Hendrix's gaze locked on my sister's smiling face in the photo. For a long time, he didn't move. Then, with a heavy breath, he lowered the gun.
His voice was quiet but resolute. "Vienna don't make any more mistakes."
"If Leila were still alive, she'd never want to see you like this," Hendrix added.
I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face. "You have no right to mention her name."
He sighed, the sound heavy with defeat. "What do you want, Vienna? As long as you don't hurt innocent people, I'll agree to anything."
Before his words faded, a sharp pain exploded in my waist.
I looked down—a dagger was buried in my side, blood flowing freely.
For a split second, a cold, ruthless light flashed in Cassidy's eyes before she quickly replaced it with a look of terrified innocence. Her hands trembled as she backed away.
"It wasn't me! I didn't stab you—you ran into it yourself!" she cried, her voice shaking. "Please, don't hurt me!"
My face hardened into ice. "You're begging for death."
I yanked the dagger out and drove it straight into her abdomen.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
The sound of steel against flesh echoed in the air. Her body went limp, sliding to the floor as blood seeped through her dress.
By the time Hendrix realized what had happened, Cassidy had already collapsed, unconscious.
He seized my throat, eyes burning red with rage.
"She's innocent!" he roared.
"Vienna, how did you become this kind of monster? This—this is why I despised you back then! I only ever loved Leila because she wasn't like you. Five years later, you're even worse! I should've killed you when I had the chance! I should never have helped you avenge your parents!"
His furious expression overlapped with the memory of that night five years ago.
Back then, these same hands were wrapped around my father's murderer's neck. Now, they were choking me.
I clawed at his wrists, my nails digging into his flesh until blood welled up beneath them.
"Then kill me!" I spat. "Do it!"
Tears mixed with blood as they dripped down my chin, each drop burning against his skin.
He froze, his fingers trembling.
After a long, heavy silence, he released me and slammed his fist into the wall instead.
"I'm tired, Vienna," he muttered hoarsely. "I don't want to keep doing this with you."
"Take those three stabs as repayment for everything the Wilson family once did for me."