Page 84 of Final Vendetta

It was an impossible choice.

I once read something about the difference between a hero and a villain. How a hero wasn’t inherently good, and a villain wasn’t inherently evil. Instead, the difference was in the sacrifice each was willing to make. A hero would sacrifice those he loved to save the world. But a villain… A villain would sacrifice everyone else to save those he loved.

Maybe Myers was right.

Maybe Iwasa villain.

I spun on my heels, my sudden motion catching Myers by surprise.

I leveled him with a stare, my mouth curling up in the corners.

“I amnotmy father,” I declared, my voice trembling but resolute.

Then I drove the blade into his stomach.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Gideon

Everything felt suspended in time, each second stretching painfully as I struggled to wrap my head around what just happened.

My vision blurred from the loss of blood, but I forced myself to focus. Myers lay crumpled on the ground, his eyes wide with shock as he futilely tried to stop the bleeding from the deep gash across his abdomen. The pool of blood beneath him widened, the vivid crimson stark against the cold concrete floor.

Imogene stood over him, the blade still clenched in her trembling hand, her gaze fixed on Myers. Her breaths came in short, sharp gasps, her chest heaving as though she couldn’t draw enough air.

As though she couldn’t comprehend what she’d done.

“Imogene,” I choked out, my voice raspy and raw, but I didn’t have time to get to her.

A percussive shot tore through the space, forcing my eyes from hers. I whirled toward the source, the guards charging toward us like a pack of wolves descending on their prey.

I didn’t think. I just moved, the adrenaline surging through me like fire. My muscles burned, protesting every step, but Ididn’t care. I was focused on one thing only — keeping Imogene safe.

“Liam!” I barked, my voice sharp enough to cut through the noise. He jerked his head toward me.

He was wild-eyed, panting, his hands red with blood.

Myblood.

He looked less like a man and more like an animal.

“They’ll kill us all if we don’t work together,” I instructed, each word measured and deliberate. “Do you understand? We have to fight them together.”

I never thought I’d willingly work with Liam again. Not after what he did to me. Not after he stole years of my life and tried to take everything I cared about.

But now, survival trumped revenge.

His eyes darted to the approaching guards, then back to me. For a heartbeat, I feared he’d use this opportunity to let me die, to finish what he started years ago.

Then he gave a sharp nod, his eyes gleaming with a primal determination.

The first guard reached the cage, his gun raised. I surged forward, driving my fist into his jaw, the crack reverberating through my knuckles. He went down hard, and I grabbed his gun.

Behind me, Liam let out a guttural growl as he picked up the knife Imogene had dropped, the blade catching the light as he ran out of the cage, driving it into another guard’s stomach. The man screamed, crumpling to the ground, but Liam didn’t stop. He moved like a rabid beast, his strikes wild and uncoordinated but devastatingly effective, eliminating guard after guard.

I hated that I needed him. Hated that I was relying on the same man who had betrayed me, who had taken everything from me. But in this moment, I couldn’t afford to hate him.

I moved purely on instinct, the muscle memory from years of fighting kicking in. Every breath felt like fire, every step like dragging my limbs through molasses, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

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