Page 89 of The Devil's Chaos

He kept cutting and cutting until her head fell, lifeless, her blood-stained, thin frame held up only by the arms of thebodyguards at either side. They tossed her over the wooden fence into the pig pen as if she weighed nothing. I shook my head, trying to deny the reality being presented before me, but I was met with a firm grip on my arm. Sergei dragged me toward the pen, and I fought every step of the way.

Was my father going to hurt me next? Would he throw me over the pen like my mother?

Sergei picked me up, forcing me to look at my mother’s lifeless body, strewn carelessly and without love, covered in blood and mud. Her olive skin was a sickly green, and her hollow eyes met mine. I could see the fear and pain she was trying to communicate. I screamed her name, but it was drowned out by the echo of my father’s voice.

“This is what happens to people who think they can betray me, Haven. This is a lesson she will remember forever, Maria.”

Pigs grunted and squealed around her, their eyes reflecting curiosity and something else.

Hunger.

My father’s lips twisted into a cruel smile as the pig’s eyes locked onto my mother's body. Their curious grunts turned into a low, menacing growl as they closed in around her.

“There’s no running from the legacy I’ve created, Daughter. You will learn to live with what you’ve seen today, and you will carry it for the rest of your life.” He grabbed my chin, digging his thin fingers into my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. “If you ever think of following in your mother’s footsteps, I will make this punishment look like a mere drop in a bucket.”

I tried to scream, to tell him that I would never betray him, to please let my mother go and grant her mercy, but my voice caught in my throat. Instead, the piercing sound of her agonizing screams forced me to turn and face her. I watched as the pigs feasted on her flesh, the stench of manure and bloodoverwhelming my senses. I tried to close my eyes to block out the horrifying image, but Sergei forced my eyes open.

My whole world shattered as the pigs tore into my mother’s body, their grunts and snorts echoing through the barn. Sergei’s grip on me tightened, my father’s voice ringing in my ears, reminding me of my place in this twisted world that he had created. I wanted to run, to escape, but I was frozen in fear as my body shook uncontrollably.

I looked down at my mother’s mutilated body, her once beautiful eyes vacant and lifeless. Tears streamed down my face, and I felt the weight of my mother's death bearing down on me. My father ordered Sergei to take me back to the car. I couldn't move, I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream. I was frozen, trapped in my own nightmare.

In the car, I curled up in the backseat, trying to remember what my mother had taught me, the things she whispered in my ear, the stories she had told me to help me sleep at night. But all I could think about was the monster who had taken her from me, the man who claimed he loved me but had shown me nothing by cruelty and betrayal.

My father.

38

THIRTY-EIGHT

HAVEN

“Did she make it?”

“Who?” Kai asked, his blue eyes lifting from the ground to meet mine.

“Mila? Did she get out? Did she make it to Archer?”

“She did. You saved her life.”

A sigh of relief escaped me. “I killed Maddie.”

“Good.”

My eyes flew open to look at him. Shouldn’t I feel guilty for taking a life? I couldn’t find that emotion within myself. Was I just as evil as my brother? As my father? Did it flow through my veins as quickly as it flowed through theirs? Was my fate set long before I killed Maddie? A consequence of being born to a bloodline of cruelty and corruption?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Images of Maddiebleeding out on the ground after I shot her flashed through my mind. A sharp pain tore through my stomach as if someone had set fire to my skin and charred mymuscles. Mila ran toward freedom, and I slammed the door shut behind her, trapping myself in my prison. My hand clutched at my side as I stumbled forward, nearly tripping over Maddie’s lifeless body. Blood pooled around her from the gunshot wound to her head, staining her light blonde hair a deep crimson color. Her vacant blue eyes stared up at me as my world spun out of control. After I smashed the earpiece, I had almost resigned myself to dying.

Almost…

I collapsed into the corner of the room. The cold wall pressing against my back reminded me that I was still alive. And then I saw Kai’s face and remembered the anguish in his voice as he begged me to let him come get me. I realized I had something to live for—someone that was waiting for me.

I don’t know where the strength to stand up came from. I was on the ground one second, and the next I was navigating through the dark halls, hiding from the guards as they ran through the halls, desperately trying to figure out what had happened. I used the cover of loud music and shifting shadows to blend in seamlessly. Having spent enough time in this club, I knew every nook and cranny by heart, so I didn’t expect anyone to pay attention to me as I made my way through the crowd. I should have taken my chances and followed Mila out, but I quickly dismissed the thought. I would have only slowed her down, and she could have been caught, or worse, Kai and the others could have been exposed.

Kai.

He told me he would be waiting for me—that I would finally be free. He and The Brotherhood would protect me, just like they protected Mila. All I had to do was get Mila out and meet them at the fence.

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