CHAPTER 11: Behind Closed Doors
Billy's entire body trembled.
For the first time since he had met Krist Stark, he felt genuine fear.
The storage room was silent except for the faint buzzing of a fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling. Its cold white glow stretched dark shadows across the walls.
Krist pulled a chair forward and sat down directly across from him.
No smile.
No anger.
Just calm eyes.
And somehow, that was far more terrifying.
Billy swallowed hard.
"W-What are you talking about?" he stammered. "Your parents died in a plane crash."
Krist stared at him without speaking.
One second.
Five seconds.
Ten.
The silence became unbearable.
Sweat rolled down Billy's forehead.
Finally, Krist leaned forward.
"See, that's the problem."
Billy froze.
"You answered too quickly."
Krist rested his elbows on his knees.
"Most people would've said they didn't know anything."
His gaze sharpened.
"But you immediately brought up the crash."
Billy's breathing became uneven.
Krist continued calmly.
"Yesterday, when you insulted my parents, you sounded awfully confident."
Tap.
His finger lightly struck the arm of the chair.
"You weren't repeating rumors."
Tap.
"You spoke like someone who'd heard something."
Tap.
"Or someone who'd been told something."
Billy's face went pale.
The truth was simple.
He had only wanted to provoke Krist.
He had never imagined that one careless sentence would lead to this.
Since yesterday, Krist had changed.
The boy Billy used to bully was gone.
What sat across from him now felt more like a predator than prey.
"I-I don't know anything."
Krist laughed softly.
The sound sent a chill through Billy's spine.
"You know what's funny?"
Krist stood and slowly began circling him.
"Every person who sits in that chair says the same thing."
He stopped behind Billy.
"'I don't know anything.'"
Krist lowered his voice.
"And eventually every single one of them starts talking."
Billy's heartbeat hammered in his chest.
"W-What are you going to do to me?"
Krist walked back around and sat down again.
"That depends on you."
He placed a thick folder on the table.
Billy's eyes instantly widened.
Vane Industries.
Krist noticed the reaction immediately.
Interesting.
"You may not know me very well, Billy," Krist said quietly. "But I don't make a move unless I have a reason."
He opened the folder.
"I've been thinking about something."
He flipped through several pages.
"You hated my parents yesterday."
Billy remained silent.
"And that's strange."
Krist looked directly into his eyes.
"My parents treated you like family."
Another page turned.
"They bought you gifts."
Another.
"They let you travel with us."
Another.
"You used to idolize my father."
Billy lowered his head.
"You once told me you wanted to become someone like him."
Krist's voice hardened.
"So tell me."
He slammed the folder shut.
"How does a child go from admiring someone to calling his wife a bitch and him a fool?"
The room fell silent.
Billy couldn't answer.
Because he knew Krist was right.
The hatred hadn't started with him.
It had come from somewhere else.
From someone else.
Krist slowly leaned back.
"I only found one answer."
Billy's throat tightened.
"Your father."
The words hit like a hammer.
Krist's eyes narrowed.
"My father built your father's career."
"My father opened doors for him."
"My father turned your family into one of the most influential families in the country."
His voice became colder.
"So why does your father hate mine?"
Billy looked away.
Krist noticed.
And smiled.
"Exactly."
He tapped the folder.
"That's why I started investigating."
He slid a document across the table.
Billy looked down.
The moment his eyes landed on the names listed there, all color drained from his face.
Krist immediately noticed.
Bingo.
He didn't say anything.
He simply continued turning pages.
Each page made Billy visibly more nervous.
More frightened.
More desperate.
Finally, Krist stopped.
"Now tell me."
His voice was calm.
"How do you know these people?"
"I-I don't."
"Wrong answer."
Billy flinched.
Krist slowly reached into his bag and pulled out a syringe filled with clear liquid.
Billy's eyes widened.
"What is that?"
Krist examined it casually.
"Something unpleasant."
Billy's face turned pale.
Krist placed it on the table between them.
"Whether it's real or not doesn't matter."
His eyes locked onto Billy's.
"What matters is that you're terrified of it."
Billy couldn't look away.
"Fear makes people honest."
The room became silent once more.
Krist leaned forward.
"One final chance."
His voice was almost a whisper.
"What do you know about Vane Industries?"
Billy broke.
"I swear I don't know anything!"
After a long silence krist say "okey"
He picked up the string stabbing the needle into Billy's thin he injected him with what is inside him,
Leaning closer he whisper "I hope you will know something next time I come in here" throwing down those words he walk out shutting the door behind him
Billy started shaking a moment later and then he started screaming but no one can hear he not even krist
An hour later Kris walked into the room and saw that Billy has pass out he slapped him hard on the face and he woke up ,
"Now will you talk "krist ask
The words rushed out immediately.
"I've seen people from Vane Industries visit my father!"
Krist remained silent.
Encouraging him to continue.
"They had meetings!"
Billy's breathing became frantic.
"Not just them. Some people from Stark Industries attended too."
Krist's eyes narrowed.
"Go on."
"I thought it was a business partnership!"
Billy said quickly.
"Everyone knew Vane wanted to enter the civilian technology market, but they couldn't compete with Stark Industries. I thought they wanted to work together".
"Go on" Krist press
"That's all I know I swear"Billy say
Krist just pulled out another string from his bag without saying anything,
Billy's eyes locked onto the syringe the moment Krist pulled it from his bag.
His entire body stiffened.
No.
Not again.
Just seeing it was enough to make his stomach twist.
Krist slowly rolled the syringe between his fingers, watching Billy's reaction.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Not a happy smile.
A cold one.
The smile of someone who already knew he had won.
"I see you remember it."
Billy's breathing quickened.
The memories came rushing back immediately.
The pain.
The helplessness.
The endless feeling that it would never stop.
His hands began trembling uncontrollably.
Krist noticed.
"Good."
He placed the syringe carefully on the table.
"That saves us both a lot of time."
Billy swallowed hard.
"W-What do you want?"
Krist leaned back in his chair.
"The truth."
"I already told you everything I know!"
"Not everything."
Billy's eyes darted away.
That single movement was all the answer Krist needed.
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The lie."
Billy remained silent.
"You know more than you're saying."
Silence.
Krist picked up the syringe again.
Billy immediately flinched.
The reaction made Krist pause.
Interesting.
Even now, after everything, the fear was still there.
"Look at you."
Krist shook his head.
"You haven't stopped shaking since you saw this."
Billy clenched his teeth.
"You think I'm your enemy?"
Krist asked calmly.
"You think this is about revenge?"
He leaned forward.
"No."
His eyes hardened.
"This is about my parents."
The room fell silent.
"For over a year I've been told they died in an accident."
Krist's voice dropped.
"And for over a year I've watched people avoid questions."
He pointed at the folder.
"Then I found this."
Another pause.
"And now I find out your father was meeting people connected to Vane Industries."
Billy's face went pale.
Krist saw it.
Every little reaction.
Every twitch.
Every flicker of fear.
And each one confirmed his suspicions.
"I don't need guesses anymore, Billy."
His voice became ice cold.
"I need answers."
Billy stared at the syringe.
Then at the folder.
Then back at Krist.
The realization finally hit him.
Krist wasn't going away.
He wasn't giving up.
And sooner or later, he was going to uncover the truth.
Billy's shoulders slumped.
"What happens if I tell you?"
Krist considered the question.
Then he set the syringe back on the table.
"That depends."
Billy looked up.
"If you tell me the truth, you walk out of here."
Hope flashed across Billy's face.
"But..."
The hope vanished immediately.
Krist's expression didn't change.
"If I ever find out that you warned someone."
His fingers tapped the syringe.
"If I discover that you tried to cover your tracks."
Tap.
"Or if anyone connected to this investigation suddenly disappears."
Tap.
Billy felt his blood run cold.
Krist met his eyes.
"I will know."
The room became deathly silent.
"And the next time we meet, this conversation will seem pleasant by comparison."
Billy stared at him.
For the first time, he understood something.
Krist wasn't threatening him because he enjoyed it.
He was threatening him because he believed someone had murdered his parents.
And that made him far more dangerous.
Billy lowered his head.
Defeated.
"I'll tell you everything I know."
He now fear Krist more than he fear his father And keeping his father's secrets suddenly didn't seem worth it anymore.