Page 109 of Petals and Fangs

Alfred’s body convulses beneath me, his strength fading. His eyes lock onto mine, filled with pain and fear.

“What a typical day for a CEO,” I lay back against the wall, heavily breathing and trying to regain my strength. My eyes spot a rusty axe in the corner of the room. I need to finish this once and for all.

I place the three lifeless corpses of Perry, Nick, and Alfred next to each other. There are no signs of life on their faces, but I need to do this the right way to keep them from rising again.

“Till betrayal do us part,” I murmur to myself as I bring the axe down and decapitate them.

“You shall not get a proper burial. And that is what you get for betraying a real Rothschild,” I say again as I silently move between the bodies, staring at them for one last time.

I burst out of the morgue, the freezing air hitting me like a wall. My breaths come in uneven gasps, my body trembling from the exertion and adrenaline. I scan the area frantically, searching for Lily.

“Ethan!” her voice cuts through the breeze, filled with relief and urgency.

I turn and see her standing a few yards away, eyes wide with worry. I kneel towards her, my legs barely holding me up.

“Lily,” I gasp, collapsing into her arms.

“You’re here. Oh my God, Ethan.”

“Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Is it over?”

“Of course, it is, Lily. They should not have messed with a Rothschild.”

“I still can’t believe anything of this has happened.”

“I am terribly sorry for everything you went through on my behalf, my love. I need to burn the place down. I will burn it down tonight. I will have-”

“Yes?” she says.

“Well, I don’t have anyone to do that for me now, Lily. I am afraid I must do it myself.”

“I will always be here with you,” she smiles at me and wraps her arms around my neck, tiptoeing to reach up for a kiss.

I nod, leaning on her for support as we make our way to the car. Every step is a struggle, my body aching from the fight with the three of them. But I got this. I saved it all.

As we reach the car, I collapse into my seat. There is mud all over me and the stains are going to be hard to remove, but I need to drive far away from this damned place and get Lily out of here.

“We need to get you to a hospital,” she says, her voice trembling.

“No. We can’t. Too many questions. I have a trial to take care of.”

“Ethan, you’re hurt. You need help,” Lily looks at me, worry etched on her face.

“I’ll be okay. Right now, I have my dream woman by my side, and I need to save my company.”

She nods, determination replacing the fear in her eyes. She tries to hide her smile and looks out the window.

“The courtroom awaits me. I need to fix all damage created,” I say, and urge her to drive.

As she drives, the city lights blur past us. I lean forward, forcing my eyes open for a moment. The events of the day play over in my mind, the betrayal, the fight, and finally, the relief of escaping.

“Ethan, we’ll get through this. Together,” Lily’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

I smile at her, then it suddenly hits me that Perry is gone. I have no representative. No lawyer. No nothing. Just stacks of papers and common sense, with a drained skill of reading minds.

“Stay here in the car. It won’t take me thirty minutes.”

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