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“Oh really,” he asked, smiling and I nodded my head, smiling too. We could play if he wanted to play. He suddenly stopped and squinted a face at both the kids and I. “Wait a minute, if they are living with you, does that mean they know?” My eyes darkened, and I flitted my eyes to Kendal and Ariana.
“Shut.Up,” I seethed and he raised an amused eyebrow.
“I guess they don’t.” He faced Ariana and gently slapped her cheeks. “Sweetheart, you don’t know?” He went to Kendal too. “You also didn’t know?” He stood up and faced me. “How could you keep such a thing from them Alex? That’s bad.”
“Shut up,” I warned again, he raised his hand and made a ‘go’ gesture, which meant he was dismissing my warning. I’d make him pay for that.
“Ariana and Kendal West, are you trying to tell me you don’t know that Aunty Alex here killed your dad?” He revealed and my heart skipped a thousand beats. I gulped and looked at Kendal and Ariana with a heavy heart. What I tried to hide from them for years was finally out.
“Ah I forgot you can’t talk, you should have told me and then I wouldn’t have busted your lips,” Daniel said and even though I now knew that he had hit Kendal because he didn’t reply to him, I was more worried about the secret he just dropped.
I narrowed my eyes at Kendal. He couldn’t talk, but he could feel, so why wasn’t he doing anything? Why was he looking at Ariana’s confused face instead of me? Why was he looking as if we were both trying to hide it from Ariana? Except we were. Did he know?
Ariana's eyes flittered from me to Kendal as if demanding for an explanation. She was seven when it happened, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know she once had a dad.
She knew, she just didn’t know what happened to him and now suddenly hearing that her dad died, and the very person who killed him was the person she loved the most after her brother. Of course she would want an explanation.
Daniel signaled to the goon and my heart raced. What was he planning to do? “Let’s play a little game, kids,” he said this while untying Kendal, as the goon untied Ariana.
The kids winced as the rope fell off their hands and they stood up. I saw Ariana’s legs move and I widened my eyes in alarm, she wanted to run to me. I immediately shook my head at her, ordering her to stay still and she obeyed. While I also wished they would run to me, that would put them in serious danger.
Daniel placed Kendal on the right side, the goon placed Ariana on the left side and he stood between them. “Do you know what this game is called?” He threw the question in the air since he faced no one in particular.
“You better not…” I started, but he cocked his gun and I shut my mouth, biting my lips in anger until I was sure that I tasted blood.
“It’s called ‘One Person Must Die.’ Hold on, I’ll teach you how to play it soon.” He cockily said as if anyone was interested.
He winked at the goon who went closer to Kendal and pressed a gun into his hand. He helped Kendal position the gun to face me, and I stood with fear-hooded eyes as I watched the goon return to Daniel like a puppet. Daniel cracked his gun again and pointed it at Ariana.
“On a count of five, you shoot Alex or I shoot this girl.”
“I am warning you, let the kids go.”
He dismissed me as if I hadn’t spoken and barked at Kendal. “Dumb boy, I said on the count of five, you shoot Alex or I’ll shoot this girl.” I saw Kendal’s hand shake around the gun and I called him.
“Look at me, Kendal, look at me.” He peered at me in tears and I tapped furiously on my chest. “Shoot me.” He widened his eyes, and I nodded. “Shoot me. Remember I told you, nothing comes before Ariana, every other thing comes next, including me, so shoot me.” He shook his head adamantly and I groaned.
Daniel pushed the gun further to Ariana’s head and my body flexed in anger. I wanted to stab something, anything. I just wanted to punch something, maybe Daniel or myself for letting something like this happen to the kids when I already promised to protect them.
“I’m counting now, try me and see. If you don’t shoot her, I’ll shoot your sister. Which one will you pick? Remember, Alex killed your dad, plus she’s not even your blood. Damn it, it shouldn’t be that hard,” he ranted on as his jaw clenched and unclenched in anger.
“One,” he started and I looked at Kendal, nodding at him that it was okay for him to shoot me.
“Two.”
“Kendal, shoot.”
“Three,” Daniel pushed the gun further and Ariana cried out.
“Four.”
“Kendal, please shoot. God damnit, SHOOT.”
“Five.”
Bang. Bang.
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