Page 183 of Beautiful Venom
“Because you yearned for something you shouldn’t have looked at in the first place.” Authoritative footsteps echo in the air as Grant walks to the altar and then stands in front of it, his back to the relics.
He looks like a devil fresh out of hell. The tailored suit and groomed appearance don’t hide the pure evil that lurks in that man’s soul.
“You got greedy, Dahlia, and people like you aren’t allowed to be greedy. If you looked up long enough, that neck would be broken.”
I wipe my tears with the back of my hand. “Were you following us?”
“Your day is almost up and you didn’t do what I asked.”
“I’m not going to hurt Kane with my words. He’s already experienced enough pain from you. If you…tell him about my motives, he’ll stop looking for me and even despise me. So you get what you want either way.” I lift my chin despite the breaking sound that reverberates in my chest. “Let me and my sister go, and we’ll move to a different state and stay as far away as possible.”
He tsks, the sound loud in the silence. “That wasn’t the deal. I specifically asked you to be the one who hurts him. If it’s me, that will only make him hate me and end up idolizing you more. He can be stubborn with his feelings. It took me a long time to stop him from seeking his mother like a fucking weakling. But if I have to break him again so he’ll erase you and go back to being normal, so be it.”
“Normal? That’s not normal, that’s a robot!” The urge to strangle this man beats beneath my skin like a need.
A fucking urge.
Maybe I can kill him and rid Kane of his evil. Maybe Kane and his mother can finally reconcile. I suspected it before, but now, I’m sure. Grant is the reason Kane keeps his distance from Helena.
Yes, Kane probably still holds her accountable for what’s happened to him, but he also recognizes just how abusive his father is. He knows that the more he seeks his mom out or spends time with her, the more Grant will punish him, and probably take out his wrath on his wife.
Surely, if I kill Grant, the world will be a better place?
I reach a hand into my tote bag and feel for the scalpel I usually keep for self-defense.
“What I do with my family is none of your concern.” Grant’s gratingly condescending voice echoes in the air.
My fingers latch onto the scalpel case and I open it as I speak. “Have you ever felt sorry for the shit you’ve put him through since he was a kid? Have you ever wondered that maybe you stole his childhood and molded him into a gloomier version of what he could’ve been?”
“Sorry?” He says the word as if it’s an insult. “Why would I feel sorry when Isavedhim? I made him into the perfect man who can rightfully inherit my empire. He had to be a wolf or he would’ve been eaten by one.”
I scoff as I clutch the scalpel’s handle in my shaky hand. “So you tortured him, left permanent scars on his body, and broke his soul forhissake?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s for the empire’s sake. He only exists to fulfill a role. Wealldo. Yours is to stay in your lane.”
“So it’s narcissism. You only brought him into the world so you could use him.” The pain stagnating inside me whirls and transcends the situation I got trapped in.
“He’s a Davenport. That’s his duty.”
“He’s not only a Davenport, he’s just Kane,” I murmur in a low voice he probably can’t hear as I stand up, shoving my hand with the scalpel in my pocket.
I don’t feel my legs, as if I’m floating on air.
My senses sharpen and a red mist covers my eyes.
This man needs to die.
For Vi.
For Kane.
For Helena.
Forme.
My legs carry me with ease.
It’s funny how I got entangled in this entire mess to seek revenge, but right now, I only want to stab him to death.
