I should be posting this chapter tomorrow but I'm posting it now as a thank-you for 100k reads on this book!!
This chapter is not going to be the reunion you wanted. There will be a time when they properly reunite but it's not in this chapter. I'm sorry.
ATHENA RUSSO:
I never liked being the center of attention. In fact, I hated it. I remember I would do anything to put the spotlight on someone else.
But when you are a deadly unstoppable bloodthirsty assassin out of revenge, obviously attention is going to be on you so you don't have a choice either way.
As I walk toward Yavok, I lower my hood, revealing my identity.
I keep my eyes on Yavok as he stumbles back in shock and fear. Dr. Richards stands beside him, watching me with wide eyes.
Everyone is watching me, not daring to blink just in case they miss anything.
I stand in front of them, silent.
The ballroom is silent, no one dares to make a sound.
"Start bidding your goodbyes because your time is running out," I recite, slowly smiling at him.
Yavok gapes at me, his masterpiece, his creation. He thought he molded me into perfection and he did but I became even better. Even more skilled. Even more dangerous.
"It was you."
I nod, slowly reaching for my gun. I point my gun at Dr. Richards, keeping eye contact with Yavok. I turn the safety off, my finger on the trigger.
"You have a lot of enemies, Yavok but you should be scared of only one. Me." I softly whisper.
And just as I am about to pull the trigger on Dr. Richards a gunshot echoes around the ballroom.
I close my eyes as blood splatters onto my face and my cape, staining it red. I slowly open my eyes, breathing heavily.
Dr. Richards lies on the ground, dead.
I stare at the dead body, trying to control my anger. Slowly stepping to the side, I look up to see who the hell shot him when I was supposed to.
Hades.
He stands on the second floor, on the balcony, watching me as he smirks, proud that he stole my kill. It was like he was waiting all night for this moment. He turns around and walks away, away from my view.
"Athena my darling, stop this madness. Just come back with me, you don't need to—"
I glare at Yavok. "Shut up you disgusting pig," I snap.
I turn around and angrily walk to the double doors.
I'm going to kill him. Who the fuck does he think he is to be stealing my kill? I was supposed to kill him. Not him. He doesn't have the right. I do. I fucking do. I get the right to kill them all for what they did to me. Not him.
Before I leave, I halt.
I slowly turn around and look at my eldest brother.
Lorenzo stares at me.
I wait to see his reaction.
Slowly, a proud smile grows on his face and he nods at me, in a way of telling me, he's proud of me and he will wait for me.
I look at my other brothers, they stare at me in shock. Well, except for Ares, he gazes at me in amazement. Like I am a blessing from the Gods.
I keep my face void of emotions and keep my stare cold and empty. I give them a small nod and then I simply turn around and walk through the double doors and they close behind me.
My heels loudly click against the marble floor, and my fists clench.
Making my way towards the exit, I take my cape off, revealing a zip-up leather bodysuit with leg holsters attached to my legs.
I leave the building and get in the car waiting for me. I throw the cape into a bush and get in. Artemis looks at me as she turns the car on.
Before she can speak, I say, "Just drive." She nods and presses down on the gas.
I look in the rearview mirror and see Yavok and his men running outside. They realize that I'm in the car, escaping them again.
They run to their cars and get in.
I glance at Artemis, "Speed up, they're coming after us."
She nods, and the car moves even faster. The car speeds up behind us and begins shooting at my car.
"Fucking idiots," I mumble, grabbing my gun out and lowering the window. I hang my upper body out of the window and shoot at the tires.
A car swerves off the road, crashing. A few seconds later. The cars move to the other side of the road so I can't shoot them
Without even hesitating, I straddle Artemis and lower the window.
"Athena! What the hell! I can't see what I'm doing!"
I roll my eyes, "Stop complaining, we both know you like this."
She shuts her mouth and I grin.
I stick my head out and shoot at the cars again. A bullet goes through the windshield and pierces through the driver's head, causing them to lose control and drive off the road.
The last car speeds up to us, and I sigh, reloading my gun.
"Faster," I tell her.
"Yes ma'am," she says, winking. I roll my eyes at her. Her and her goddamn dirty mind. She presses down on the gas.
I hang my upper body out of the window again. Artemis places her hand on my hip, making sure I don't fall out of the window, which I know I won't but okay.
The wind comes to me so boldly and touches my skin. It rouses me to wakefulness, as it dances around with my hair.
I shoot at the windshield but it's bulletproof. "Fine then," I mutter angrily.
I shoot at the tires and the car swerves off the road and crashes into a tree. I check if any more cars are coming but there are none.
I sit back in the car and look down at Artemis. She smiles at me, leaning in close, ready to kiss me.
I shove her face back and move back in the passenger seat, sighing in annoyance.
"You have such kissable lips, it's not fair. I just want to kiss them all the time," she quietly complains.
"Yeah, I know," I say, then I look at her.
"Look Artemis, if you're really into girls, you should find another girl to kiss because I'm not letting you kiss me."
She shakes her head, "I'm not into girls, I'm just into you."
Goddamnit. What is it with her and Noah?
"You should get that checked out then," I tell her.
She huffs and drives faster.
I roll my window up and grab onto the edge of my seat, my knuckles turning white.
Eventually, an hour later we make it back to the mansion. Artemis parks the car in the driveway.
For that whole hour of the drive, I've come to a decision. I've thought about my decision, long and hard. And I truly think that if I go through with it, my life will be so much easier.
I get out of the car and Noah waits at the door with a motherly smile.
"Hello kids, how was school?"
"Bloody," I say as I push past him, "now follow me, Noah. I have a job for you."
He quickly follows behind me with Artemis.
We all go upstairs and into my revenge room.
I grab the bucket of blood.
Every time I finish my task at each ball, I get a new bucket of blood. But this one is special.
Since I killed The Fifteen beforehand I was able to get their blood. So all fifteen of their blood has been mixed up in this bucket because this ball was supposed to be special.
"Um, so what is the task you're going to give me," Noah asks, slightly scared for his life.
I grab the paintbrush and dip it in the bucket of blood. I cross out the picture of the building where the third ball was hosted and then the picture of Dr. Richards's face.
My jaw clenches, recalling how I wasn't even the one to kill him.
I place the bucket on the ground and move over to my laptop. I open it up and quickly find the thing I am looking for then I print it.
"The fourth ball will be slightly harder. It is another masquerade ball, you have to bring a date, it's in a secluded area in the woods which means it's being hosted outside."
Artemis nods, listening closely but on the other hand, Noah is staring at the ground.
"Noah?" I call out.
He looks up at me, "Yes?"
"Stop daydreaming and listen."
Then I continue from where I left off ad I was to the printer and watch it print out the picture.
"During that night there will be a surprise that the French mafia boss, Camille, doesn't know of. An engagement announcement. Yavok is planning to announce his engagement with his fiancé, Joanne."
I recall the young blonde girl from when I was watching Yavok before all of this started.
Turns out the girl is somehow my brother's rapist.
You would think it would be an old lady. I thought so too but when I did a background check on her it showed she was working for my family for around five years and left. I got suspicious and found out Yavok hired her to rape my brother.
He planned everything out from the start.
Bribed my mother's brother to kidnap me. Killed my parents. Turn Marcello into someone no one recognizes. Then kidnapped me to turn me into a monster.
"So you're gonna kill his fiancé? Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"
I look at the picture that's just been printed and take it, then I turn around and face Noah.
"What woman who has common sense would ever get with an old man like him?"
"I don't know—"
"It's a rhetorical question," Artemis quietly tells him.
"Oh," he mouths before nodding.
"Artemis, I want you to go to that ball. You're going to convince Dante to be your date."
Her mouth falls open in shock. "W-What?" she stammers.
"He's got feelings for the American's daughter, Emilia, but she likes Domenico. Convince Dante to take you to the ball so he can make her jealous," I tell her like it's obvious.
"But I can't. He hates me!"
"Then fix whatever happened between you," I shrug.
Then I look at Noah and pass him a picture of Hades.
"Now for you. I want you to kill him."
"Isn't that the guy—"
Artemis snatches the piece of paper from Noah and gapes at me, "Do you know who he is?!"
"Yes. Hades Volkov," I answer.
She grabs a fist of her hair and paces around the room. "You've lost it, Athena. You can just hire Noah to kill Hades! He rules the Underworld and controls the five mafias. It's impossible to kill him!"
"This is The Hades Volkov?!" Noah exclaims with wide eyes.
I cross my arms, "So I'm taking that as a no from both of you?"
"Of course, it's a no!" Artemis shouts at me.
Noah nods. "Yeah! We would be hunted down by his men like we are their prey!"
I snatch the paper back from him. "Fine. I'll kill him you imbeciles," I snarl, walking out of the room.
Artemis quickly follows behind me, "Athena you can't!"
I whirl around, glaring at her. "Oh but I can," I angrily tell her, "no one is impossible to kill."
Fury fills me like a drug and my left eye twitches.
She takes a step back, her eyes softening, "Athena you just can't. It's too dangerous and risky."
I scoff. "You know what's dangerous and risky? Stealing my kill. No fucking does that. He had no right. No fucking right! And I don't care who he is, when I find him, he's dead!" I shout at her, my voice echoing around the mansion.
She goes silent and she takes a step back.
I pant, heavily as I stare at her.
"I get what I want. And what I want is him dead and I will kill him if I have to," I tell her, my voice slightly quieter but still harsh.
"Athena, maybe you should stop this. This whole revenge thing is getting to your head. You should go back to your brothers. They know who is behind it all now, don't they? Explain to them why. They will help you," she says, her tone quiet and desperate.
I stare at her, is she being serious? If they couldn't find me while I was kidnapped, how will they have the power to help me get revenge? I don't need them.
I turn around and walk to my bedroom and slam the door shut behind me.
I walk into my closet and grab a duffel bag. I open one of the drawers and look at the guns stuffed in there.
I place a hand on my hip.
Shooting him is boring.
I close the drawer and open the one beneath it.
I grab one of my favorite daggers.
"Actually, I don't need the duffel bag, his security won't even know I was there. Does he even have security?" I ask myself, then I scoff. "Who am I kidding? Of course, he does."
I stand in front of the mirror.
"Do I change? Actually, no this is fine. Although I do have blood on it. I won't. It makes me look scarier."
I look down at my leg holsters. I should replace them with thigh holsters. Yeah. I change my leg holsters to thigh holsters. I put my dagger in my thigh holster. I quickly tie my hair up in a high ponytail and change my boots.
Always look hot when you're going to kill someone.
After ten minutes, I am ready to go.
I grab my phone and double-check his location. He's stupid. So stupid. At the American's ball, I put a tracker on him when I was licking his blood away.
I open my door and look left and right.
The lights are off and I wait a few minutes, listening closely.
Yeah. They are asleep.
I softly shut my door behind me and walk down the hallway and down the stairs.
I go into the kitchen and turn the lights on. Grabbing an apple, I turn the lights off and walk to the foyer.
I open the door, step through, and gently shut it behind me.
I'll take my motorcycle. Although it is louder than my cars. But it is faster. Yeah, I'll just take my motorcycle.
I happily nod to myself, glad that I've finally not argued with myself.
Now time to kill Hades Volkov.