Chapter 25

Holding the knife tightly in my hand, I pressed it hard against his cheek. Pulling it down, I made a big gash. He tried to scream again.

I stared at the blood and my heart pumped faster. Adrenaline filled me and my mind begged me. More. More. More.

I made another gash on his other cheek. And then on his arms. Big, long, deep cuts. Blood was everywhere. Then on his chest. So deep that I could see his bones.

He couldn't move anymore. His head was hanging down as he bled. I could see that he was quickly losing consciousness.

But I wasn't done yet.

He was still alive.

His heart was still beating while my mother's was not.

He needed to die. He needed to feel the pain.

Roaring with anger, I pulled the knife back and then plunged it deep into his heart, twisting it painfully. Mercilessly.

His head snapped back and he thrashed against the chair. His painful eyes started to go dull, slowly losing all signs of life.

A few seconds later, he was no longer breathing. His dead eyes were opened, staring at me.

I pulled the knife back from his chest and looked down. My hands were covered in blood. There was not even an inch of my skin that was clean. Blood. It was everywhere. On me. On my clothes. It blinded me.

I gasped as I realized what I had just done. But I didn't feel any remorse. I felt alleviated and satisfied.

But not full satisfaction. The others still needed to pay.

And I was going to find all of them, one by one, and I was going to kill them all.

I heard the door open behind me with a bang. I swiveled around to see my father running in with a few of his men. Their eyes went wide at the sight of me and I heard my father's shocked gasp.

"Alex!" he screamed, running toward me. He stopped in front of me and snatched the knife away, throwing it on the floor next to the bloody dead man.

"What have you done? Oh, Alex, what have you done?"

I stared into his eyes. "I will avenge my mother," I said, my voice scratchy.

My father's eyes widened in surprise and he stared at me in complete shock. I understood why he was in shock. That was the first time I had uttered any words in three years. Since that night when everything changed. The night that I lost everything.

"I vow to kill all of them. Every single Abandonato," I said. I couldn't recognize my voice. It sounded so foreign even to my ears. My father didn't say anything at first. After a few seconds, he stood up tall and his expression changed.

"Okay," he replied, his voice hard and deadly cold. Emotionless.

With that, I walked away. I didn't look at his men, but I kept my eyes forward, my shoulders squared with purpose and my chin held high.

This was my life now.

My mother had been wrong.

I was no longer her sweet, gentle, quiet boy.

I was a monster.

As I walked out of the room and into the dark corridor, I quickly pushed the thought of "my angel" from my mind.

Angels didn't exist.

I didn't have an angel, for a monster could never have an angel

Present Day

I woke up with a start, the memories still flashing in my head. They were painful and I quickly buried them deep inside me. I didn't have time for weakness. I couldn't think about the past.

I didn't know why I had that dream—why the past came crashing back, but it made me want to rage.

Closing my eyes, I calmed down. I locked away my feelings and the memories.

No weakness.

Alina

I was almost half asleep when I heard a knock on my door. My eyes snapped open and I sat up with a start, my heart racing.

"Alina?" I heard Maddie's voice on the other side of the door.

I closed my eyes in relief and brought my hand up to my chest, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.

"Yeah. I'm coming," I called out, my voice heavy with sleep.

"Okay. Hurry. It's almost time for lunch."

I bounced out of bed and quickly fixed my dress and hair.

Opening the door of my bedroom wide, I saw Maddie leaning against the door. She smiled when she saw me. "Hey there, sleepyhead."

I smiled and shut the door.

"Let's go. Mom is waiting for us," Maddie said as she grabbed my arm and started pulling me down the hall.

As we headed for the stairs, I didn't see Alessio or his men anywhere.

Viktor, Nikolay, Phoenix, and Artur were always with him wherever he went. They were his most trusted associates.

Artur was the only one who seemed friendly. Maybe I thought so because Maddie was with him.

Nikolay always glared at everyone. I didn't think he even knew how to smile. The only time I heard him talk nicely was with Lena, probably because she is the mother of house. Nobody talked harshly to her or even tried to be rude. Even Alex.

As Maddie and I stepped off the last stair, I saw Alex coming in, followed by his men.They were whispering quietly. When Alessio made eye contact with me, his mouth froze. He stared at me, his eyes unflinching as he took me in.And then, his lips twitched in that smirk that I hated.

Looking away, I followed Maddie to the kitchen. Time to work.

Food was served and I was about to retreat back into the kitchen when someone stopped us.

"You and Maddie stay back this time," said one of the other maids, a girl named Lila. For every meal, two of us had to stay back and serve if the men needed any help. For the last two days, Maddie and I had escaped that duty.

"Okay," I said.

Maddie scowled. She hated it, and I hated it too. Only because I had to be where Alessio was.

"Alina, pass me the garlic bread." Alessio's demanding voice penetrated my mind. My head snapped up and I looked at him, confused.

"Huh?"

"I said pass me the bread," he repeated, sounding annoyed. Maddie was standing closer to it.

I looked back at Alex, but he was staring at me expectantly. He raised an eyebrow when I didn't move. Turning my head, I swallowed and then nodded at Maddie. Her eyes widened in amusement.

"Maddie, can you please give Alessio the bread? You are closer," I said as softly as I could, my voice quiet.

Her mouth fell open in shock, and from the corner of my eyes I saw all the men staring at me with amused expressions. I couldn't believe it either. I had just gone against Alex and did it in front of his men.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted it.

Maddie's mouth snapped shut and she chuckled under her breath. Before I could change my mind, she grabbed the basket and walked over to Alex at the other end of the table. Placing it in front of him, she said, sounding almost sarcastic, "There you go, Alex. Your hot, crispy, buttery garlic bread. Enjoy."

Alex took his eyes off me and glared at Maddie. She smiled wide and then sashayed away.

She was playing with fire but she knew that Alex wouldn't do or say anything to her. Alex, Viktor, and Maddie were close when they were little. They grew up together, sisters and brothers from another mother.Maddie told me stories about how they would always play together and how she would always follow them around and get in trouble together.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt someone poking me. Turning my head to the side, I saw Maddie standing next to me. "You are playing with fire, babe. Don't poke the beast or you won't be able to deal with it," she whispered in my ear before walking away and standing behind Artur.

I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. She was right. I didn't know what came over me.

Standing there, I shifted on my feet a couple of times, suddenly growing nervous when I noticed their attention on me. I saw Viktor smirking, and then he went back to eating. When Alex cleared his throat, everyone looked away.

I kept my focus away from Alex, but I still felt his gaze on me. As each minute passed, my hands grew colder and my insides shook with tension.

"Alina, can you bring me the rice?" he asked.

I knew it. I just knew it. I knew he was going to do this.

I looked up and saw that his eyes were twinkling with mirth and his right eyebrow was raised in challenge. I looked down and saw that the bowl was right next to me.Releasing a long breath, I took the bowl of rice in my hand and slowly walked toward him. His eyes were on me the whole time and his smirk was back. He licked his lips.When I stopped next to him, I placed the bowl down but he didn't move. Alex looked up at me expectantly and then nodded toward the rice.Sighing, I grabbed the spoon and put some rice on his plate. Something touched my leg, and I jumped in fright and then looked down.