THREE
B etween the time it took to get here and the priest reciting a terribly written eulogy, the snow had fallen, and it now reaches my ankles.
I stare up at the sky, the wind blowing in my face. The funeral is over, and I did my best not to laugh during the eulogy. I understand priests always say great things about the deceased, but it was way over the top.
My father approaches me with a pissed-off look. He can’t mourn his child in peace because there are too many eyes on him. One wrong step, and it will blow up in his face. He’s already at risk of showing that he is incapable of holding his family together since my mother is a sobbing mess.
“Hudson,” he calls over. “Let’s take a walk, shall we?”
Despite his tone, it’s not a suggestion—it’s an order. I nod, my hands in my pocket as I follow silently behind him. We reach the far end of the family graveyard, away from all the listening ears and curious eyes.
“Noelle Campbell.” He spits her name like it’s venomous on his tongue. “Will it be hard getting rid of her?”
I understand why he’s skeptical. He hates her with a burning passion after killing Franco, and I share the same sentiment. He wasn’t the best person in the world, but he was my brother. I will not allow his death to remain as a simple win for the Campbell family.
“It’s hard to say.” I whisk out a pack of cigarettes and put one in my mouth. I’m surprised when my father snatches the pack but hands me a light. Silently, he’s telling me it’s alright to smoke in front of him during a time like this.
Usually, I would’ve been smacked.
“So, she’s a difficult one to deal with.”
“Not necessarily. I just don’t know much about her except for the very basic, useless information. I’m not sure how long she was keeping an eye out for Franco. But I won’t let it end like this.”
“Then find out everything there is about her. I don’t care how useless you think it might be, find out every detail of her day-to-day life. Take it slow, and don’t rush. We’ll get revenge for Franco.”
Of course we will.
But now it’s my burden to bear.
When will this feud end? It was quiet for a decade before Franco stupidly had one of the Campbell women killed—smothered in her sleep in a hospital bed. I won’t ignore that he went about it in all the wrong ways and that he deserved what was coming for him, but he was still my flesh and blood.
I won’t allow that goddamned bitch to have the last laugh.
“I’ll fix this,” I say, clenching my jaw as a snowflake falls on my face. “I promise, in my time as the head of the family, I’ll burn the Campbells to the ground until there’s nothing left of them.”
“Good.”
We stay in the same place for a while, both of us silent. There isn’t anything left to say, and I don’t want to ask him too many questions right now. This title—this role—didn’t belong to me, and I can’t help but feel as if I’ve stolen Franco’s glory.
I’ve never hated anyone as much as I hate that woman.
Sure, our families have been in this feud for four generations, excluding ours, but I never truly hated them. The biggest wars and killings happened before my time, so I didn’t witness anything.
But last night…
She fucking mocked me.
She fucking dared to mock me.
In cold blood, she took my brother’s life. After taking a good look at his body, I saw that she’d slit his throat twice, as if to ensure he’d be truly dead. I’m not merciful enough to let this go or to simply kill her.
Once I’m done with Noelle Campbell, she’ll wish she was never born. But before killing her, I’ll break her into a million pieces, and she won’t even see it coming. I’ll make sure she regrets ever crossing my path, and I won’t stop until her blood is on my hands.
With that, I walk out of my brother’s funeral and jump into the backseat of my car. Immediately, the driver speeds off, and I have my phone pressed against my ear. It takes two rings before Milo picks up the phone.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I didn’t call you to exchange pleasantries. I need you to do something for me.”
Milo is silent for a moment. “I’m kinda busy. What do you need?”
“Anything and everything on Noelle Campbell.”
He pauses, as if trying to realize if he heard me correctly.
“What?”
I clench my jaw. “She killed Franco.”
“Oh,” he mumbles. “Because it’s her, it’ll cost you extra.”
“I don’t care. Just get it done quickly.”
I hang up the phone and toss it aside. My eyes close as the scene of finding my brother’s body replays in my mind on repeat, like a broken record. His lifeless, dull eyes. The blood gushing out of his throat.
But most importantly, that fucking look of deviance in her eyes.
Noelle was fucking excited that I caught her in the act. She was thrilled that the result of her actions was going to lead to a war. She was fucking so damn happy that she took my brother’s life.
If I’d been only two minutes earlier, I might’ve been able to prevent it.
No.
It’s useless to think like that. Even if I caught her right before she slit his throat, she would’ve looked me straight in the eyes and did it while I watched.
That woman is the devil and not in disguise.
She doesn’t care how she’s seen or what people perceive her as. That will end up being her fucking undoing as I send her where she belongs.
Right to fucking hell.
The sound of the piano fills my ears as I step inside, walking next to my father. Many people turn their heads and stare. It’s not unusual—we attract attention wherever we go. Whispers and murmurs follow us as we step further into the enormous venue, yet we pay no attention to it.
It’s one of the charity events of the year. It’s being held four times a year, and this is the last one for this period. Behind the scenes, it’s an operation to launder money with the facade of a charity event.
I don’t even know which charity it’s for.
I’m dressed in a suit that I purchased last minute, an hour after the funeral. If Franco were alive, I would’ve been spared this miserable night, and he’d be here in my place, talking with these irrelevant people about shallow things.
I draw my attention back to the people and notice that a lot of criminals are in attendance. I recognize a couple of mobsters immediately, as well as their closest associates. After all, many of them are our clients.
The waiter walks by, and I stop him, grabbing a glass of champagne from his tray. It tastes too sweet for my liking, but I swallow it down. I need alcohol in my system for tonight. It will be one hell of a night, and there’s no better way to boost my ego than being under the influence.
The clock strikes eleven, and the lights dim. The music is different, and couples gather around to dance in the middle of the venue. It looks like a medieval ball filled with aristocrats. Well, in a way, it’s exactly like that. The powerful are flaunting their wealth and influence while scheming behind the scenes about how to acquire more power and money.
It’s a never-ending game.
As I’m about to walk out to the terrace for a much-needed smoke, I pause and stare at the entrance.
Noelle Campbell strolls down the stairs with care and grace. Her arm is interlinked with her fiancé—a bastard who is at the top of my hit list. I’m not certain how much it will hurt her since it’s an arranged marriage, but it’s worth a shot.
He’s an oil mogul, just like Noelle’s father. It’s no wonder the two are to be married; her fiancé got his business illegally and to this day, half of it isn’t as clean as he wishes it was.
Noelle doesn’t notice me, or, if she does, she acts like I’m invisible. A deep-green dress hugs her hips with a big slit on her right leg, showing a little part of her tattoo. I tilt my head to the side and stare, clutching the glass in my hands until it breaks.
Glass shards fall over my palm and down to the floor. It’s quite loud in this room, so no one notices it. Looks like that witch knows how to laugh. She’s smiling widely as if she didn’t kill a man last night.
My brother.
My jaw clenches as I stare at the lovely couple. He’s whispering in her ear, and her smile widens with each word. She responds to his blabbing as if she didn’t just walk into the lion’s den.
It makes me want to pull out all of her teeth and pluck out her tongue. The amount of fucking hatred I hold for this woman is insane. All I can think about is brutally ruining her, mentally and physically, until she is on her knees, begging for forgiveness.
That’s why all of this is fun.
She’s not the type to easily surrender. It will be quite the challenge breaking her, piece by piece, but it’s not impossible.
Finally, as if sensing that someone is shooting daggers her way, she turns her head to look at me. She blinks before snorting. Then, she turns back to her fiancé, acting as if she didn’t see me.
“That little—” I stop myself with an involuntary laugh.
I can’t approach her while she’s surrounded by people. She’s polite, laughing, and they fucking don’t leave her alone for what seems to be an eternity. Her fiancé is glued to her side like a little bitch, staring at her with adoration in his eyes.
Who could love a monster except another monster?
My eyes follow her every move as she tries to escape the crowd. With each person stepping aside and giving her space, another emerges and engages her in a tedious conversation, yet the smile doesn’t falter from her face. If anything, it looks permanently glued to her face.
Her fiancé dips and walks over to the bar, ordering two drinks. I can’t hear from across the room, but I see the bartender fixing two martinis. He’s staying away from Noelle on purpose and continues to watch her from the shadows like a fucking creep.
No matter how much I want to paint my hands with her blood, to see her inevitable downfall, I still can’t understand why she agreed to marry someone like him. Sure, on paper, they are a perfect match, but he is too strange. She’s a lethal woman, and he’s nothing but a pest.
Well, it’s none of my business.
I whip my phone and ear buds from the inner pocket of my jacket and connect my devices. Earlier in the day, I had someone wire this entire venue. Luckily for me, one of the wired places is the bar where the two are now located.
She manages to slip from the ridiculous fan base and grab a stool to sit on.
I shove the ear buds in my ears and click the start button, now hearing their voices clearly.
“Be careful, Noelle,” he grits out, and I see his brows crease and jaw lock. “There are too many listening ears.”
“I’m aware, Dylan. Which is why you should heed your advice and keep your fucking mouth shut. I’m getting tired of you.”
“I’m just trying to help you.”
Noelle sighs, and the anger vanishes. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just stressed.”
“Should we leave, then?”
“Not yet, no. I still have one thing left to do.”
At that moment, her eyes lock with mine. She tilts her head to the side with a little smirk and stops talking entirely. Her brow raises in amusement, and it’s as if she’s trying to challenge me.
Well, challenge received and accepted.
I remove the buds from my ears. Since I got caught, there’s no need to listen anymore. She won’t reveal anything of significance anymore. She likely knew that I was listening from the moment she sat down.
How the fuck is she that perceptive?
Another thing to fucking despise about that witch.
I’m still looking at her, waiting for an opportunity, and it soon presents itself. She stands up and starts walking toward the area where the restrooms are located. When the dance ends, the crowd of people starts to disappear, and I manage to hide from her eyesight.
And that’s when I strike.
I grab her wrist with one hand, covering her mouth with the other. Pulling her so her back is to my chest, I drag her into the small corridor where the cameras don’t reach. I did check beforehand.
Noelle tenses briefly and bites my palm harshly.
I pin her against the wall, not letting the sudden pain cloud my judgment. I don’t spare any strength and slam her as harshly as possible, yet she doesn’t even flinch.
The scent of her sweet perfume hits my nose, and it has me paralyzed for a moment.
Fucking disgusting.
I pull out the knife she used to kill Franco and place the blade on her throat, firmly holding the handle and pressing it into her flesh. She raises a brow and remains silent, but she’s no longer tense. In fact, she’s too relaxed for my liking.
“Nice to officially meet you,” I grit out, trying to hold myself back from snapping and ending her life right here, right now.
“Of course it is,” she drawls out. “I’m Noelle Campbell.”
“Your arrogance knows no bounds.”
“That’s true.”
Her voice is alluring, like the sweetest drug. The effects of using it are lethal, fatal. Once you’ve tried the poisonous vice, there’s no going back.
It makes me want to vomit.
“I don’t think you understand the predicament you’re in. It’s probably because you’ve had one too many to drinks.”
Noelle covers up her laugh with a cough, her brows rising to her hairline.
“And pray tell, what’s a bastard child like you going to do, hm?” She inches closer and slides her neck to the left, cutting herself. There’s mockery in her tone. “Or did I kill the bastard child? Well, regardless. There’s only so much you can do now, little De Santis.”
“As I said, you’re too arrogant. Do you think I’ll let you leave this place in one piece?”
Noelle hums and pretends to think about it for a moment.
“This is reckless,” she says with a sly grin. “I’m here with my father, fiancé, and brother. One of them is bound to take you out. Do you think I will let you leave this place in one piece?”
She throws my words back at me, and I can’t help but snarl at her. I’m gripping the handle too tightly and it leaves a red mark on the inside of my palm. But I can’t afford to care about the little imperfection on my otherwise perfect body.
“How bold,” I chuckle lowly.
This is the first time her expression switches from taunting and mocking to pure fear. It’s only for a split second, but it’s there, and I can see it. Noelle’s lip curls into something resembling a snarl, and I can’t figure out if it’s because I saw the fear that she’s been trying so desperately to hide, or because she realized she’s cornered.
“Get out of my face,” she spits, venom lacing her tongue. “Let me go.”
I tilt my head to the side with a grin. “Or what? What will you do in this situation?”
To make the threat seem greater, I slice another piece of her flesh. It’s small, not enough to kill her or hurt her too much, but the blood coats the blade, and she flinches.
“I’ll scream.”
I blink. “That’s it? How cowardly of the woman who so boldly took a life last night.”
Noelle clicks her tongue against the rooftop of her mouth. “Ah, so that’s what this is all about. An eye for an eye, right? Then go ahead. Kill me right now. But you know it won’t end here, right?”
“I don’t care.” I lean to whisper in her ear, catching the sight of goosebumps tugging on her bare shoulders. “If I get to kill the Noelle Campbell, I don’t care what happens to me.”
Before all of this happened, I’d heard of Noelle Campbell.
We never had any similar paths, as the feud had seemed to be put on hold. I’d seen her at official gatherings and events like this one, but not once did we interact. She radiated with power and intelligence. Every man wanted her, and they weren’t shy in showing it.
She rejected every single one of them.
Noelle was never afraid, and always acted with violence and brutality.
That woman is now quivering while I have a knife pressed against her throat, unable to move.
“Bring it on.” She raises her voice, but it cracks, and that’s enough for me. It’s like the prettiest melody that I’ll remember forever. “A pathetic being like you will never be able to take my life.”
I nod. “Whatever you say, your highness.”
Noelle stares at me with so much hatred in her eyes. Her lips thin into a line, and she doesn’t have a witty response. She’s being openly mocked, and she can’t do anything about that.
That look in her eyes.
She’s killing me with a mere gaze.
I want to gouge out her eyeballs and feed them to her.
But now is not the time.
I did what I came here for: to warn her.
She will be looking over her shoulder for quite some time after this, and it will give me another opportunity to strike.
“The next time we see each other—” my lips are pressed against her ear. I remove the knife from her throat and in a swift, quick motion, I push the tip of it into her thigh until the entire blade is inside of her flesh. “I will kill you.”
Blood coats my hand, and I leave the knife in there.
Noelle trembles but doesn’t release a single sound. She’s swallowing the pain, and it brings out the sadist inside of me. Seeing her hurt, broken, and utterly pathetic is such a magnificent sight.
As soon as I leave her, she slumps to the tile floor and screams.