"There are no bargains between lion and men.
I will kill you and eat you raw."
- Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
Wrath (noun): strong, stern, or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation; ire.
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STELLA KNOX SAT IN FRONT OF HER FATHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN EIGHT YEARS.
A wall of glass separated her from her past. He was more gaunt than she remembered, all sharp angles and hollow cheeks. He looked pale and frightened and almost unrecognizable from the powerful man she once admired.
Stella Knox was disappointed, but she picked up the telephone set into the wall anyway.
"Hey."
"Stella," her father's voice was desperate, almost pleading. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I love you, mija. I love you and I love your mother and Isabella, and I-"
"No. Shut the fuck up. You don't love us. If you loved us, you wouldn't have left us."
"I did what I thought was best for you. You know that."
"I do. I know exactly how it feels to sacrifice everything for someone else. I know that I will do anything for Mama and Izzy. And I also know that you're a monster, and I will never forgive you for dragging us into this life."
"If I'm a monster, then what does that make you, huh, mija? I'm guessing that you aren't exactly an angel." He slammed his fist on the table. "You've seen things, done things you shouldn't have. I can see it on you. The guilt. The shame. Those things never leave you. You'll be haunted forever."
"Welcome to hell."
She let the telephone hang from the cord.
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ISABELLA KNOX WAS A GOOD GIRL.
She consistently got A's in school, only tasted alcohol when receiving communion, and said 'dang it!' instead of 'fuck!'. She studied often and never even considered smoking a joint, even when the cute boy in her Spanish class offered. She blushed at the mention of one's private parts, and believed strongly in working hard, always.
Isabella Knox was also an idealist. She believed that people were good, capable of great, wonderful, amazing things. After all, her sister was a gang leader, and she wasn't a bad person, right?
Isabella Knox believed in people, especially ones she knew. It never occurred to her that her cousin, Pascal, was a bad person either. So when he stumbled upon her on her way to school and told her that her sister wanted to see her, Isabella never questioned it. She followed him happily, a smile adorning her face.
Isabella Knox was a good girl.
Correction: Isabella Knox was a dead girl.
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"NIMA, WHAT THE HELL-"
"You are the last."
Click. Bang.
Silence.
"Walsh? Call the police. The mayor has been deposed."
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A/N: one chapter left!! also looking back at the beginning, everything was coherent and descriptive and now look at me omg im basically turning No Saints into a dialogue book (pls forgive me!!)
