After I was discharged, I went alone to the cemetery to say goodbye to my mother and leave the city.
When I arrived, the sight made my blood rush to my head and my limbs went cold.
Gideon.
He was there with a shovel—where he'd gotten it, I had no idea, but he was frantically digging at my mother's grave. Soil lay overturned everywhere; the headstone had been knocked askew.
"Stop!" My mind went blank. I lunged forward without thinking.
Before I could reach him, two burly, black-clad bodyguards sprang out from the side and pinned me down, one on each side. No matter how I struggled, I couldn't break free.
"Let go of me! Gideon! I'll kill you!" I screamed, veins bulging in my neck.
Eliana came running up, stepping between us. "Jared! Don't be rash! Calm down!"
"Calm down?" I shouted. "You expect me to stay calm while this lunatic digs up my mother's grave?!"
She averted her eyes, speaking with the weary tone she always used. "Because of your punch, Gideon's condition has worsened. He can't be provoked—you have to understand!"
Hearing her words only encouraged him more. Gideon stopped digging for a beat, propped the shovel under his arm, and grinned at me—a smile full of malice and madness. Then he slammed the shovel down onto the exposed urn.
"No!" My chest felt like it was tearing.
There was a dull, resonant thud as the hard urn cracked. He laughed as if he was at a game and kept hitting it, blow after blow, until the urn shattered completely.
The white ashes spilled out across the dirt.
Gideon threw down the shovel, lifted his foot, and ground his heel into them hard—twisting as if crushing out a cigarette.
"Mom!"
At that instant, I heard the sound of my own heart breaking. Rage, despair, and unbearable grief collided all at once. Hot tears of blood and fury slid down my face.
Eliana didn't look at me. Not once. All her focus was on Gideon.
When he finally stopped, she stepped forward carefully. Her voice was soft as she coaxed, "Gideon, is that enough? Do you feel better now?"
He dusted off his hands, grinning, his eyes glinting with satisfaction.
"Yeah, Sis. I feel much better now."
Then he turned to the scattered ashes of my mother and spat on them.
"Come on," Eliana murmured gently, motioning for the bodyguards to release me. "Let's go home."
She led him away, shielding him with her body, never once looking back.