Chapter 61
Brooke
Colin Grant's family had gathered tonight to plan Elliot’s funeral.
They sat around the long dining table with drinks half finished and folders spread across polished wood. They had also come together to discuss revenge. Elliot’s death demanded it in their world. They intended to decide who would pay and how.
They expected a strategy meeting.
They didn’t expect me.
Grant’s mother, Evelyn, whimpers as I cinch the final knot around her wrists.
The rope cuts deep enough that the skin has already turned pale. She twists instinctively to test it, and the chair groans under her weight.
Thomas, Grant’s father and former police chief, sits at the head of the table. His posture remains stiff. His jaw sets as he watches me move.
Daniel, Grant’s youngest brother, sits near the wall. His knees slam together so hard the chair rattles against the floor. He tries to force himself still when he sees me looking at him.
“You have no idea what you just did,” Daniel's voice shakes despite the attempt at confidence. “You have no idea who you just fucked with.”
I ignore him.
Gina sits across from him.
Grant’s second wife was younger and perfectly styled, but her mascara had smeared into uneven streaks down her cheeks, her breathing came in shallow bursts, and her eyes tracked every movement I made.
Thomas Grant finally speaks.
“You untie us right now,” he says, his voice cold. “You don’t understand the kind of trouble you're in.”
Evelyn Grant nods frantically. “Our son will destroy you for this.”
Daniel laughs once. “You’re dead already.”
Beau finishes tightening the final restraint and steps back. None of them notice him leave the room.
I pick up Gina’s phone from the table.
My hands remain steady.
I open FaceTime and tilt the phone so the camera captures the entire room.
The call rings once.
Then Grant answers.
“Hey, Gina,” he says casually. “I’ll be there soon, what’s up?”
Then his eyes focus.
His expression changes instantly.
“What the fuck?” he snaps. “What the fuck is this?”
I step into the frame.
“Hello, Colin.”
For half a second he freezes.
Then the rage erupts.
“You stupid fucking cunt,” he snarls.
Thomas leans toward the phone, straining against the ropes. His head jerks toward the screen.
“Colin, get every cop you have over here right now.”
Evelyn twists in her chair, panic creeping into her voice.
“Where are the guards?” she demands.
Beau answers from the other room.
“I killed them.”
The room goes still.
Daniel lets out a short laugh that sounds forced.
“You two should run while you still can.”
I let the silence sit for a moment before I speak.
“You could call every police officer and federal contact you have, Colin,” I say calmly.
Grant’s eyes burn into the screen.
“You’re fucking right I am,” he snaps. “I’ll have the police there in minutes, you stupid bitch.”
I let that sit for half a second, then shake my head slowly.
“You and I both know that’s not true. Your family estate is about twenty minutes from anyone else, including the police.”
His expression flickers.
“And right now,” I continue, “your entire department is probably busy cleaning up what happened at Victor Voss’s gala.”
His face shifts, not much, but enough. Shock cuts through the anger for a split second before he tries to bury it.
I tilt the phone slightly, letting him see the room again. His family. Their fear. The way everything is already slipping out of his control.
“On our way here, we caught the news,” I add. “Seth must have done his worst.”
My gaze locks on his.
“Your family is next.”
The room goes quiet.
Daniel’s breathing picks up, fast and uneven. Thomas’s confidence cracks, the weight of the situation settling into his posture. Gina starts to cry, soft at first, then harder when no one stops her.
Grant’s voice explodes through the speaker.
“You touch them and I swear to God I will kill you!” he screams. “I'll skin you alive. I'll make you beg for death!”
Evelyn leans forward in her chair, her face twisted with fury.
“He’s going to kill you, you stupid little bitch.”
I meet her stare without blinking.
“You’re in no position to make threats, Mrs. Grant. And just so you know, I’ve already killed one of your pathetic, sadistic sons. I had him cut into so many pieces they’re gonna have to reassemble him in his fucking coffin.”
The words settle into the room.
Thomas’s jaw sets. Gina starts crying harder.
“You fucking bitch,” Grant snarls.
I stop behind the chairs.
The knife slides free from inside my jacket. It is a long hunting knife. The blade catches the light as I turn it once in my hand.
Daniel sees it first. His bravado slips.
“Hey.” Daniel jerks against the ropes, panic bleeding into his voice. “You don’t want to do this.”
Thomas straightens in his chair.
“You put that down.” His stare hardens on the knife in my hand. “This won’t end well for you.”
I ignore him. I start walking slowly behind the chairs.
“I learned a lot about your family recently.”
The knife rests loosely in my hand as I pace behind them.
“You’re old money. Generations built on stealing from people who never had a chance. You profit off poverty. You profit off people’s desperation. You destroy lives quietly so yours can stay clean and spotless.”
Thomas glares at me.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I step closer to his chair.
The tip of the blade presses lightly against the center of his chest, right over his heart. I let it sit there for a moment, watching the shift in his breathing.
Then I move again.
“Your money helped build the manor. The one Elliot used. The one where innocent people were tortured and killed while your family signed checks, dined on elegant cuisine, and looked the other way.”
Evelyn starts shaking her head.
I stop behind Gina.
“Your father had the right titles and money.” My gaze drifts over her shoulder. “So you grew up untouchable.”
The knife lifts slowly.
“You learned early that no one was going to stop you. Not law enforcement. Not the courts. Not anyone who might have asked questions.”
The blade slides gently across the side of Gina’s neck. Her entire body stiffens as the cold steel presses against her skin.
Grant’s voice snaps through the speaker.
“You shut the fuck up!”
“That’s how you get to play detective.”
The edge of the knife traces a slow line just beneath Gina’s jaw before I pull it away.
“No training. No initiation. No consequences. Just nepotism.”
Daniel swallows hard.
“You were never there to help people,” I say. “You were never there to uphold the law. You helped other killers cover their tracks. That is what the Collective needed you for.”
Thomas’s composure cracks.
“You don’t know anything about us.”
I step behind him again.
“And Colin, you were the detective Samantha thought would help her. She thought you would help her get the boys away from Richard.”
Grant’s face tightens on the screen.
“You set her up,” I continue. “You helped Richard fake his death.”
Grant shouts something through the phone, but I keep talking.
“That woman spent years believing her son was dead,” My grip tightens around the knife handle. “You broke her spirit and then you killed her.”
The room goes silent.
I move again, circling the table slowly.
“And now, I hope she’s at peace.”
Daniel starts breathing faster.
“And hopefully wherever she is… She sees exactly what I’m about to do.”
Grant explodes through the phone.
“You fucking stupid bitch!” he shouts. “I’m coming for you and I will fucking gut you!”
Daniel finally breaks.
“Please,” he pleads. “Listen, we can fix this. We can pay you.”
Evelyn starts crying. Gina sobs harder.
Thomas’s voice loses its edge.
“You don’t have to do this.”
Grant continues screaming through the phone.
“I will rip Seth apart in front of you!” he yells.
I shake my head slowly.
“I don’t care about any of your bullshit threats.”
My grip tightens slightly around the knife.
“I have no sympathy for you people.”
I look directly into the phone.
“My sympathy died with Samantha.”
I tilt the blade slightly so the light runs down the steel.
“This isn’t justice. This isn’t about right or wrong.”
I look around the table at all of them.
“This is revenge.”
Grant’s voice explodes through the speaker again.
“I’ve already called the squad on you,” he adds. “They’ll be there in minutes.”
I nod once.
“I figured. Your family will be dead before then.”
Evelyn gasps. Daniel jerks violently against the ropes. Gina begins sobbing again, her breathing turning frantic. Thomas stares at me in disbelief.
Fear spreads across the room.
Grant’s voice drops into something colder.
“I promise you, you will die screaming.”
He leans closer to the camera.
“What you did to my brother will seem like mercy compared to what I do to you. I’m going to have each of your limbs chopped off so that you’re nothing but a fucking torso!”
His voice grows more vicious with every word.
“I’ll have every member in the Collective take turns raping you within an inch of your life. You’ll beg for merc—”
“I’m done talking, Colin,” I smile. “Choose who goes first.”
The room freezes.
Grant’s rage collapses instantly.
“No,” he begs. “No, no, please. I’ll give you anything. I’ll call off the manhunt. I swear.”
“Choose.”
His voice breaks as he spits another insult at me.
“Okay,” I shrug. “I’ll choose for you then.”
The knife moves before anyone can react. I step behind Daniel and drive the blade clean through his throat. The steel punches through flesh and muscle with a wet, violent sound.
Blood erupts from his jugular instantly.
It sprays across the table and the floor in thick bursts as his body convulses violently against the ropes. His heels hammer the floor while choking sounds tear out of him.
Grant yells through the phone.
I pull the blade free.
Daniel’s body jerks once more before slumping forward. Blood continues pouring from the hole in his throat.
I look into the phone.
“Guess you’re an only child now, Grant.”