Makes me want to cut that smile right off her.

Lucky for her, there’s no smiling going on tonight. It seems she and that new man of hers, Arthur, are fighting. She’s making rude gestures and he’s leaning forward while shouting. She picks up a vase and throws it on the floor, while he is hurling his papers at her. Wow, I might as well sit this one out because I don’t want to miss this show.

No wonder she picked him as her next guy. He’s a carbon copy of his brother, Phillip. Both annoying assholes. It’s so fucking ironic; men serve as a mirror to her … showing her exactly what she deserves.

And she definitely deserves what I have in store for her.

After what she did to me—putting me in jail for something she did—she deserves no less. She thinks nobody knows her secrets, but I know, and I’ll expose her for the villain she is. Bad deeds never go unpunished—I’ll make sure of that. And if I go down while doing it, so be it. It’s fucking worth it to see her burn.

In fact, I think I’d love to watch both of them burn.

Arthur is just as much of a despicable bastard as she is; she just doesn’t know it yet. One more thing to add to her list of things-she’s-oblivious-to. Or rather … things she refuses to acknowledge. She views the world through a rose-colored lens in order to stay sane, but I’ll break that motherfucker to pieces and force her to witness the destruction she’s caused.

Death isn’t coming for her… it’s already here.

***

VANESSA

Tears roll down my cheeks as I pick up the broken pieces of the vase. It’s such a shame that it has to go. Arthur pushed my buttons so far that I couldn’t control myself anymore. I rarely get like that, but sometimes a girl just has to scream and throw things to make a point. We’ve all been there … and I’m not ashamed. I am sad that it had to come to this, though. I remember I was happy, once, and it wasn’t that long ago. Oh, how things can change in four meager years. I thought Arthur was my knight in shining armor … turns out that was just a stupid dream. I can’t believe he’s become such an ignorant bastard. And worse, he wants to keep tabs on me, more and more. He doesn’t even allow me access to my own money, probably fearing I’ll spend it on something stupid. That’s really like him to think that I wouldn’t know how to handle money. I know how to handle things better than most people, and with things, I mean everything. They just don’t see it, but I do. I know my own capacity, but I disguise it with an aloofness that throws people off.

Too bad Arthur can’t see through it.

“You’re just like your brother,” I say, wiping my cheeks.

“No, don’t you dare compare me to him,” he growls. “I am not my brother.”

“But you act like him,” I say, looking up at him.

“I’m trying to do what’s best for us. For you.”

“You’re controlling me,” I say, frowning. “That’s not good for me. That’s only good for you.”

He grinds his teeth. “I’m trying to make sure things go the way they’re supposed to go. It’s in your best interest. Why can’t you see that?”

It’s not that I can’t. It’s that I won’t because I hate the ‘best interest’ part. I’ve heard it so many times before, and it was never true.

“Stop. Just stop,” I say.

“Sometimes I can’t stand you,” he grunts. “You seriously make me wish I never kissed you in the first place.”

I make a face. “Well, if you think about us that way, why not just end it all now? Save yourself the trouble.”

“Shut up!” he yells. “You have no freaking clue how it’s been for me these past few years.”

“Like I give a shit!” I yell. “I have my own problems to deal with.”

“Fine. I’ll make it easy then. It’s over,” he growls, and then he turns around. “I’m outta here.”

He marches outside, slamming the doors. I try not to pay attention to his raging outbursts, but sometimes he just hurts me so bad that I can’t not respond. I feel like he’s started to hate me … and I don’t know what I did to deserve that. At least, not from him. However, now is not the time to stop him. We both need time to cool off.

But then, after ten minutes, the door creaks again, and I wonder why. “Arthur?” I call out.

No response.

Frowning, I walk toward the door and notice it’s been left open. Outside are red drops scattered across the floor. I lean forward, so I can scour the premise, and that’s when I notice the pool of blood lying on the porch.

My eyes widen and I scream.

Stumbling backward inside the house, I slam the door shut with shaky hands.

That blood, is it Arthur’s? What’s going on? Is he here?

Shit, I knew it.

I immediately reach for my umbrella stand and fish out the rifle hidden behind all the umbrellas. I should’ve prepared more for this day, but I didn’t think it would arrive so soon. I lock and load the rifle, turning around quickly to surprise my attacker.

“Show yourself, you motherfucker,” I scream. “I know it’s you.”

“Hello, Vanessa ….” His voice brings me chills to the bone. “Long time, no see.”

“Get the fuck out of my house!” I yell, turning circles.

The voice is coming from everywhere, and I don’t know where he is. If I move, I’m afraid he’ll catch me.

All I hear is vicious, uncontrollable laughter. “Did you miss me? No need to be angry, I’m here now.”

“What do you want?” I scream.

“Oh … you know exactly what I want.” The grim harshness in his voice makes me tremble. “I told you that I’d come for you. Ready or not, here I come, Princess.”

“No! Stay away!” I scream, turning to the hallway. I could swear his voice came from there.

But there’s nothing to be seen.

Nothing except the filthy boot prints on the wooden floor behind me, leading into the hallway to the right.

I follow the trail into my living room, holding out my gun, ready to shoot if I must.

But then the trail suddenly ends.

My lips part in confusion as I wonder where in the hell the dirt has gone. I can’t find the boots anywhere. And then I realize what’s going on.

Too late.

Something is pulled over my head, pulling me into the dark. A bag.

His hands twist and twist until I choke. The gun drops to the floor. He’s suffocating me, and no matter how much I claw at the bag, it won’t break.

The last thing I hear before I pass out is, “Playtime is over. You can’t hide, Princess. Now you’re mine.”

CHAPTER 6

PHOENIX

Present

Finally, she’s mine for the taking.

I have her in my clutches, and I’m not about to let go, even though she keeps on struggling.

“Still fighting me, aren’t we?” I whisper into her ear. “Don’t worry, I love being rough with girls, and especially you. So keep on fighting, Princess … it only gives me what I want.”

I twist the bag tighter around her neck, causing her to choke on her own breath.

“You don’t want to know how long I’ve been waiting for this moment …” I take a deep breath as loud as I can so she’ll hear me sniff her scent. “Oh¸ I can’t wait to get started.”

I don’t need to see her eyes to know she can hear me through the bag. But she and I both know she isn’t going to escape my grasp. Not this time. Not ever again.

With one hand, I unbuckle my belt, holding onto the bag around her head with the other as I pull the belt through the loops. Then I tie it around her neck until I hear her gurgle. I love that noise, how desperate it sounds. Like she’s clinging on to life. Fuck, so good, so powerful. It gives me a fucking hard-on just to hear her life drain away.

But I won’t let her die so soon. Fuck, no. I caught my prey, and now I want to play with it.

When I grab the belt with both hands, she suddenly starts running forward out of nowhere. I don’t know where she gets the sudden energy but, fuck, I like her tenacity. Too bad for her, she isn’t going anywhere.