guidance. He was here for closure. Not the talking kind—the kind that left silence.
He paced, pacing the edges of Tony’s resolve. “You never believed me. You never believed her either.”
“I—I tried,” Tony said, voice cracking.
Mitchell smiled. “You failed.”
Outside, the storm growled. Inside, one man’s past unravelled like a rope slipping through hands too smooth to grip reality.
And as lightning etched the scene onto every wall, Tony realised: Mitchell hadn’t brought him here for answers.
He brought him here to listen.
[From SEETHINGS, downloadable and free for a limited time]
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