Chapter 264 Chapter 264

Chapter 264 Chapter 264

Hailey's POV.

Apparently, they all decided on Vincent's fate and I was the only one against their plan. Kai darted his eyes at me like I had just ignited an unspoken beef between us. Lorenzo had a neutral look, but not his teeth. They gnashed at every second Damien stopped to listen to me.

And Damien, he was… he was… it was hard to tell what he thought of me.

“Lorenzo, take her out.” He ordered with a calm voice. “I know you are scared but I'll make this as fast and painful as possible.”

“I said I'm not going, Damien,” I stated, rushing closer to avoid Lorenzo. “You have to listen to me, we can't kill him, it's not our choice to make,” I said.

He snickered and shook his head as though I said something extremely funny. “Humoure, who's choice is it to make?” He questioned, the funny look on his fading off to a stern gaze.

For a split second, I was distorted from his stern gaze, my voice cracking before I could even speak out. “I… I'm not saying… we… we shouldn't… I…”

“Hailey,” he beckoned, his voice sending a tremor in the atmosphere. I felt the chill crawl down my spine. “Remember what you promised, don't make me have to remind you.”

“I remember what I promised but…”

“Clearly, you don't.” He clipped. “You promised that you wouldn't interrupt. You've gotten your answers already, I don't see what's stopping you from leaving.”

“You're being impossible right now,” he continued.

“I know I might sound ridiculous right now, but I am looking out for you. All of you,” I turned around, making sure we all locked eye contacts.

They weren't thinking smart enough about Vincent. Shit, they weren't even thinking hard enough. They only endured long enough to extract information and get rid of him as fast as possible.

“If you do this, you'll cripple your chances at getting rid of…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, can you quit the act,” Kai cut in, fed up of holding his thoughts any longer.

I turned in his direction, nearly awestruck by his cold statement. I felt like my presence in the room ticked him off but he held himself from saying anything until he couldn't hold himself anymore.

“What chances do you think we are crippling?” He fired. “We finally caught the man responsible for most of the misfortune we have suffered in the last decade, and here you go with your empathetic teachings. Truthfully, it's not needed right now,”

“Look, I know I shouldn't be telling you guys what to do, but trust me when I say we won't get anything if we kill him,” I replied.

“We don't intend to. It's vengeance for everything he has done to us,”

“And after getting that, what use will it be?” I said softly.

“Stop with the manipulation,” Kai stepped closer, alternating a fiery stare at Vincent and I. “I know you are trying to protect Vincent,”

“Why would I protect him? He tried to kill me and my baby. He made me think I'm crazy,” I replied almost immediately.

“Beats me, Hailey. Maybe you stand a chance at benefitting because he is just a traitor like you,” he spat out.

My chest tightened from his response, my breath ceased and my eyes bulged in disbelief. There was no way I could believe that Kai compared me to Vincent. I may have left them, betrayed their trust, but what I did could never come close to Vincent's. He killed people, he manipulated the best head in the family, he used Sophia's hate for me to manipulate his way, he stole millions worth of jewelry.

His crimes were heinous but Kai thought we were the same.

“That's enough,” Damien finally spoke up, but I was far from done. I might have betrayed their trust but they knew I had a baby to protect. Besides, I was back again offering as much help as I could. I wasn't going to let him belittle me, and try to make me feel bitter about myself.

“Is that what you think of me, Kai?” I questioned, my voice rising an octave. “You think I'm just like Vincent. I got out there to risk my life. When detective Sarah insisted on raising a case against all of you I fought to stop it from happening.”

I moved closer, squinting my eyes and pointing my fingers in his direction with a menacing voice. “Now let me get something clear with you, Kai. With all of you,” I looked around. “When you push out a premature baby from your ass, then have to watch that baby struggle every week for a good consistent treatment, fight to survive not only for yourself but for the future of your child, then you can blame me for everything that happened.”

“I had to do something that would garner all the hate against me so my baby could live, so Damien's heir wouldn't be added to the tragic list of people who left him,” I pushed Kai on his shoulder and balled my hands into fists. “You think I was happy when Sarah kept contacting me everyday? You think I loved it when I had to live without saying goodbye?”

“Hailey,” Damien called gently, walking up to me.

But I was far from done, they needed to get a piece of my mind. It was a long time coming.

“Answer Kai? What would you have done if Louis’ life was in danger? Would you wait around for everything to be handed to you? Or would you take matters into your own hands?”

“I… I…” he stuttered to a pause.

“You do not have the right to judge me?” I screamed, my voice cutting through the walls. “Hate me, despise me, but don't you ever put me in the same lane as someone who tried to kill me and my son. It is two different things, get that into your thick headed skull!”

“Hailey!” Damien clipped, cupping his hands on my waist and pulled me in for a warm embrace. “Stop, that's not what he meant,” he said softly.

My eyes watered but I refused to let them trickle down my chin. “I know what he meant.” I murmured, sneering at Kai as he pulled back in restrained humiliation.

It took me a minute to calm myself down, and it took another minute for the tension in the room to feel less sickening.

Damien gazed at Vincent, then at the whip in his hands and said to me. “Why do you think it's a bad idea to kill him?” He asked.

My eyebrows curled up and I pressed my lips together. “I thought you'd never ask,” I muttered to myself.

“I guess none of you have been updated by the news.” I said, prompting them to stare at themselves.

“Just like he said earlier, the authorities are looking for him. He has answers that they want,” I sniffled, glaring at Vincent. “On top of that, he is a wanted criminal, everybody knows that already. That's why he was hiding”

“Yeah but I don't see where you're going,” Lorenzo added.

“If we kill him now, we suffer a risk of being investigated by the government again. Sure, we can plant rumours that Morellis had him killed to safeguard his secrets, but we should think about the bigger picture. And that is taking down Anthony's empire. He is the reason for all this in the first place,”

I placed my hands on Damien's shoulder, looking deep into his eyes. “Vincent would be thrown into jail after the feds get all the information they need to fight against Anthony and his son. That's a hard life for Vincent, he might even get killed in the first year of his stay. Either way, that would make you free of any suspicions. You could end Anthony and his annoying race over you.”

“Think about it, Damien,”