The boys dragged her across the floor while she cried her eyes out.
The cell door slammed shut behind her with a cold finality.
Her arms ached, raw from where the ropes had dug into her skin as she was tortured. Blood still crusted at the corners of her mouth. Her knees gave way and she collapsed to the mat. Her p*ssy was on fire.
Then silence.
The laughter from outside still rang in her ears. Selina's high-pitched taunts. The pain. The embarrassment. All because her father was a betrayer.
👥 "She won't last another week."
👥 "She's the daughter of a traitor."
👥 "She's nothing."
The people's murmurs echoed in her ears once more and she closed her eyes as if to ward off the voices.
Minutes later, Milena's eyes opened slowly, hazy with unshed tears. Her lips chapped but parted slightly murmuring some words.
"I'm not nothing."
Not anymore.
Her fingers dug into the dirt floor beneath her, nails scraping until they bled. And somewhere in her chest, behind the pain and humiliation, something was taking root.
A quiet rage.
Not the explosive kind, but the kind that simmers. The kind that waits.
The kind that becomes unstoppable.
*******
Outside the chamber, laughter continued. The others were high off dominance, cruel amusement painted across their faces like makeup.
Selina stood proudly, sweat glistening at her temple, the others clapping her on the back like she'd won something.
Phoenix leaned against the cold brick wall of the corridor, cigarette balanced between her fingers.
The lighter clicked once. Twice. The flame flickered to life, and she inhaled deeply.
But her eyes weren't on the cigarette. They were fixed on the table that the girl was before.
She should feel nothing.
This wasn't the first girl they'd tortured. It definitely wouldn't be the last.
But something about the girl stuck in her mind.
The girl's screams. Cries. Pleas.
Just like an innocent girl. Yes, her father was a traitor but did she deserve this tortures.
Phoenix took another drag.
She told herself she didn't care.
But her hand shook slightly.
A memory she hadn't summoned in years surfaced. Her mother, slapping her for coming home late. Her own lip bleeding. No one helped her.
No one ever did.
She remembered how that felt.
And maybe, just maybe, she saw it again today.
The chaos was over.
So phoenix walked out of the training grounds but bumped into Killian.
"Oh, sorry." She said and continued walking.
Killian just stared at her and said nothing.
He turned on his heel and walked out too like it had nothing to do with him.
No glance at Milena.
No word to Selina.
Just the sound of his boots echoing down the hallway until they faded into silence.
Tokyo watched him go, her jaw tightening.
Something was off about him. But she couldn't place it.
**********
Venom sat in his chair, legs propped on the table, smoke curling around him like a lazy shadow. The room stank of tobacco and iron—dull and heavy, like every conversation that happened here.
The door creaked open without a knock.
Cassian strolled in, all loose shoulders and half-smiles, a bottle of beer in one hand.
"Selina's been busy," he drawled, tone laced with amusement. "You should've seen her, boss. Girl was on fire. Pedro's daughter got the full welcome package."
Venom didn't look up, but a smirk curled the corner of his lips. "Sure."
Cassian snorted. "Damn, her screams were top notch. It was like she was in a choir of some sort. It was fun honestly." He took a swig from the bottle. "Selina was elated. You know how she gets when her toys screams for mercy."
Venom exhaled a stream of smoke, eyes still fixed on the ceiling. "Good."
Cassian leaned against the wall, twirling the neck of the bottle between his fingers. "Poor girl got stripped, dragged through dirt, and beat like she stole something from the throne room. I mean, she's Pedro's daughter, right? Not some street rat."
Venom's smirk deepened. "That's just the beginning."
A flicker passed behind Cassian's eyes, like a thought he hadn't meant to hold onto. He glanced toward the hallway, then back to Venom. "Anyway, I heard there's movement near Don Miller's southern edge. Something about a shipment being rerouted."
Venom's gaze shifted, smoke pausing in his lungs.
Cassian took another sip and waved it off with a half-shrug. "Might be nothing. Or might be a deal someone forgot to tell you about."
He tipped the bottle toward Venom, winked, and pushed off the wall. "Just thought you'd want to know. Later, boss."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Venom sat still for a moment, fingers tapping once on the table. Then twice.
The smoke in the air thickened.
His smirk faded.
And he began to think.
Silence settled as venom sat motionless in the quiet for several minutes, cigarette forgotten between his fingers.
Then, slowly, he reached for the drawer beside his chair.
It slid open with a soft creak.
Inside, among the chaos of tools, weapons, wrappers, and forgotten things, lay a small, simple necklace.
He lifted it carefully.
It was old. The chain had tarnished. But the pendant — a plain silver ring with a faded engraving — still caught the light.
He turned it over in his hand, and the years began to peel away.
FLASHBACK
A younger version of Venom, scrawny, bruised, and silent sat under the rusted staircase of an orphanage. His lip was split, one eye swelling shut.
Laughter from other boys echoed in the distance.
Then, footsteps.
A girl.
She crouched beside him, placing a torn piece of bread in his hand. "You let them do this again?"
He didn't answer.
She sighed. "You've got to fight back, Ven."
He looked up. Her eyes were fierce. Her hands scraped. She was skinny, like all of them, but she had something in her that glowed.
Later, they sat on the rooftop, sharing a stolen chocolate bar.
Venom handed her the necklace, shyly. "It's all I have."
She smiled and clasped it around her neck. "Then I'll wear it forever."
The next day came the chaos. Screams. A siren in the distance.
Venom stood in the courtyard, surrounded by murmuring kids.
She was gone. No one knew How or Why.
He wasn't allowed to see the body. But he saw the necklace lying in the dirt.
BACK TO PRESENT
Venom blinked. The memory faded like smoke.
He stared at the ne
cklace for a long time before gently placing it back in the drawer.
He didn't speak.
But for the first time in years, the smirk faded from his face.
The silence grew heavy.