Her Final Act of Vengeance

is face a thundercloud, was already pulling Aubrey to her feet, his arm protectively around her. He didn't spare me a glance as he maneuvere

nsive. My breath came in ragged gasps, the glittering lights above swirling into a terrifying vortex. The sensation of b

ntorted with fury, her perfect makeup smeared. Her emerald necklace, miraculously still clasped around her

ed out of my lungs. My body convulsed, a wave of nausea crashing over me again. My stomach heav

efore I could stop it. The sound was pathetic, even to my own ea

And he' s not coming back for you." Her hand, adorned with a massive diamond ring, clamped around my jaw, forcing my head to the side. "He tol

words, twisted and spat from Aubrey' s venomous tongue. My mind reel

n a living thing, gnawing at my insides, leaving me hollow, an empty shell. My parents, consumed by their own grief, had pushed me away, unable to look at the living reminder of their lost son. "You should have been more careful," my mo

ently as I poured out my heart, my guilt, my shattered dreams. He saw the music in me, the remnants of a talent I thought was lost forever. He lifted me from the a

st, most sacred wound. He had given Aubrey the ammunition to destroy me, to mo

. My vision went dark for a second. My body was failing, quickly now. Th

fled, cut through the haze. Conra

a raw croak escaped my throat, barely a whisper. My hands scrabb

mph. "He' s with me." Her fingers flew across the screen, typing rapidly. Then she pressed the phone against my ear. "Conrad? Yes, darling, I' m fine. Just a little shaken

f his voice fading, receding. He was leaving. He was rea

ossed the phone back onto the floor, where it landed with a soft thud. Just as she

t play these games with me.

as she disappeared. A bitter, broken laugh bubbled up from my chest, dry and r

ycle of betrayal, his feigned remorse, his manipulative attempts to pull me back into his orbit.