Page 39

Reign

I stand outside of Imperium, half-shielded behind a marble column.

Behind me, Wendy shifts, her heels pressing softly on the stone.

She’s holding her phone up, quietly recording everything, just like I told her to.

She owes Angelique after the shit she pulled.

It was this or get kicked out of Imperium for good.

Angelique wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and pushes herself to her feet. Her back is still to Alec, shoulders trembling, and she doesn’t know we’re here. She doesn’t know I’ve been watching her like a hawk since the second she ran from the ballroom.

My father mentioned Alec’s name a few days ago—some bullshit about a surprise guest. I didn’t think the bastard would show, but the moment I saw him in the crowd after our performance, I knew.

I knew he’d come for her.

I knew I’d finally get the chance to burn him to the fucking ground.

“Beautiful performance tonight,” Alec says, his tone easy. “You dance better than your understudy at Big Apple ever could. So much emotion.”

Angelique turns to face him now, and he takes a step closer while she instinctively takes one back. I can see the fear in how her body trembles before him and it makes me clench my hands into fists, wanting to run out there and beat the shit out of him already.

“I was heartbroken when I heard you left the company,” he goes on. “You had this spark. A true star quality.”

“Stay away from me,” she hisses, voice shaking, but Alec keeps walking forward.

He rips off his mask and tosses it to the gravel, and I see the twisted, hungry expression on his face as he stares at her before lunging forward and grabbing her arm.

“You look fucking sexy in that dress,” he growls, inches from her face. “Reign doesn’t deserve to dance next to what’s mine . ”

His eyes narrow as he stares at her, his teeth bared. “Did you let him fuck you, too?” he spits.

She jerks her arm, trying to get away, but he tightens his grip, and she screams, a panicked sound that makes my whole body go still.

“I never let you fuck me,” she snarls, shaking. “Now let me go!”

He shoves her backward, causing her to fall onto the gravel path with a cry that rips me in two, and time stops, my vision going black at the edges, as I watch him unbuckle his belt and pull his dick out.

“Still trying to tell me what to do,” he seethes. “Looks like you need another lesson in shutting your fucking mouth.”

Another lesson , the words echo in my head .

“Film everything,” I hiss at Wendy, sprinting towards them.

I reach them within seconds, the rage in my chest burning hotter than anything I’ve ever felt. Angelique’s on the ground, trying to crawl backward, her hands shaking too hard to push herself up. Her eyes meet mine for a split second and I swear, she’s never looked more scared.

My fist connects with the side of Alec’s face in a sickening crunch before he even realizes I’m there. He staggers sideways and hits the ground hard, spitting blood. Angelique scrambles to the edge of the path, hands over her mouth, but I don’t stop. I climb over him and start swinging.

“You think you can touch her?”

Crack.

“You think this is a game?”

Crack.

“You should be dead, you fucking coward.”

His nose breaks beneath my knuckles, blood spattering across my arm and tux, but I don’t give a fuck. I want him to feel the way he made her feel; powerless and small. But Angelique’s cries reach me again, somewhere in the fog.

“Reign—Reign, stop, please—” Her voice cracks on the last word, and that’s the only thing that makes me pause.

My hands are shaking, covered in blood, and my chest heaves as I stare down at Alec.

He’s barely conscious, gasping, his face an unrecognizable mess of crimson and bruises.

I grab him by the collar and haul him upright so that he’s facing Wendy as she films him, pressing my forearm into his throat until he gags.

He tries to look away, but I shake him hard.

“No,” I growl. “You don’t get to look away now. ”

Alec’s eyes flutter. He’s dazed, dizzy, somewhere between pain and panic, but not far enough gone.

“You think I’m just going to beat the shit out of you and walk away?” I whisper, low and lethal. “No. You’re going to confess to what you did. You’re going to say it out loud, or I swear to God, I’ll rip your fucking face off.”

His throat works under my arm, and I ease the pressure just enough for him to speak. He coughs, wheezing, blood bubbling at the edge of his mouth.

“I—I don’t know what you want?—”

I slam him back down against the gravel and his head cracks hard against the stone.

“Wrong answer.”

“Reign—” Angelique’s voice breaks behind me. I can hear her fear, feel her pain.

I grit my teeth and lean close to Alec’s ear. “Tell the camera what you did to her, and I’ll make sure your death is quick.”

His lip trembles. “I—I didn’t?—”

I jab my fist into his ribs, hard and sharp, causing him to gasp.

“What did you do to her?” I shout.

I slam my hand down on his chest, hard enough to make his eyes roll. His breath comes out in broken bursts.

“The bitch deserved it,” he spits, voice wet and raspy. “She wanted to act like she was running shit, like she was running me .”

“Keep going,” I snarl, shoving him again. “Say it. All of it . ”

“I took her right there on the studio floor.” Alec laughs, the sound wet and breathy. “I didn’t know she was a fucking virgin, though, but I guess that made it even better. ”

Wendy sucks in a breath. “You raped her?” she asks, voice shaking.

His eyes dart toward Angelique as his mouth twitches into a sick, bloody grin. “She said no, and I didn’t stop. Call it what you want.”

My blood runs cold as rage detonates inside me. Blinding rage. And in a split second, blood smears across his cheekbone, dripping into the gravel, and I hear Wendy gasp, shifting her angle but never stopping the recording.

Good. Let the world see what I do to men who touch what’s mine.

My knuckles are raw now, but I only stop when I feel her hand—small, shaking—on my shoulder.

“Reign,” she whispers, and suddenly I’m breathing again.

The red fades just enough for me to look back at her.

She’s kneeling in the gravel, mascara streaked down her cheeks, hair wild, her dress torn at the shoulder, and her lips are trembling.

I rise off Alec slowly and go to her, my body still tense with fury.

I reach for the arm he grabbed, and when I see the bruises already forming, my throat closes.

“He’ll never hurt you again,” I whisper. “I swear to you.”

Angelique nods, a tear sliding down her cheek as she lifts my raw knuckles up between us, placing a gentle kiss on them, getting blood on her lips.

“What the fuck is going on here?” I hear the familiar sound of my father’s voice behind me.

He storms toward us, eyes wild. His gaze jumps from Alec’s limp body to my split knuckles before finally landing on Angelique and taking in her dishevelled state. He looks back at me, furious.

“Reign,” he says, voice raised. “What did you do? ”

“He deserved everything,” I say, chuckling through my rage. “And more.”

His jaw ticks and he turns toward Angelique, eyes narrowing like he’s trying to piece something together. “What happened?”

“He hurt me,” she whispers. “Again.”

“Again?” He blinks.

“He raped me at the Big Apple Ballet Company,” she says after a pause, finding her voice now. “I told my mother, hoping she’d help, but she pulled me out to protect him, the money his parents donated, and the company.”

My father’s entire face goes still, and so does mine as I look at her.

Her own mother didn’t protect her?

My rage reignites and I vow to myself I’ll find a way to make her mom suffer for not choosing her daughter over a company. Over money. Over a man.

“I’ve spent months trying to pretend it didn’t happen,” she continues, voice shaking. “But it did. And tonight, if it wasn’t for Reign, he was going to rape me again.”

Wendy steps forward, lifting her phone. “I recorded the whole thing.”

Charlie stares at Alec, who’s still wheezing on the ground, blood leaking from his mouth.

“This can’t be real,” he mutters, rubbing his hand down his face. “I invited this man here. I thought you’d be so happy to see him. I didn’t know that he—” his voice cracks.

“No one did,” she says, softly.

My father’s silence stretches before he looks at me. “Get her out of here,” he says, his voice dangerously low. “Take her home. I’ll deal with this.”

I don’t move. “You mean?—?”

Is my father capable of killing ?

“I’m calling the police,” he says, pulling his phone from his jacket. “There will be legal action. This won’t be swept under the rug the way it was at The Big Apple Ballet. Not this time.”

He swipes his phone screen and begins dialling the emergency line.

“Ms. Wu, please stay with me. I’m sure the police will want to see your video recording,” he says to Wendy, before looking at Angelique again, his face twisted with regret and guilt.

“I’m sorry, Angelique. I promised your father the day you were born that I’d protect you like you were my own.

I should have asked if you were okay with me inviting him. ”

“It’s okay,” she says, but her voice breaks on the last word, and we all know it’s not.

I take her hand and lead her to where my car is parked, leaving Alec on the ground with my father and Wendy. But I know this isn’t the last time I’ll be seeing him. Because the next time I see him, I won’t have anyone around to stop me from finishing him.