Chapter 66 An Apple
Erica's POV
I jerked away from him instantly, my eyes drilling deep into Kalton's eyes before dropping to his chest-right where his heart should be. Didn't he die? How the hell was he standing here, breathing, alive?
"Oh, shocked to see a ghost, Chika? I told you there's no hell, only paradise," he said, flashing a wide smile that showed off his perfect teeth. It sent ice through my veins, freezing my soul in place.
"Did you take them as punishment? Give them back. Right now," I demanded, thrusting my hand toward him. A dark cackle escaped his lips.
"Weren't you in tears earlier, Mouse?" he paused, stepping closer until his breath brushed hot against my ear.
"Let's say, if you beg and actually cry. I might just give them back to you." His mocking words hung in the air like poison. Something inside me snapped; I chuckled bitterly, shoving him hard in the chest to create distance.
"Stop this shit right now! You barged into a hospital and took the people I care about most..." I trailed off, my gaze raking over his body with pure hatred.
"This time, I won't hesitate to end you."
He licked his lips slowly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Chika, monsters don't die," Kalton said, his voice dripping with arrogance. I shot him a deadly glare.
"Then that makes me one too. Remember, only a monster can kill another monster. This time, I might just finish you for good," I added, and his smirk stretched wider, twisted.
"If I'd met you earlier, I would've hooked up with you in a heartbeat. Too bad that undeserving brother of mine got to you first."
"He isn't undeserving. He earned everything fair and square. He beats you in every way,: possible and impossible," I fired back. He chuckled, but his veins bulged, his lips twitched, and his eyes darkened like storm clouds rolling in. He was furious.
"Ahh, have you heard from Aaron?" he asked casually. My body tensed instantly. It was true, something felt wrong. Aaron always found a way to contact me, to taunt or check in, but he hadn't. It had been two days now. Kalton's words reeked of a trap.
"Where is he?" I demanded, my voice low and sharp. Another cackle slipped from him. I watched his throat bob up and down, and all I could think was how badly I wanted to slice it open with a dagger. But I kept my gaze steady, ice-cold.
It was broad daylight, people strolling around us, whispering about how we "fit" together, how we complemented each other's looks. Freaking idiots. Even if I was on the brink of death, I'd rather die than spend a single day with Kalton. He was a demon in human skin, a cold-blooded murderer.
"Who knows? But he isn't coming back anytime soon," he said smugly. My lashes fluttered down for a split second. He'd dragged the Mafia family into this mess...
A hysterical laugh burst from my lips. I laughed harder, watching Kalton stare at me in confusion, one brow arched high.
"Gosh... wait-you actually did that? What?" I gasped between laughs, my words slurred on purpose. Inside, I was shattering-hiding the agony of losing Jolie and Emily to assassins, and now Aaron was gone, only God knew where. But the last thing I'd do was let Kalton see my fear, my heartbreak. I'd bury it deep before risking their lives by showing weakness.
I stopped laughing abruptly, turning to him with dead eyes that flared into his. My lips twitched into a sneer.
"Gosh, what a fucking daddy's boy," I muttered. Kalton's eyes went pitch black, pure rage.
"What did you say?" he growled, stepping closer as I pretended to examine my nails.
"In life, there will always be those who can never climb to the top, no matter how hard they try." I twitched my lips up, letting disgust flood my face.
"You're no different." He snapped then, lunging forward, gripping my collar tight. I just stared him down, unflinching. The stares from people around us dimmed; fear gripped them, and they scattered fast. They finally saw the monster hiding behind that pretty face and those full lips.
"You're a daddy's boy. You couldn't clean up your own mess. So what did you do? Run crying to Papa like a scared little kid! Tsk... Papa must be so disappointed now," I said slowly, deliberately, letting every word sink in like venom.
"Fuck you!" he snarled, raising his hand high to strike a slap that never landed. My dagger pressed cold and firm into his chest.
He froze solid.
"This time, should I perform live surgery? Show everyone here how to dig out a monster's heart? I wonder... do you even have blood pumping through yours?" I whispered, twisting the blade just enough to picked his skin.
"Those who can't clean their own mess... How would Papi see you now? Oh wait-he would call you truly unworthy." I licked my lips, tasting the power shift.
My heart pounded wildly inside, like thunder in my chest. I was exhausted, drained, everything crashing down on me at once... but I couldn't show fear. He thrived on it. I hated being vulnerable to monsters like him.
I wanted monsters to feel vulnerable in my presence.
My gaze flicked to his still-raised hand, and I puffed out a mocking breath.
"Papi must've hit you a lot growing up for you to pull shit like this," I taunted, pouring salt on his deepest wounds.
"Shut it!" he hissed. I laughed: slow, chilling, then let it die.
"Only cowards raise their hands to women. You're no different, Kalton. Just a daddy's pet who thinks the world revolves around him." I muttered, hiding my trembling left hand behind my back. He couldn't see the shakes.
"You know nothing! I'm not a coward, and Aaron deserves nothing! He killed his fucking mother just by being born. His very existence ruined me. I'd watch him crush and tremble under my feet without an inch of mercy."
The words hit like spit in my face, vile, disgusting. I didn't flinch, wiping away the invisible filth, watching his brows furrow in rage.
"Now I know why Aaron keeps winning, over and over," I muttered, sliding the dagger back into my waistband. I stepped back, shoving his hand off me.
"Let's meet on your death ground next time, Kalton," I said coldly, turning and walking away, swaying my hips defiantly, but with dead, hollow eyes.
It was people like him, selfish to the core, rotten with only their own interests, that made me who I am. That shaped Aaron into the man he became.
Sometimes, circumstances force people to change, to harden, to survive.
For his own stepbrother to spew such venom at Aaron... I couldn't imagine the poison he'd endured in that goddamn clan growing up. Back in high school, I never knew he was the son of a Mafia boss. He was just quiet, brooding... I ran my tongue over my upper teeth, pushing down the ache.
I didn't care that Kalton gaze burned holes into my back. Then I paused, turned, and flashed him a wide, wicked smile.
"Tell your Papi the devil sends her greetings," I said, before walking off for good.
I reached for my phone as I stepped into the hospital entrance.
"Hello," a female voice echoed through the line, and a real smile tugged at my lips for the first time that day.
"You remember what you promised me, right? Cassandra," I said. Her soft voice replied, steady and grateful.
She was a detective now, the best in her field. She had clawed her way from a belittled cop to the top, where everyone bowed to her. And she owed it all to me, because I saved her when no one else would.
(FLASHBACK—EIGHT YEARS AGO)
I was eighteen then, hiding under the name Erica with a completely new face, attending that hellhole of a high school.
Cassandra was the girl everyone avoided. They'd step on her, crush her spirit, and she'd always apologize-over and over, no matter what.
"Don't interfere," Jolie and Jaxon warned me. But every time she got slapped in the cafeteria, shoved to the ground and forced to bark like a dog while everyone watched and laughed... I couldn't take it. No one did a thing. It boiled my blood. She reminded me of myself: broken, used, discarded by the world.
I should've minded my own business, like always. But I'm Erica. Celina was dead and gone; only the stubborn, psychopathic survivor remained.
CRASH.
Her tray hit the ground. I froze, turning to the usual daily chaos.
Cassandra stood rigid, not daring to look at the spilled food. She'd spent her last cents on that meal. All she could do was press her lips tight.
My eyes shifted to the milk soaking the floor as they stomped on it, kicking it aside.
The usual blonde bully grabbed Cassandra's hair, yanking hard enough to draw a yelp. Cassandra stumbled up from her seat.
"Please," she begged weakly. She looked paler, frailer-pain hurting her deeper than the usual bullying. The bully guy shoved her down hard. She winced, licking her dry lips, staring at the ground as the blonde cackled.
Everyone gasped. Blood-seeping between her legs. My vision darkened in an instant. The bully laughed harder, tossing her a pad like trash.
"Come on, suck it up, Grinch," she sneered, and a male covering his nose dramatically.
"You stink. Your period smells like a pig took a bath in it!" That was the breaking point. Tears streamed down Cassandra's cheeks. No girl deserved that, especially not on her period, and vulnerable.
I grabbed my lunch tray, ignoring Jolie's attempt to stop me. I walked straight to the blonde and tapped her shoulder.
She spun, glaring down. "What?" she barked.
I didn't let her finish. I smashed my tray into her face, the food splattering everywhere, then yanked her hair back hard. A scream ripped from her throat.
"Let go!" she shrieked. I did but after shoving her to the ground, just like she'd done to Cassandra.
The other male charged at me, but I dodged smooth. I hadn't learned taekwondo for nothing.
POW.
My kick landed square in his gut, sending him flying back into the next table with a crash.
The cafeteria went dead silent. Laughter died on their faces.
Yeah, in high school, I was that girl-the one no one messed with. I didn't talk, didn't mingle. Celina's scandal still haunted whispers, and with my new face, it all crushed me inside. But I wouldn't let another life get ruined.
I will always fight bullies and villains, no matter how rich or powerful.
"If anyone touches a single strand of Cassandra's hair, from now on, here or anywhere-I promise you won't live to see another day," I warned the students.
Cassandra stared at me, wide-eyed, tears glistening as if I'd become her hero.
But the next day...
POW!
The slap stung my cheek. The mother raised her hand again, but I glared so fiercely her veins popped in fury.
"You dare glare at me? Who the fuck is your mother? Didn't she teach you manners?" she yelled, her lips parting in rage.
"And you? Did you teach your daughter any better?" I shot back, my gaze low and cutting. I turned to the blonde, who shivered under it, and clicked my tongue.
"I should've done worse than smashing her face with a tray," I muttered loud enough for all to hear. The mother's eyes widened in shock. She lunged, but the homeroom teacher held her back. I scanned the woman head to toe.
A sneer escaped me.
"True, now I understand, why an apple doesn't fall from a mango tree," I mocked.