Page 168 of His Forced Bride
We both lunge simultaneously, crawling and scrambling.
But I reach it first, fingers closing around the grip.
When I turn, she's already moving toward me, face distorted with rage and desperation.
"Give me that weapon," she demands, as if I'm still a child who obeys maternal authority without question.
But Batya taught me how to shoot, and Yuri taught me how to trust my instincts.
"You don't know what you’re doing," she hisses.
"I understand exactly what I'm doing," I tell her.
She stops, finally recognizing that power has shifted completely, and genuine fear creeps into her expression.
"You won't shoot your own mother," she says, and the sickly-sweet tone pulses back into her voice instantly.
"You were going to kill me."
My hands don’t even shake as I take a step forward.
"Inessa, please…"
"You orchestrated the deaths of my father and my fiancé. You poisoned my closest friend. You've repeatedly tried to destroy everyone I care about."
Shaking my head, I narrow my eyes at her.
"You've earned exactly what you're about to receive."
Terror replaces arrogance in her features.
She's finally understanding that the daughter she tried to control has become someone capable of ending her life without hesitation.
"Please," she whispers.
"I'm still your mother."
"No. You're the woman who gave birth to me. I have no mother."
The first shot hits her center mass, spinning her backward toward the shattered windows.
She staggers but remains upright, staring down at the spreading crimson stain with disbelief.
"You can't," she gasps, pressing her hand to the wound. A choked sound gurgles up before she says, "I'm all the family you have left in this world."
"I have a husband who would burn cities to protect me. That's more family than you ever provided."
The second shot hits her stomach, doubling her over in agony.
She collapses to her knees as blood blossoms into a kidney shape on the floor beneath her.
She's clutching her chest and stomach, gasping for air.
Her words are barely audible.
"Look what you've become," she whispers.
"Look what they've turned my beautiful daughter into."
