Page 19 of Sardonic Burn

I see it.

I spend every weekend with my cousins, trying to help them heal from a wound that is too deep for their young hearts. I tuck them into bed and then hear them cry themselves to sleep.

How could someone ever betray their family like this?

How does Nikolas not feel any guilt?

How can he happily engage in a relationship with the man who was constantly sending people to kill his sister?

With a sigh, I lock the door and grab the whiskey bottle. In an hour, it’s all gone. I’m drunk, I’m angry, and I don’t know how to proceed. Knowing father, he will find out about Niko’s indecency and have him punished.

But that’s not enough.

Nikolas and I share one thing: an immense need for vengeance.

And his loyalty seems to be with Franco De Santis. If he turns his back on me, I’ll have to go to the extreme and get rid of him completely. It will kill Mother, devastate Father, and ruin Jane.

Where does that leave me?

It’s always Noelle who has to make the tough choices. It’s always me that has to deal with the consequences, even if the actions aren’t my own.

And that’s not my biggest issue.

If Father and the De Santis head unite, even for a short while, it gives Nikolas an opportunity to go through with whatever plan he and Franco had. I can’t allow that to happen, and I will not be sitting in the back idly. I won’t allow him to ruin what our ancestors spent their lifetimes building.

So if I have to kill him, I’ll do just that.

“I can’t believe you actually managed to get it done,” my father grumbles under his breath. “You’re oddly persistent.”

I finish wiping the blood off my face and turn to look at him with a satisfied grin on my face. I throw the dirty towel across the room, and he catches it with ease. He notices the freshly wiped blood and grimaces, allowing the towel to drop to the floor.

“I’m your daughter. Did you think I’d fail?”

“Honestly? I prayed you would.”

Yesterday, I received a call from my father. There was another hit, and he instructed me to do it. There were plenty of available men from our family, but he was adamant that it should be me.

He told me he wanted the person killed in an hour, max.

It sounded too damn fishy. I poked around and bribed a few of the people working in his manor only to find out that he’d set up a meeting with the De Santis head tonight. At the exact time I was supposed to come back from the little mission.

Instead, I got it over within half time he instructed me and returned before he got the chance to leave without me. Now, he has no choice but to take me with him.

“That’s too bad.” I give him a tight smile. “I’m coming with you.”

He scrunches his nose. “Take a shower first. You reek of blood.”

“Really?” I sniff my arms, though I can’t smell a damn thing. “It’s good. Let me go like this.”

“You have issues.”

“Got them from you.”

I turn to look in the mirror, and, aside from the bloody stench, I look fine. Tight ponytail, leather jacket, and a pair of tight leggings. It’s the perfect combination for murder, since it’s comfortable.

“Where’s Niko?” I ask, acting nonchalant as I fix the little fallen strand of my hair and return it to the ponytail.

“When did you find out?”

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