She flinched. “You’ve done worse.”
“Ahh, so you have heard about me. I was beginning to wonder when you’d do your research.”
“My dad’s folder told me all I needed to know. Quite the violent little girl, aren’t we?”
I smiled wider. “Yeah. Yeah, I am. And I don’t lie to myself about who I am.”
That was the difference. She played victim in her own twisted story. I stopped pretending I was the good guy a long time ago.
“You think because you’re pretty, and your daddy’s the big bad chief, you’re untouchable? Everything has consequences, Vicky. And you’re about to face yours.”
Vicky’s eyes darted to her phone on the coffee table. I followed her gaze and chuckled darkly.
“Don’t,” I warned. “You won’t make it.”
She lifted her chin. “I didn’t mean to hurt him, okay? I just… I wanted to matter again.”
“You wanted power,” I corrected. “Over him. Over me. And you tried to get it by playing the one card you hoped would wreck both of us. Unfortunately for you, you overestimated how much either of us would care.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
I tilted my head. “No. You were thinking exactly clearly enough to fake a pregnancy, manipulate a man, and talk about buyingfake baby bumps. Did I get it all, or have I missed something? Don’t insult me by pretending this was all a lapse in judgement.”
I took another step, and she backed up further, pressing herself against the wall.
“This doesn’t have to end like this,” she said quietly.
“No,” I agreed. “But it does.”
Her hand shot out for the phone.
I was faster.
I grabbed her by the wrist and slammed it into the wall with a sickening crunch. She screamed, her knees buckling. The phone clattered to the ground as she cradled her hand, sobbing.
“Rachel, please don’t. I have money—”
“No. Yourfatherhas money. And I’m not interested in the money of a fucking pig.”
I shoved her backwards so hard she tripped over the edge of the rug and landed flat on her back, the air whooshing out of her lungs.
I was on her in a blink, straddling her waist.
She found her fight instinct and lashed out at me, her nails scratching down my face, clawing at my cheek. I laughed and pinned her arms, feeling the blood trickle down my skin. I tasted blood and swiped at it with my tongue.
“You really shouldn’t have done that,” I grinned at her, letting her see the blood coating my teeth.
I grabbed her by the hair and slammed the back of her head into the floor. Once. Twice.
She shrieked, blood leaking from her head, painting her blonde hair.
“You wanted to be in my world,” I hissed, pressing my knee hard into her ribs as she wheezed beneath me. “You thought you could wear my crown. But you’re not built for this life, Vicky. You’re just a spoiled little girl playing games you don’t understand.”
She bucked under me, and I let her think she could win for one second—then brought my elbow down hard across her face. Her nose cracked, blood instantly gushing from the wound, pouring onto her neck.
She gurgled, trying to scream again, and that’s when I wrapped both hands around her throat, covering them in her blood.
She fought. Harder than I expected. But it was messy, desperate. Untrained.
