"What's wrong? Didn't losing one kidney last time teach you a lesson?"
I pressed the shard against his cheek, dragging it downward in a slow, deliberate line.
"Since you still don't remember..."
My smile was twisted, sharp and merciless. In a flash, I raised the shard and thrust it toward his abdomen.
But before I could drive it in, a hand seized my wrist, wrenching it back. Pain shot through my arm, and screams filled the air.
Maxwell's eyes welled with tears. He whimpered, voice trembling.
"Noreen... I'm scared."
Five years ago, when I pinned him down and stabbed him again and again, he had worn this same expression—terrified, pitiful, crying out, "Noreen, I'm scared."
The years overlapped.
And then, behind me, came a voice I hadn't heard in half a decade—low, cold, and achingly familiar.
"Colin. It's been five years."
"Tell me," Noreen's voice turned gloomy, "haven't you learned your lesson?"
Her grip wrenched my wrist outward, forcing the shard deeper into my palm. Pain made my brow crease, but unlike five years ago, I refused to yield. Instead, the sting only stoked the wild fire in my veins.
I clenched tighter around the shard, feeling its edge slice my flesh.
And just as Noreen tried to rip it from my hand...
I snapped my head around, flashing Noreen a smile.
"Long time no see... Noreen."
The shard in my hand plunged hard into her arm. Blood sprayed, blurring my vision in crimson.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Screams pierced the hall, shouts for security rose above the din, while whispers spread like wildfire through the crowd.
"Who the hell is that? Does he have a death wish, stabbing Miss Noreen like that?!"
"Didn’t Maxwell say Miss Noreen threw out a Carter orphan five years ago—her so-called husband? Don’t tell me... that’s him?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"I heard that orphan had no one—no family, no friends. Just one dog. And Maxwell had it tortured to death overnight. Didn't everyone in high society see the video? They skinned the poor mutt alive!"
"Wait—look! Miss Noreen is smiling!"
As blood kept seeping from Noreen's arm, Maxwell cried out, "Noreen!"
Ignoring his own head wound, he rushed to her side. He shielded her with his body, glaring at me with all the fury he could muster.
"Colin! How dare you hurt Noreen! The Carter family raised you for twenty years, and this is how you repay them? Like an ungrateful wolf? Apologize to Noreen right now!"