Page 119 of Merciless Sinner

Oh God. That was what she called me in my dream. Now that I hear her calling me the same thing in real life, I know that was definitely not a dream.

It was a memory.

“What's going on?” The mixture of emotions rushing through me clash throughout my body.

She sighs. “It wasme, Olivia. I guess you could call me the traitor you’re all so worked up about. It’s me. Me and my father.”

All the air leaves my lungs and my heart just stops. The blood in my veins, stills and my brain slows as it tries to process the words she just said.

“You,” I breathe.

“Yes. But you weren't supposed to be there. That was an unfortunate mistake. But the fact that you've been found turns out to work in my favor.

You remember where the memory stick is.”

I step back. The room spins. In my dizzy haze, my mind finds her face. And in that instant, I remember her.

I remember her on the day of the attack. The memory of her face and her presence there feels like someone injected her into my mind. She was there, but worse. It was her who smashed the window to my father's office and then she shot him. First in his neck, then in his head. It was her. The scene flashes before me, the blanks filling in and I remember my mother calling me to run as masked men stormed in. We got out through the fire escape.

I try to push through to remember more, but darkness speckles my vision, and I feel like I'm falling and fading away. Amelia comes forward, and I try to step back, but I fall to the floor. There's a smile on her face.

“It turns out I did see you. Olivia. We spoke, after all, and I stand by my word, as I did back then. You don't deserve Virgo. He should've been mine.”

I black out.

* * *

I stir, opening my eyes slowly to find myself in a cold, dank, dimly lit room. Water is dripping in the background from what sounds like a broken pipe, and there is a musty smell about the room. I try to move, but my hands are bound behind me, and I realize I'm tied up.

Tied to the metal pipe behind me. It takes me a few seconds before the horrid memory of Amelia comes to my mind and I feel like I might throw up and never stop.

Minutes pass that feel like hours and memories flow.

Pieces begin to fit in that didn't before and I put together the picture of what happened in the past and what is happening now.

I remember what Amelia did then and what she's doing to me now.

I remember seeing her with Virgo.

And I remember that hallway encounter. What I saw in my dream was exactly what happened.

She'd come inside my parents’ house and ran into me. I'd messaged her earlier to let her know. I knew what happened between her and Virgo and I wanted to talk. But I didn't expect to see her at the house. At that time, I hadn't decided yet if I was going to fly out to England.

She was surprised to see me because she thought I had. When masked men stormed the place and started speaking to her, telling her things and asking orders, I realized it was her that let them in.

I ran to alert my parents, but my father was prepared for them. He knew why they were there. It was while we were trying to get away to his office for safety that he was shot twice. He got shot and he was still thinking of protecting mom and me. He handed my mother the memory stick. That was the first time I'd seen it and I knew nothing of what was on it. I still don't. I just knew it was important.

After he gave it to my mother and kissed me, Amelia smashed through the window and shot him.

That's what happened.

Mom and I got out through the fire escape and into the tunnels. That was how we broke free.

There we met up with the men my father had arranged for us to meet. They took us to England.

We weren't even there a few days

before trouble found us again.

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