Page 155 of Can You Take It?

I glare at him, my hands trembling with barely restrained rage. “You think this is about changing the past? This is about making sure you pay for what you’ve done. For Mom. For Isla. For every other life you’ve ruined.”

He laughs, a dark, mocking sound that makes my skin crawl. “You’re delusional if you think this ends well for you. Your lover boy, Richard, he’s going to find out eventually. And when he does, you’ll be right back in a cage.”

“Better a cage than letting you walk free,” I hiss, stepping closer until I’m looming over him. “You deserve every bit of hell that’s coming your way.”

He looks me up and down as if he’s trying to size me up, like I'm still that scared little girl he used to mess with. “Always had that fire in you, huh? Too bad you never learned when to shut the fuck up and stay out of trouble. You’re in over your head, baby girl.”

“You have no fucking clue what I’m capable of,” I growl as I step into his space. His smirk is back, but there’s something darker in his eyes now.

“Oh, I know exactly what you’re capable of,” he says. “Drugging your own mother just to get out of the basement? Bold. Stupid as hell, but bold.”

“And it worked, didn’t it?” I bite out. “She’s out of your reach now. I got her out. I won.”

Victor’s eyes narrow, and his smirk fades into something harder. He shifts in his seat, the chains rattling softly with the movement. For the first time, he looks almost somber. “Contrary to what you believe,” he says quietly, his tone startlingly devoid of mockery, “I never wanted Ava in that basement forever.”

A laugh bursts from my lips. It’s not a joyful sound—it’s raw, bitter, and tinged with something dangerously close to hysteria. I press a hand to my mouth, trying to stop the laugh from turning into something worse.

“Younever wanted her in that basement forever?” I repeat as I lower my hand. My laugh bubbles up again, and I take a shaky step back. “You never wanted her there forever? Oh, that’s rich, Victor. That’s really fucking rich.”

He doesn’t respond right away, he’s probably waiting for me to burn myself out.

“Believe it or not,” he sighs, “I just needed a push.” He tilts his head, his smirk returning. “You think I didn’t notice the moment Ava went unconscious? The second you opened your eyes, I knew you’d done something to her. I wasn’t sure if whatever you gave her would kill her, but—”

“I would never—”

“Well, it sure didn’t look like ‘never’ to me.” His voice sharpens, slicing right through me. “But your love for that agent made me wonder. Made me believe you’d go to any lengths to save him. Even if it meant doing something unthinkable. That threat alone was enough to make me let her go.”

“Stop.”

“That’s the funny part, isn’t it?” He’s grinning now, and it’s cruel and self-satisfied. “You didn’t even have to say it. I knew you’d go as far as you needed to. I knew you’d—”

“Stop!” I scream, the word ripping out of me like it might tear me apart.

He doesn’t stop. “What? Go too far? Poison her? Sacrifice her to save him?”

“No, no, no, no!” My hands fly to my ears. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to sit there and play the good guy now. You don’t get to pretend like you were going to let her go, like you didn’t chain her down there for years while feeding us your bullshit promises. You’re trying to rewrite history, but it’s not going to work. I won. Do you hear me? I fuckingwon. She’s out, and she’s out because of me.”

My hands are shaking now, and I clench them into fists. “You’ve taken everything from me—my childhood, my trust, my fucking sanity—but you don’t get to take this. You don’t get to twist this into some story where you’re the hero.”

“You’re right,” he says, ignoring me completely. “You did win. You got her out. But what did you really win, Izel? Do you even know what you’re up against now? What you’ve set loose?”

Deep down, in the darkest corners of my mind where I bury every fear I’m not ready to face, I know he’s right. I know exactly what I’ve set loose. No matter how much I fight it, no matter how much I tell myself I’ve won, there’s a part of me that knows I’m going to lose Richard.

Victor doesn’t even have to say it.

“You think I don’t see what’s coming?” I spit out. “Richard is too good for this. Too good for me. He’ll protect me, even if it kills him. Even if it means letting a bastard like you walk free.” I take a step closer, my glare burning into him. “But I’m not like him, Victor. I’m a vile human being—you made sure of that. Andthat’s exactly why I won’t let you walk. You deserve to rot in hell, and I’ll make damn sure you do.”

“You?” he drawls, leaning back against his seat. “You’re going to kill me?” He chuckles like the idea alone is a joke. “Oh, I’d love to see you try. Go on then, little girl. Prove you’ve got the guts Prove that you’re not weak. Prove that you’re not just like all those other girls I had fun with. They screamed, they begged, but in the end, they all broke. Just like you will.”

“You think their pain makes you powerful? You’re just a fucking coward who hides behind chains and cages because you can’t stand the idea of someone fighting back.”

“Oh, I love it when they fight back. The struggle... the desperation in their eyes right before they break. It’s beautiful, Izel. You’ll see, once you’re on your knees, begging for it to stop.”

I grab the chair in front of me and hurl it to the side. “You’re going to die tonight, one way or another. And I’m going to make sure you know what it feels like to be powerless.”

“Come on then,” he sneers, leaning forward, his cuffs rattling against the table as he moves. “Do it. You’ve got the gun. Shoot me. Or maybe you’re too scared. Maybe you’re just another weak, broken girl, playing at being tough.”

My hand trembles as I pull out the gun. His smirk fades, his eyes flicking to the barrel aimed at him. For a second, there’s silence, but then he laughs again, softer this time. “You won’t do it. You’re not like me.”

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