Page 16 of Trapping His Darling

I didn’t care.

Suddenly, Alexie pushed me out of the way.

The gunshot made me flinch.

Her body crumpled.

*thump*

I watched the smoke drift to the ceiling. My heart fractured. I couldn’t even look at her body. I was so ashamed.

“What a fucking disgrace,” my father spat at me.

Murmuring took over, and the men shuffled uncomfortably on their feet.

“Alexie is the heir. He doesn’t hesitate,” Father announced jovially, patting Alexie on his shoulder. “Dependable.”

Anger burst in my chest. I ripped off my mask and glared at the two of them.

“Fix your face, boy,” my father growled. “If you want to be with the cunt so badly, then with her you will stay.”

I didn’t say ‘fuck you’, but Father must have read it in my eyes, because he clocked me.

I fell on top of my mother, nearly unconscious.

“Take them both to the freezer.”

I felt one man grab me under my arms and drag me off. Darkness filled my vision. I closed my eyes and fell into oblivion.

???

I groanedin agony as my body hit the frigid floor, pain radiating through every fiber of my being. My mind spun, disoriented and overwhelmed.

When I pried my eyes open, I caught the cruel glint in my father’s gaze as he issued his heartless command. “Lower the temperature.”

He turned away from me, striding out of the freezer, and the heavy door slammed shut behind him, plunging me into an inky abyss.

Yet, amidst the darkness, her eyes remained illuminated, fixed on me with what I believed was an enduring love. For hours, I shivered uncontrollably, my body battling the bitter cold.

Curled up on the frigid floor, I prepared to succumb to the icy embrace of death.

“I’m here with you, my son,”she crooned, her eyes piercing through me. “Wake up.”

Her voice grew louder, demanding my attention.

“WAKE UP!”

I jolted upright, drenched in sweat, frantically scanning the inky void around me, trying to dispel the numbing chill seeping into my bones. My hand sought my mother’s lifeless form, a chilling reminder of her death, even as her whispered words echoed in my ears.

“Avenge me,”I heard her ghostly whisper swirl around me.“Live to avenge me, by taking your brother’s place as the head of this family.”

It became my mantra, my source of strength.

“Avenge us,”her quiet encouragement urged me.“Live to make them pay for their sins. Usurp this wretched dynasty.”

With each whispered command, I grew stronger, my resolve solidifying.

“Grow strong, so they never underestimate you again.”

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