Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System! - Chapter 574

Chapter 574: Scarlett: Past That Won’t Stay Buried

Like running simulations on the world’s most fucked-up computer, Parker had thought of thousands of ways to punish Scarlett Draven, but never came up with one that felt like enough. He could throw her into the Chaotic Abyss like he did with Robert and the others, but pain was too easy for what she’d put him through.

Scarlett had made him experience pain and pleasure at the same time—a twisted cocktail that had rewired his brain in ways he was still trying to understand. So giving her just pain wasn’t enough.

He’d thought about giving her the same treatment, pleasure and pain mixed together until she couldn’t tell the difference, but there was no way to do that without… well, without having her in bed.

And he couldn’t do that.

Wouldn’t do that.

He couldn’t see himself treating a woman that way if she wasn’t his, and definitely not without her consent.

Anything but that.

Of course, Scarlett Draven was beautiful. She was, in fact, one of the most gorgeous women he’d ever seen in this life—no, scratch that, the vampire was freaking stunning, so much so that he occasionally had desires to just… make love to her.

To be in love with her.

Desires he refused to admit even existed.

So much that he found himself nodding to the thought of just forgetting what had happened between them in the past and focusing on the present. Just making love to her like none of the torture had ever happened…

The same way he wanted to do with Annabelle. With Bella. With Whisper. All of them were beautiful women who had tortured him someh—

“Wait, do I have some kind of Stockholm Syndrome?!” The realization hit him like a cosmic bitch-slap, as frightening as it was impossible.

[Perhaps!] Levi chimed in with a laugh that suggested she’d been waiting for this moment. [I mean, I’ve been tortured by your mind, watching how many crazy fantasies you have about those women who literally—]

“Stop right there!” Parker cut her off. “There’s no way that’s possible. I mean, look at me, who am I?”

[The Prince of Existence, one of the oldest beings in existence, most powerful entity in the multiverse right now, whose words are literally final. So, there’s no way you’d develop Stockholm Syndrome, right?] Levi’s voice carried a teasing edge that made him want to punch something.

“Yeah, that’s not possible, you—” But Levi cut him off with the efficiency of someone dropping a truth bomb.

[Those are exactly the reasons why you would develop Stockholm Syndrome.]

“Levi…”

[I mean, no one has ever treated you this way before. You were always in control, always the one with power, always calling the shots. But in this life? You were just… human. Helpless. Abandoned. Tortured by your peers and people who should’ve protected you. Let’s forget the others and just focus on Scarlett…]

Parker found himself remembering old memories that he wished he could delete but at the same time cherished like some kind of emotional masochist. It hadn’t even been seven months since that nightmare had ended.

[I think it happened about a year and a half ago…]

That night, he’d gone to his parents’ old house—spending a few hours there like he did sometimes when the weight of everything got too heavy.

Young Parker had decided to take a walk through the neighborhood to pass time until Robert and the others fell asleep, then sneak back inside slowly.

It had been a habit of his, visiting the old house to remember old better days with his parents. But that night, he’d come to regret his night “adventurous” spirit forever.

That’s when he’d realized that wishing to see a real vampire was way scarier than any fantasy your brain could cook up. But the consequences? Those were even worse.

He’d found Scarlett—though he didn’t know her name then—sucking the life out of some girl before compelling her to forget the whole thing happened.

The pleasure in Scarlett’s eyes had been like watching the most ecstatic thing she’d ever experienced. The way her body had convulsed with pure satisfaction. Moonlight had streamed down her body, illuminating her blood-red hair, and Parker hadn’t known anything could be so beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

She’d looked like a fallen angel feeding on starlight, and when her blood-red eyes had locked onto his, he’d been so mesmerized that all he’d wanted was to go near her, hug this beautiful and “unfortunate” being who had to hunt girls in the middle of the night when he would’ve given himself to her for free.

The moment he’d broken free from that trance—which she’d apparently put him under without him realizing—Parker had been beyond terrified. He’d fallen flat on his ass like the helpless human he’d been.

Scarlett had this surprised look on her face when she’d realized someone had broken her influence without even trying.

Before he could shout for help, she’d suddenly appeared behind him, covering his mouth with one hand while her chest pressed against his back in a grip that had been both terrifying and intimate.

That had been the first time he’d felt a woman’s breasts against his body, but he definitely hadn’t been able to enjoy it.

“Interesting…” The famous words before the vampire villain turns the protagonist into a bloodsucker. He’d known this dance from novels, except…

He’d known this meant death. For the first time, he’d wanted to shout for Aunt Helena for help, for anyone, but he couldn’t. Not with his mouth sealed.

“You smell so…” Amazing? Sweet? Yeah, he’d known that. Didn’t clingy Maya say that every time she hugged him?

He couldn’t have cared less right then. He’d tried to thrash free, but there hadn’t been any strength left in his body.

Sniffffff~~~

A shiver had run down his spine as she’d inhaled sharply, sniffing his neck like he was the most delicious thing she’d ever encountered.

“Such a strong and sweet smell…” Even her voice had been mesmerizing as she’d praised him, but all he’d seen and heard were the next chapters of a horror novel where he either became a vampire or became her personal blood bank.

And honestly, the former would’ve been preferable to the latter.

But then pleasure had hit him like a freight train.

Next thing he’d known, he was moaning while blood rushed from his body into hers, her fangs buried deep in his neck, and his brain had short-circuited trying to process pain and pleasure happening simultaneously.

Parker didn’t remember much of those few moments while she’d drained him, only that when she’d finally let go, he’d felt empty and full at the same time.

Scarlett had then tried to compel him to forget and always come back to this spot. She’d probably figured his blood was extra sweet, which was just common sense given his cosmic nature.

But like the universe had thrown him into a pit of lions just for fun, her influence hadn’t done jack shit. When Scarlett had realized something was terrifying wrong—that there was literally nothing she could do to this boy—Parker had passed out from the sheer mental strain of her failed attempts.

When he’d woken up, he’d been in her office, tied to a chair. And that’s when it had really started.

That’s when he’d begun working at that club, getting fed a steady diet of pain and pleasure until he couldn’t tell the difference anymore. He’d dreamed of dying, but something deep inside him had refused to give her or anyone else the satisfaction of breaking him completely to the level of suicide.

Scarlett had threatened to kill him if he ever reported her. She’d drain everyone he reported to about her, make them forget, and they’d go back to their normal lives never knowing there was a vampire in Beverly Hills.

And then it would just be him and her.

“What do you think I’ll do to you after I go through all that trouble because you reported me?” she’d asked, her eyes glowing with promise of violence.

He hadn’t wanted to find out.

Within a week, he’d found himself unable to say anything, just letting her do whatever she wanted. Was she really doing anything different from the family members who were supposed to love him?

And unlike them, at least there was some money and pleasure mixed in with the endless pain.

He’d endured it. He’d grown numb to being tortured, accepting it as just another part of his fucked-up life. Parker Black had lived like a zombie, and the only time he’d felt truly alive was when bullies at school thought they could make him their prey—then he’d remind them why that was a terrible idea.

It’s just that he couldn’t do the same to Julian and the others at home. Only random bullies who didn’t know better.

Parker smiled softly as he kissed Seraphina on the forehead. She’d dozed off after dinner, probably worn out from her interdimensional demon-hunting adventure. He carried her to her bedroom and tucked her in like the protective father he’d never expected to become.

[Do you see it now?] Levi asked quietly.

He didn’t reply, his footsteps carrying him through the palace toward the gardens where moonlight painted everything silver. The small forest beckoned in the distance, and he found himself walking deeper into the shadows until he reached his favorite tree.

He sat in a meditation pose, letting Omni Energy flow through his being, nourishing him while his thoughts inevitably drifted toward Scarlett and what the hell he was supposed to do about—

“My Prince~”

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!