"A piece of wood?" Laurent let out a short chuckle that held not a trace of humor.
"You locked all their souls, every single one, inside that stick? My God, you've created a real prison," the vampire said with heavy irony, rolling his eyes again.
The women around him froze.
One of them gave a quiet sob and tried to crawl backward across the sofa. Laurent didn't even glance at her. All his attention was fixed on Ethan.
Ethan stopped three meters from the armchair. He looked down at Laurent, and there was no mercy in his eyes.
"You know everything," Ethan said quietly.
"What did you do to Maria? And the trial, it was all fake, wasn't it? Just a stupid performance to trick me!"
Laurent leaned back deeper into the armchair. A strange mixture of admiration slowly spread across his face.
"You don't even realize how right you are!" Laurent exclaimed.
"You're holding in your hands something that Michael and Anna would kill you for. You've sunk very low, very bad boy," Laurent took a sip of wine.
He shifted his gaze to Flash, then back to Ethan.
"And now you've come for me… so I can tell you everything before I die?"
Laurent smiled weakly, though the smile came out crooked and painful.
"Well then… have a seat. The conversation will be quick…"
Flash remained standing by the door, pistol aimed at Laurent. Ethan didn't move, gripping the stake tightly.
"I'm not going to tell you the whole story from the very beginning. We don't have much time, and you, by the look of it, have even less," Laurent pointed a finger at Ethan.
"So listen carefully and keep it short."
Laurent leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes gleamed.
"Maria was never the innocent girl you imagined her to be. She was playing both sides from the very start."
"She was interested in vampire affairs long before she met Gérard."
"And then… she met me," he smirked, gesturing at himself with both hands.
"She came to me and asked me to stage her death. It had to be convincing, with blood and witnesses."
"She said she wanted to die for everyone so she could quietly go to Gérard and continue her study of eternal life."
"She was obsessed with eternal life. Not just vampire immortality, she wanted the real thing, absolute, without weaknesses."
Laurent spread his hands.
"I don't know anything more than that, honestly. Whatever happened next between her and Gérard is their secret."
"Only the two of them can tell you the full story. I only helped her disappear."
"For a good price, of course," he took another sip of the red wine.
He fell silent, watching Ethan with strange curiosity, as if studying a rare insect.
"Now do you understand? You're not the boyfriend avenging an innocent girl."
"She deliberately left you. She wanted you out of her life. The trial, the whole story about Maria's murder… yes, it was all a performance."
"A beautiful, well-staged performance."
Laurent leaned back into the armchair again and picked up his glass. His hands had almost stopped shaking.
"Damn, he doesn't know anything. The only way to learn the truth is from Gérard or Maria. How the hell do we pull that off?" Flash thought, circling behind Ethan.
Laurent took another sip of wine, as if gathering his thoughts, and continued in an almost casual tone:
"And you know what the funniest part is? Michael himself suggested getting rid of Maria. Said she had become too dangerous, knew too much, and had gotten too close to their secrets."
"He even set a price on her head."
Laurent smirked at the corner of his mouth.
"And then suddenly… the girl decided to switch to the vampires' side herself, of her own free will."
Ethan froze.
"What did you just say?" His voice came out rough.
"She decided to help the Corvins and Gérard. And where do you think Anna came from? I don't think she found you by accident. She's a relative of the first Corvin, didn't that ever seem strange to you?" Laurent continued calmly, looking Ethan straight in the eyes.
"She helped you. Now use that tiny, stupid brain of yours and think, why did she help you?!"
"She used you to secure the position of the new mayor, unfortunately…"
"And Maria wanted to use her own body as a vessel. To create a new being inside it."
"A combination of human blood and… something much older. She was ready to sacrifice herself for it gladly," Laurent cried out with delight, taking another sip.
The room became very quiet. Even the music seemed to have grown softer.
Ethan stood motionless. His fingers clenched into fists. Something inside him began to slowly boil.
"You're lying," he said quietly.
"Me? Lie?" Laurent raised an eyebrow.
"Why would I lie now, boy?"
"She came to me herself before the fake death. She said she had finally found her true purpose."
Ethan took a step forward. Rage flared in his eyes.
"Shut up!"
But Laurent continued, and now his voice carried an almost sadistic pleasure:
"She was smiling when she lay down on that table. Even when Gérard inserted the needle. She was happy, Ethan."
"Truly happy!"
In Ethan's head flashed the image from the recent vision, Maria on the metal table, pregnant, with a blissful smile on her face. She was looking straight at him and smiling.
That smile now burned him from the inside.
"Shut up!" Ethan roared.
Something inside him snapped.
He lunged forward. The black stake swung in a heavy arc and crashed into Laurent's face. The blow was brutal. The vampire's head snapped back violently, and black blood sprayed from his split lip.