Page 6 of Sardonic Burn

“Wake up, sleeping beauty.” I poke his cheek.

Franco is tied to a chair with quite a few layers of thick rope. He doesn’t have a weapon on him, and getting out if it wouldn’t be easy. For him, at least. I don’t think I would struggle in his place.

Franco groans, his mouth parting.

“Come on. I don’t have all night.”

Slowly, he blinks. He’s confused but slowly returning to reality. It takes him a minute or two of muttering and stuttering while he’s glancing around, disoriented. His eyes slowly find mine. I crouch down, look up at him, and lean my cheek against my knee.

“What? Who are you?”

“Oh, come on, I didn’t drug youthatmuch.”

It dawns on him, and the confusion morphs into anger. He’s trying to intimidate me with the look of fury on his face, but I only raise a brow in return. He has no power over me. Not now, not ever.

“Noelle Campbell,” he hisses and tries to break free. He fights briefly but quickly understands the predicament he’s found himself in.

I grin. “Yes?”

“You damned bitch,” he yells. “Let me go, and I’ll forget this happened.”

“How tempting.” I sigh and stand up. “I’ll have to decline that offer, though. I’m out for blood—yourblood.”

He grits his teeth, and his jaw locks. His eyes narrow at me, and he’s desperately trying to find a way out of this situation.

There isn’t one.

I’m not one to act completely on impulse. Even my most impulsive decisions had some rationality to them. Franco De Santis’ death is no different. He’s about to pay the price of daring to lay his filthy hands on a member of my family.

“It wasn’t me.”

So he does know what this is all about.

I lift a shoulder and whip out the pocketknife. “Unless you’re willing, and I’m assuming you’re not, to take me to whoever did kill my aunt, the only way out for you is in a body bag.”

Franco clamps his mouth shut.

He’s loyal to his family. It’s to be expected of the heir. Too bad the family is about to lose their hope of a bright future. Well, unless the younger brother turns out to be more capable. But then he’ll be my next target.

“I’m not saying anything.”

“You just confirmed it was someone from your family, which I didn’t know for certain. Thank you for the information, Franco.”

I walk behind him and grab a fistful of his hair. I yank it roughly and he’s looking up at me with wide eyes. He’s afraid because he knows there isn’t a scenario where he’s able to walk out of this place alive.

Just as I place the knife against his throat, I hear a car pull up.

“Seems like your little brother is here. Shall I give him a little bit of hope that you can be saved?”

“He’ll kill you,” he spits out angrily. “There will be a war.”

I lower my head, the blade tight on his throat as I whisper in his ear, “I’m counting on that.”

In one swift motion, I pull the knife from the right to the left, cutting his arteries. Blood immediately starts to gush out, a few droplets hitting my face as I go over the wound for the second time.

I have to ensure he is truly not coming back.

His eyes are wide, lifeless. The last moments of his life, and he gets to see the face of an enemy. I grin at him sadistically. I want him to know it’s Noelle Campbell who killed him. I want him to know that he isn’t smart enough to outsmart me. I want him to know that he’s nothing but a small fish in the sea.

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