Page 6 of Vengeful Union

“I need you to remember how very much I love you, baby,” she whispers, her tears falling thick and fast.

“I love you too.”

She nods, her eyes bright with love and pride. “I need you to get out of the car and run. Run as fast as you can. Go to the park I used to take you to when you were younger. You know the one.” I nod. I do know it. Mom used to take me there every week. It’s not far from here. “Drake will find you,” she promises me. “When he does, he’ll take you to Conrad. Your uncle will protect you.”

I stare at her in disbelief. “Mom, you can’t be serious. Why would I run?”

She grips my face with her hands. “Please. Go, and don’t look back.”

I swallow hard and nod once. “Okay.”

She presses a kiss to my cheek. “Go, baby. And please, whatever you do, don't stop running.”

My tears finally fall. This is wrong. I shouldn’t be leaving her. “I love you,” I cry.

She nods, her gaze scanning my face as though she’s remembering every inch of me. “Love you too, baby. Always and forever.” She releases my face and unbuckles my seat belt. “Go—now.”

I give her one last look, wishing I could take her with me, but the determination in her eyes is enough to stop me. I slide out of the car and run toward the bushes that are on the opposite side of the road.

As soon as I reach them, I hear a car approaching. I conceal myself in the bush and watch as my father’s car rolls to a stop behind my mother’s.

I watch on in horror as my father drags my mom out of the car by her hair, pushing her to her knees in front of his car. His headlights are bright, and I can see the anger and disgust on his face. I’ve never seen this side of him. Never witnessed the anger that is displayed so clearly in his eyes.

I cover my mouth with my hands as he takes out a gun and holds it to her head. Pain ricochets through my knees as I drop too harshly to the ground, and I silently pray that he’s just trying to scare her from running away; begging God, and any other deity, to ensure he won’t take my mom from me. But I know he’s not. I take out my cell and start videoing the scene.

“Where is she?” my father hisses, his words being carried with the wind. “Where’s my daughter? You think you can cheat on me and that I’d let you leave with my daughter? No. So, Jasmine, this is your last chance, where the fuck is Destiny?”

My mother doesn’t answer him. She stays rigid, staring at him, unable to tear her gaze away from him. Just like I can’t.

And then it happens.

I can’t stop the flinch as he pulls the trigger. My scream is lodged in my throat, unable to be released due to my fear of being discovered. I press my hand tighter against my lips as my breathing deepens.

I blink rapidly, praying that what I’ve just witnessed isn’t real. That my mind is playing tricks on me. But it’s not.

My mom’s body slumps to the ground, and I know she’s dead. My father doesn’t even look affected by what he’s done. He fixes his suit jacket and walks back to his car like this is an everyday occurrence, and it probably is for him. But she was his wife. The mother of his child. How can he be so callous? So cold and calculated with her death?

One of his men—Gerald—gets into Mom’s car and starts up the engine. Soon, Mom’s car, along with Dad’s, is gone, and Mom’s left on the ground, blood flowing like a river from her body. I quickly end the video and grip my cell tightly in my hand.

I stay here, watching the puddle of blood that’s formed on the road, unable to take my gaze from her lifeless body. Replaying every single second over and over in my head.

I shouldn’t have left her. I should have listened to my gut, the way the dread settled in as soon as she woke me. We should have kept driving and found somewhere to hide—together. I should have done more. I should have helped her.

I failed her. She protected me, and I could only watch her die.

I’m not sure how long I stay hidden in the bushes, watching her lifeless form, but somehow, I find the courage to move. I run across the road and sink down onto the ground beside her. Tears fall from my eyes as I press a kiss against her ice-cold face.

Her blonde hair is soaked in blood, and those green eyes of hers that used to be so full of life are now dull and lifeless. With a trembling hand, I close them.

A sob rips through me, and my body bows with the force of it. God, she didn’t deserve this.

My father. God, I fucking hate him.

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry,” I whisper as I press a kiss to her cheek. “I know you wanted me to run, but I can’t,” I rasp. “I can’t. He needs to pay for this, Mom. I’m going to get justice for you. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Before I take my last breath on this earth, I’ll make sure he gets what he deserves.

He will not get away with this.

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