Page 327 of Hateful Games

His admission penetrates past the fright.

No. No. No.

“Shame she never made it.” His creepy grin expands at my expression. “You missed your chance to say goodbye. Or perhaps after tonight, you might just meet her. I always hated she slipped all those years ago but I had my fun with the boy before he ran.”

Turning around to face the front, he whistles a random tune.

Oh my god.

Bile rises in my throat and I feel dizzy. Silent tears fall as I digest the heights of their barbarity. They killed Nova’s mom. It was true they were behind Nova’s kidnapping, actually intended for his mom. Orchestrated the accident.

Everything is my fault.

I never should’ve kept my mouth shut.

How many more innocent lives will they hurt before they stop? If these are the last hours of my life, then I’m going to make sure they die with me.

It all ends tonight.

Once and for all.

I jerk against my seat when the car comes to a halt outside the tall gates of our property. The guard allows us inside. The moment the driver parks, Uncle shoots him point-blank in the head.

“Ahh!” I scream when blood splatters on my face. I’m shaking when the door to my side is ripped open and a fist curls in my hair. He pulls so hard that I fall to my knees on the gravel. Heartless and cruel, he drags me to the short set of stairs until I’m scratched raw and bleeding. “Stop.”

Wrenching me upright while I drown in unimaginable pain, he shoves me past the threshold. I fall to the floor, right at my father’s waiting feet.

“Why do you never learn, Rosalie?” he spits out. “Stand up!”

When I take too long, Uncle once again take holds of my hair and jerks. I won’t be surprised if he pulled out a chunk of my locks.

My face whips to the side as a sting registers when Dad backhands me. A dull ringing remains in my ear when I meet his irate features. His violence doesn’t surprise me. He’s made me numb to it all. I’m nothing but a means to an end for this man.

“You bloody spilled to him, didn’t you?” he demands, eyes furious.

“What?”

“Don’t act coy, you spoiled cunt. I’ve lost all the files.” He paces back and forth. “There’s nothing. Years of patience and you’ve thrown water all over it.”

I smile.

He stills as a statue upon noticing it.

I don’t even tell him that Nova found the drive all on his own. Dad’s old-fashioned ways finally cost him his mighty revenge. Tomorrow, he’ll be nothing but a joke after his wife’s affair becomes public. Maybe it’s for the best. Jasmine and Mom deserve to be free of his shadows and dictatorship. Danish and Nova might be corrupted and flawed but they protect their own.

Whether I live or die, there’s no undoing my father’s downfall.

The thought makes me smile brighter.

It’s my uncle who slaps me, splitting my lip. The coppery taste filling my mouth.

“Take her upstairs to my study,” orders my dad. “Then go get rid of the body outside. I’m going to deal with her.”

“You heard your father.” Uncle shoves my shoulder. “Move.”

I quietly climb the staircase while he follows. Just when we reach the room, he slams me into the wall and squeezes my throat painfully. I slap at his hand, but my strength is no match for his. He dodges my knee aiming to kick him in the balls.

“No,” I yell, terrified when he spreads my legs and slips his hand underneath my skirt. “Let go! I’ll kill you!”

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