"Jesse! Who gave you the courage to provoke me?" I hissed, my voice low and lethal.
Rory ruined me.
And they thought I'd let them live in peace after that?
No, I would haunt them.
I would cling to them like a shadow, never dying and never letting go.
"Ahhh, Cyrus! You madman! Let go of me! Or I swear, Rory will kill you!"
Jesse's forehead was a mess of blood and flesh. His eyes were red-rimmed, barely able to open.
If Rory hadn't arrived in time, he wouldn't have lasted a second longer.
Right then, I remembered the look on his face when she had dragged him away that day, crying, furious, and full of grievance.
I couldn't help but laugh.
Then, Rory's icy and piercing gaze cut into me.
She sneered, her tone low and threatening. "Cyrus, your time is running out. You'd better make your decision quickly."
When my parents were alive, no one dared threaten me.
People knew that I was a complete madman.
After my parents died, even fewer dared cross me.
"Rory," I said, voice low, deliberate, almost playful, "have I ever told you never to be too naive?"
Outside, the drizzle began, timed perfectly. Raindrops hit the car window, scattering into tiny ripples.
In parallel, Rory's brows knitted, suspicion and caution creeping in as she looked at me.
"What do you mean by that?"
I rolled the window down, letting the rain spill into the car.
A twisted smirk curled at the corner of my mouth, just enough to make her blood run cold.
"Rory," I said, my voice low and deliberate, letting my gaze wander outside, "I'll give you two choices."
I paused, watching her squirm.
"Either you die..." I let the silence hang in the air, thick with menace, before adding, "...or him."
Not far beyond the car window, Jesse dangled, tied up, suspended from a crane.
Jesse stood before a sheer cliff, the wind whistling past his ears as he gazed down into the dark abyss.
His face drained of color, his body trembling violently as terror consumed him.
Tears streaked down his face as Jesse screamed, "Rory, save me!"
Rory froze, her eyes locked onto the scene. For a heartbeat, it felt like the world might implode, the pressure building in her head until she thought she might shatter.
Then, in a blur of panic, she unbuckled her seatbelt and lunged at me, her hands grabbing my neck with an iron grip.
"Cyrus, have you lost your mind?" Rory shouted, voice thick with fury. "Let him down, right now!"