Page 132 of When Night Falls

She feels as if I denied her because I didn’t think she was good enough.

"Please don't do this." Cyn looks over at Troy who has given up fighting against my hold but still begs for her mother’s release.

Something flashes in Cyn's eyes and I immediately recognize the look. Fear pummels through me as I realize that she is not herself.

"On second thought…" Lucynda releases Ameliana who drops to her knees and gags on her own blood as air finally blesses her lungs.

But with no time for me to react, Troian is ripped from my arms and held up against the wall by Lucynda who now has her fist plunged into her Troy’s chest, reenacting the same torture technique she just used on Ameliana.

"No!" Both Ameliana and I shout.

"Lucynda,you are crossing the line," I demand, but my wife turns to me with a threatening look that I know I won't be able to survive.

She is stronger than me. Only I know that. But I can't risk making the wrong move and upsetting her desire to avenge me.

The lump in my throat is thick with worry; I lured her here with the idea of revenge only for her to hold loyalty to my own and now, she's gone utterly mad.

"You know how to hurt people the most?" She digs deeper, making Troy squirm in agony, blood spurting from her chest as Cyn grips her heart. "Take something away from them. But Ameliana never really loved you, did she Troy? Because she left you. She took Rivian's mom away from him and then she left you and Travois. Maybe she needs something taken from her to make her open up her eyes to the pain she's caused." Her voice is sinister, infused with tones of delirium. That's when I see her eyes.

Lavender.

"Cyn, baby." I take a small step forward, hands up in surrender. "You don't want to do that."

She gives me a menacing glare, her smile never wavering from the one I’ve grown to love but her eyes hold evil as she threatens my sister’s heart.

Tears run down Troy’s face. Fear grips her in ways she never knew existed. I hate that I let this get so out of hand. My selfishness in revenge and love is what led us here. But this is what I wanted, right? Complete ruin.

Something grim shifts in the air as Lucynda takes one last look at me.

"Actually, I think I do." Her grin creeps devilishly along her face. I hate to admit that she looks fucking devastating against the evil that paints her. But she has my sister's heart in her hands and she does not deserve the wrath of my revenge. But it's too late. Lucynda's words fall wickedly from her lips. "After all, loss is a great motivator. Right, Husband?"

Troy's body falls lifeless as the sounds of tearing and blood-splatter echo in the room. The thud from her body makes my heart stop as my wife holds a beating heart in her hands.

Tendrils and arteries hang intertwined in her fingers as dark red liquid drips on her white, willowy dress.

"You shouldn't have done that, Lucy," Ameliana cries from her chains, gasping on the floor.

The sight is ungodly. How could I have let her go this far?

"On second thought I think-" The heart drops from Lucynda's hand, splattering more blood against the soft chiffon of her dress, realization dawning on her.

She turns slowly, almost just as sinister.

"What did you just call me?" Fear and grave sadness coat Lucynda’s expression, replacing the evil she so willingly succumbed to.

Sobs rack Ameliana. Known to Lucynda asAmy.

"I'm so fucking sorry," she cries. Amy pulls herself up off the floor and tries her best to regain composure, but the damage is done. "I should have never left you or your father. But I had no choice."

"No." Cyn shakes her head, evidence of my sister's blood paints her face in tiny splatters and covers her hands in the thick red liquid. "You're lying." Trepidation colors her face in hues of pale, almost like she's seen a ghost.

She points a bloody finger in her direction. "You're not…"

I take a step forward, careful to be undetected. If I can just get to her, we’ll figure this out.

Confusion floods my wife's face as she looks into Ameliana's eyes now, the resemblance is uncanny. Ameliana has black hair just like Trav, Troy, and likeher. The color of their eyes, however, is the dead giveaway.

While the twins share eyes of the color blue, Lucynda’s and Amy’s are gray.

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