Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

An unearthly and strangled scream echoed the massive master bedroom of Damien's penthouse in Golden Phoenix residences. Damien woke up in a start, his heart pounding in his chest as he witnessed Katherine thrashing in bed next to him. He immediately gathered her in his arms, stroking her back and trying to wake her up gently. "Baby, wake up… It's just a dream."

She gasped as she came to, her cheeks streaked with tears from her nightmare. Sweat formed on her forehead, and her back was drenched in sweat. She panted as if she just ran a hundred miles, sniffing as she buried her face into his chest.

"It's just a dream…" he mumbled, despite not knowing what she was dreaming about. Katherine had told him she had nightmares from time to time, but she didn't tell him what it was about. Frequently, he'd ask her, but she'd say she didn't remember what it was. It pained him that there was nothing he could do except just being there for her. 

This was the first time—in a while—that she woke up screaming in her sleep. Damien could still remember the nightmares she had back when she lost her memories, and it was horrible for her. This time was just as terrible if not more, and all the times that she did have nightmares, it was all because of Shadow.

He thought that she was getting better, especially because she had an outlet for diverting her attention to tossing criminals into prisons. But it seemed as though she was still having some post-traumatic stress.

Katherine's whole body trembled as she leaned into his embrace. She wasn't crying anymore, but she refused to let go of Damien as though she was afraid that he'd disappear.

"What was that about?" Sliding his hand to the side of her face, he tilted it so she was looking up at him as he asked, "What's hurting you?"

Her mouth quivered, but she stopped it until she pursed her lips into a thin line, shaking her head, and then nuzzled into his neck. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It might help if you do. I hate seeing you like this…"

"It would feel real if I talk. I just don't want to think about it. I want to forget it, Damien. Please make me forget it," she pleaded.

He sighed. Damien didn't want to push it, so he decided to ask her about it later. The nightmare was still fresh, and she's clearly still bothered by it. "Okay." He laid her down in bed and held her until her breathing slowed down. "Do you want water?"

Katherine shook her head, her arms tightening around his waist. "Don't go anywhere."

"I won't. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed her forehead and continued stroking her back until she fell asleep.

It was four in the morning of the 28th of January. Damien had a busy day ahead, but he made a mental note to call Evangeline Reed, his former therapist, first thing later. Eve might not be an NIA therapist, but she certainly was an effective one. He just hoped that he could convince Katherine to see her.

…

Later that morning, Katherine went about her usual Monday, where she'd give Damien a hand in Crown Resort Group, making some calls in her old office desk and setting up his weekly meetings. She planned to go back to work in Young Corporation soon, so this week might be her last week in CRG.

She entered his office just as he finished a phone call and handed him a card. "I already confirmed your attendance at the high school reunion."

"Thank you." He smiled as he pulled her to his lap and circled his arms around her. "Are you feeling better?"

Katherine smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes, and nodded. His question just reminded her of the nightmare that caused her a gut-wrenching scream. She hated that she had no control over it. The other nights when she had a nightmare, at least she didn't wake up screaming. 

However, last night was different. It was as if her nightmare had gone worse. It was pretty much the same with all the running, but the ending was different. This time, Parker didn't push her into oblivion. This time, Parker let her watch as he killed her loved ones one by one while she was shackled and couldn't move—her grandfather, her friends, Damien—and that's when she woke up. The last thing she saw was the evil Parker slicing the throat of the man she loved more than her life.

She leaned in to kiss him on the lips, wanting to erase the horrifying image that flashed in her mind just now. Katherine couldn't imagine if something happened to Damien. It was still bearable when she only saw herself getting harmed in her nightmare. She could still take it. But the moment she saw the lifeless bodies of the people she loved, it broke her.

Getting up from his lap, she turned away from him. "I have to go."

"Now? Your session isn't until a couple of hours later," Damien wondered.

"I need to take a walk. My headache is killing me because of my sleep." Katherine picked up her purse from the sofa and walked back to kiss his cheek.

"I can go with you."

"You have a meeting in twenty minutes, Damien. It's okay. Don't worry about me."

She started to walk away, but he caught her wrist and tugged her to him, worry lacing his eyes as he swept her hair away from her face. "Call me. Okay? And there's something we need to talk about when you come back." When she nodded, he kissed her on the lips and added, "Be safe, Kitten."

…

Initially, Katherine planned to hunt a Skip that day. She had accepted the information handed to her by one of her contacts. However, because of her nightmare, she decided to work on something she'd been searching for the last month. 

Whipping out a key from her jeans pocket, she looked at it as it sat on her palm. It was about two inches in length and it looked old with three circles on the head and a few prongs on the other end. She clutched it tightly in her hand. She believed that Chris gave it to her before he passed. Styles helped her search what the key was for, but to her dismay, even he couldn't figure it out. 

Putting the key back into her pocket, she took her motorbike and drove it towards an old locksmith's address. Katherine was just doing this blindly, but after doing the more 'advanced' method of searching, a.k.a Styles, and still failing, she thought it would be best to start with the basics. Who else would know about keys but a locksmith, right?

As she reached the residence of the locksmith, she grew nervous, not knowing what she'd find. And like expected already the older man took a closer look at the key and told her it was for an old lock. He couldn't be any more obvious than that—she wanted to roll her eyes, but she stopped herself because that would be disrespectful to the older man.

"I wish I could be of help. But this could be the key to any old locks," he said.

"I understand. It's just… I've been trying to find out what this lock is for that my friend left me with. It's frustrating not knowing the answer." Katherine sighed as she stared at the key on her palm. "Just what is it that he's keeping inside?"

"Maybe you're looking in the wrong places. Have you gone to your friend's place? Or perhaps...he's not keeping something inside with this key. Maybe your friend gave it to you to free what he's locked for safekeeping?"

She blinked. Maybe this older man was reading too much into this key.

Katherine left the locksmith's place feeling defeated. That was a bust but she wouldn't give up. She'd definitely find the lock to this key wherever it may be. She did think of going to Chris's apartment, but it was in another state. Perhaps she could ask Damien—if only he'd allow her, knowing that Chris himself hadn't been to his house ever since he was on the run because of Shadow agents who were looking for him.

But Shadow was over. It should be safe, right?

She rode back towards CRG. It was cold, and she realized it would have been better to drive a car than her bike. A few minutes into the ride, her right hand suddenly lost power. 

'Oh, no. The tremors.'

Katherine tried so hard to grip the gas bar securely, but the wheel still waggled. On top of that, the road was slightly wet. Instinctively, she clutched the brakes and pulled the motorcycle to the side of the road. Thankfully, she managed to park without getting into an accident.

She checked her right hand which was still trembling. It had never happened before while she was driving. "Damn it."

Her phone rang, and she sighed when she saw it was him. After contemplating for a few seconds, she mustered the courage to answer the call and surrendered, "Damien… Would you pick me up? Please..."