Page 31

I reminded myself of my vow to trust her more and stepped aside, providing the three of them access to the door I was standing in front of.

“He’s drugged, but the effects are wearing off quickly. He’s restrained. He should pose no threat to any of you, but my men and the three of us will be close by, just in case.”

“As long as nobody gets in our way,” Cali said, her hand already on the doorknob.

The sisters walked into the room, and we followed, closely trailed by our men, who quickly surrounded Ozias.

The women stood staring for a moment, taking in the sight of him.

He lay on the surgical table, his arms and legs completely restrained by thick leather straps, his head entirely covered with a black hood.

“It’s really him,” Cali whispered, as if she couldn’t believe the day for her vengeance had arrived.

She deserved every second of this moment .

“It is,” I confirmed.

He inhaled heavy breaths, still drugged and docile.

We all drew closer, surrounding the table as we stared down at him. I watched Cali, looking for any signs of distress. I was ready to have her ushered from the room in an instant if I saw any indication that this was harming her.

She momentarily looked at my gun holstered at my hip, and I feared she might reach for it, intent on shooting the bastard.

But she didn’t. She took a deep breath, gazing back at him.

Avra reached forward and lifted the hood from Xenos’s head. He woke slowly, and once his lids opened, he registered the group of us surrounding him.

Instantly, he began struggling against his restraints, quickly learning that it was no use. He slumped back on the table, his eyes wild. Avra pulled the gag from his mouth, and a string of slurs fell from his mouth.

“You fucking bitches! I demand you let me go this instant!”

The women peered down at him, and he began to fight his restraints again.

“Who do you think you are? This is a fucking crime! I’m Ozias Xenos!”

“And we’re the Vitalis sisters, if you need reminding,” Laya said, her words steely and strong.

“This is against protocol! I’m a syndicate head! Do you know what will happen to you? What will the other families do to you once they learn of this? ”

Laya brought her face closer to his, shaking her head.

“Do you think we give a fuck, you disgusting bastard?” she seethed.

“You’ll be destroyed.” He glared up at them. I’d never seen an angrier man in my life. Xenos’s swollen face was red, and a huge vein on his temple throbbed with blood as sweat poured down his face. His mouth twisted into an ugly sneer, making him look like some monster from a movie.

He shifted his focus to Avra and the man behind her, then as recognition clicked, fury reddened his face.

“Traitor! I’m ashamed you carry my blood, Elias!” He threw his words like daggers through the air, the only weapon he had at his disposal. Unfortunately, none of us were fazed as each word landed with the weight of a feather, rendering him completely useless.

“Nobody is more ashamed of the blood in my veins than I am, I assure you,” Elias replied.

“You have disgraced the Xenos family! You are no Xenos,” Ozias cried.

“You’re right.” Elias smirked. “I’m a Vitalis now. I’ve even changed my name. I’m still tainted with your dirty blood, yes, but I want absolutely nothing to do with you or your fucked-up legacy, Ozias.”

“Let me go! Now!” he shouted, thrashing his body around the table in a frantic attempt to escape.

It was pointless, but it was entertaining to watch him struggle.

It excited me to know he was suffering, realizing the first touches of fear were finally reaching his heart.

Soon, the terrifying awareness of his impending death would completely envelop that black heart, and I felt a deep satisfaction at the thought of watching life slip away from this evil man.

“We’re never letting you go,” Calista whispered from beside me. He fell silent, his gaze landing on her.

I stiffened, ready to strike him silent at any moment.

“You!” he spat. “You fucking dirty whore! For weeks, you were used by my men. Did you enjoy it? I heard you did. I heard you spread your legs like a fucking wanton slut, begging for more. Did you not get enough? Are you back for more, slut?”

I observed her face intently for any hint of pain, yet all I detected was triumph and resilience. She looked down at him, combining pity with rage, seeming entirely unaffected by his words.

He didn’t notice, eager to spout the most disgusting shit before he died.

“Your pussy is used up and damaged now, isn’t it?

” he growled. “You know I did that, right? I made that happen. And when my men came to me and told me that they’d completed their job, I sent them back in to start on you all over again.

You might as well become a whore now, because nobody will ever want to touch you again! ”

The fury that rose in my veins pulsed with urgency.

It took every ounce of strength I had in that moment to stay put, to not eliminate his disgusting soul once and for all.

As far as I was concerned, a man like that had no reason to remain alive.

The thought of killing this man pleased me like no other person I’d killed.

The satisfaction that it was going to give me would be unsurpassed.

At my sides, my fists clenched with anticipation.

“You can say whatever you want, Xenos. Get it all out,” Cali hissed. “The man behind me is Leon Boscos, my fiancé. I’ve asked him to give me your beating heart as a wedding present.”

She bent her head, staring straight down at him, and whispered, “He’s about to deliver.”

His eyes widened, and he began thrashing again.

“Fuck you! Fuck all of you! You’re nothing but trash, and I will have each and every one of you violently destroyed!”

“You don’t look like you’re in any position to do that now, do you, Father?” Elias remarked, his voice calm and strong.

I was immensely impressed with everyone in the room. No matter what vile shit this asshole pumped out, we were all cool, calm, and collected.

“You won’t get away with this!” Ozias claimed.

“No, Ozias,” Cali said. “Don’t you understand?

All the shit you did. All the violence you orchestrated.

All the betrayals, the pain, the suffering.

You were heartless, and now, everything is catching up with you.

You can’t escape responsibility anymore.

It’s time to face the consequences of your evil actions. ”

“Fuck you, you ugly whore!” Xenos spat.

“Enough!” I shouted, stepping forward with clenched fists, my heart pounding with a primal urge to protect.

But before I could close the distance, Cali’s hand shot out, her fingers firm against my chest, holding me back. My muscles tensed with the overwhelming desire to silence him.

The thought of shooting him, slicing through his skin, squeezing the air from his lungs, pummeling him until not a drop of blood remained, anything to stop his vile words from reaching my soon-to-be wife, boiled inside me.

Yet, the sisters still stood unfazed, their expressions calm and unaffected by his insults. I shook my head.

“You’re pathetic,” I said, my voice dripping with disdain.

“Your fate is in our hands now,” Cali declared with a fierce intensity.

“Your words have no effect on us. Look at us! Do we look frightened? We are elated!” She paused as if taking in her triumph and savoring the anticipation.

“Finally, I’ll get to witness you suffering the consequences of turning me into everything you accuse me of being. ”

She took a step closer, her gaze never wavering.

“You may think you damaged me, Xenos, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, all that damage you think you caused only served to make me stronger. It fueled my rage.”

The glare of the single overhead lamp turned Cali’s pupils into glowing emerald fire. Her jaw was set, knuckles whitening as she leaned over Xenos’s strapped form.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment since the day they took me,” she said, voice low and controlled, each word clipped like a blade.

“I summoned it, knew without a fucking doubt it would come. And Xenos, it’s far more beautiful than I ever dared imagine.

My heart is soaring at the thought that you’re about to draw your last breath. ”

No tears wetted her cheeks. No tremor shook her limbs. Her tone was precise, her fingers unmoving, her delight shining hotter than any flame.

Across the table, Xenos shook beneath the leather straps, sweat slicking his temples as fresh terror twisted through his body.

“You lose, Xenos. The Vitalis sisters are here to stay.” With deliberate care, Cali forced the blood-rough gag back into his mouth.

Behind her, Avra and Laya stood in a silent semicircle. Their faces showed faint smiles of satisfaction, and all the doubts I had about vengeance melted away in that moment. This felt right.

I stepped forward and cleared my throat. “Let’s get on with this.”

My nod was decisive. Avra turned and offered me a grateful glance.

“Thank you, Leon,” Elias said.

I lifted my gaze to Avra’s. “Do you want to stay for this part?”

“No.” Avra shook her head.

Laya wrapped her arm around Nikolas’s. “We’re leaving too.”

I glanced at Calista, who had her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

“I’m staying,” she replied.

I expected nothing less from her.

At the doorway, Avra paused. “Leon?”

I replied, “Yes? ”

“Make it hurt.”

With that, the sisters and their husbands filed out, boots echoing down the corridor, leaving only Cali and me amid the faint smell of antiseptic and something darker—fear, or perhaps the promise of blood.

Cali drifted to a steel chair in the corner and sat, her attention fixated on the bound man’s chest rising and falling in spasms.

Xenos moaned, his voice thick with panic. I wondered what cyclone of dread tore through his mind, knowing the scalpel would soon carve into his flesh. I hoped he felt every second of it.

The scalpel lay among clamps and probes on the instrument tray beside the table, its blade gleaming. I picked it up, turned it toward the lamp, and watched the tip catch the light like a shard of ice.

I leaned in, letting the cold steel press against Xenos’s sternum. His chest quivered at the touch.

As I readied to make the first slice with the blade, I stopped and asked, “Darling, would you like to make the first cut?”

Joy erupted in her gaze, bright and feral. She bolted forward, her breath as quick as a child racing for ice cream, and snatched the scalpel from my hand. With a wild cry, she sliced deep into Xenos’s heaving chest.