Chapter 208 THE COLLAPSE OF KINGS
KAI’S POINT OF VIEW.
The moment I gave the signal, the entire hall collapsed. Everyone turned in the direction where the chaos was, not just from Armando, who still had his hands around his wife’s neck. My eyes never moved from Aurora. Even though I knew she was protected, a part of me feared losing her….all over again. The police officer's father and I had hidden in the walls and stormed out, pistols drawn and aimed at Armando, who still seethed.
The ragged, wet gasps coming from Denise as Armando’s fingers dug into her throat, and the frantic scraping of Morgan’s heels on the marble as she tried to pull him off, her tears no longer streaking down her cheeks. She only looked….haunted. I guess the world catching up to you would do that.
“I DID IT ALL FOR YOU!!” Armando seethed, not even focusing on the police officers walking towards him. “Now you dare drag me into your hell?”
“Oh please, Armando….we are cut from the same cloth,” Denise says, releasing a maniacal laugh. “You and I are the same. You promised me Morgan would be protected no matter what, but look. Even you couldn't do that! Yet, you want me to take the fall all alone?” She pushed against him, her face turning a violent shade of purple. “Never! We did this together, with our daughter.
And we will all go down for it.”
“You bitch, you cheated on me….all these years, and Morgan isn’t even mine?” Armando seemed hurt.
“Oh, please, Armando. You think you were the only lover I had?” She cackles, releasing a sound that’s both a scoff and a condescending chuckle. “I only kept you around because you were a convenient ATM with a weak spine. You did whatever I asked whenever I asked for it without question.
You hated that your parents never gave you attention; you hated your own wife, too. She was the only other person who loved your pathetic self besides her useless daughter. Yet you were so fucking jealous of her.” She laughed, slapping his head harshly and violently. So violently, blood trickled down his head to his chin, staining the collars of his white shirt.
“You wanted her out of the way, but it was not because of me, Armando. Don't dare lie to me like that. You wanted her out because you hated the fact that a woman was three times smarter, sharper, and wiser than you.
You hated her charisma, her excellence, and how much the board of directors loved her. They wanted her idea, her opinions…everything she could offer. Hell, they only came to you whenever she was not present.
"You were nothing but a placeholder," Denise sneered, her voice raspy from his grip but dripping with more venom than from a cobra. "A shadow living in the house she built. So don't play the victim right in front of these godless people, Armando. You didn't kill your parents for me. You killed them because they were going to leave the company to her, and the so-called bastard. I didn’t even have to do so much to get you to kick out of your life; the bastard you’re so ashamed of. You killed them because you couldn't stand being second best to your own wife.”
Denise spat, her voice a rattled wheeze as Armando’s grip slackened just enough for her to sneer. "You weren't a husband, Armando. You were an investment. And like all bad investments, I’m cutting my losses."
Armando’s back tensed, and I heard it then…a low growl from him. Densise’s face turned from a violent purple to blue…and then red… before it became grey. He did not let her go, not even a little bit. And no one dared push him off.
Not even Morgan. She just stood by the wall, sliding down slowly, her tears nonexistent but for the stain on her cheeks. She gripped onto her heels, hugging them to her chest while rocking back and forth like a psych patient.
I waited for Armando to let his wife go, but he didn’t. not even when blood spilled from her mouth to her neck. Not even when Irene yelled in horror, “Let her go, Armando…..you’re going to kill her.” He acted like no one was around him. Only rage, anger, and death in his grip.
"ARMANDO DE LA VISTA, LET HER GO! NOW!" The lead detective's voice boomed,