"How long has he been hurting you?" There it is. The question I dreaded, but I promised him I would be honest, so I took a deep breath and answered.
"Seven years." I didn't look at him. I waited for him to pull his hand away, to hit me, to say I was...
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Chapter 38
Ella's P.O.V:
"But you died!" I exclaimed in shock. My body felt frozen at that evil grin I remembered so well. My mind locked in an internal battle between my logical side and the reality of what was standing in front of me. She only narrowed her eyes at me in disbelief.
"Did you ever see the body?" Her questions made me stiffen and shake my head in disbelief.
"No, we were too young," I said slowly. She snorted and took one step closer to me. She slapped me and I reeled back in surprise. It had been years since I had seen her and for most of them, I had thought she was dead. I never considered I would have to face her and the memories she left me with again.
"You are as ignorant as I remember," she snarled and her words pierced me. She was not a good mother and I did not have a great father but the sudden kindness of Kane and his family had softened me enough that her words had a visible effect on me.
"I escaped the prison. It was not very secure," she sniffed in disdain and my eyes widened. Escape. Surely, that isn't possible. "I suppose they were too embarrassed that they couldn't keep a middle aged woman in her locked away from the world-"
"You deserved to be there!" Mony shouted accusingly. Even she remembered the way my mother had treated us. My mother's eyes gained a hateful look and she shot Mony a threatening look.
"Shut your mouth, prideful brat," she snarled aggressively. Her words to my sister made me find my voice immediately.
"Don't talk to her like that!" I ordered sharply. She growled and slapped me again. This time I tasted the metallic flavour of blood in my mouth. I grimaced at the taste. Kane was quiet during the exchange his jaw clenched in aggravation.
"Both of you should learn to respect your mother. Disgusting children," she said and shook her head slightly. She forced that wicked grin back on her face and continued her story.
"They faked my death. I did however kill that man before escaping. I managed to pick up some friends on my way, very resourceful of me if I have to say so myself, and made my way back here. My next plan had to be considered carefully and planned thoroughly so had you not messed up you would not have seen me for some years." She sighed at this, as if in disappointment. I grit my teeth to stop myself from saying something. She had no right to be disappointment.
"I was watching you and Harmony for years. I was well aware of what Derrick was doing to you." She stopped and her eyes met mine. Something dark and inhuman flashed in them. I felt cold all of a sudden and had to supress a shudder. "Thank god he finally sees you for what you are."
Her words left an empty void in my chest. An ice-cold pit of despair and horror at her words.
"I saw your friend as well." She glanced over at Simon with disgust written all over her face. "Disgusting child. You must not taint others with your filth." She did not need to look back at me for me to confirm her words were aimed at me.
"Then I saw him. This filthy, tainted boy you associate yourself with. How dare you allow him to taint you further?" she snarled at me. Kane barely flinched at her words but it took everything in me not to attack her.
"Don't speak about my friends like that! You have no right!" I shouted at her, a wild feeling of pure, white anger rushing through me.
"Raise your voice at me again, Ellaina, and one of them will die." She spoke so softly I had to lean forward to hear her but the truth in her words were undoubtful. One of her henchmen unclicked the safety from his gun and the sound made me freeze.
"When the two of you were born I knew, immediately, that you were a mistake and filled with evil. I was able to purify Harmony but you refused to give up the darkness in you. You were too tainted for me to repair. I could not rid the world of you because Derrick was always watching you with his hawk like gaze." A crazy, peaceful smile crossed her face as she looked down at him.
"But now..." she chuckled softly. "He can't stop me anymore."
"What do you want from me?" I asked her finally. My voice was resigned and my tone soft. I did not want to aggravate her any further.
"I'm going to rid the world of your filth and then I''m going to rid the world of the people you tainted. You, Ellaina, and your friends, Simon and Kanneth, are going to die. If you resist me, I will kill Harmony as well, but if you do not – she will live," she explained. Her plan was delusional and insane. I was frozen in horror. The world seemed to slow down as I watched my mother, the woman who gave birth to me, approach me with a knife in hand and no humanity in her eyes.
A real monster.
In the distance I could hear Kane yelling and Mony screaming in terror, but I could not see them. My world consisted only of the woman who gave life to me, the one who wanted to take it away and myself.
How was this possible?
It seemed more like a terrible, awful nightmare, but when she was almost a foot away from me instinct kicked in and the world came back into focus – hyper focus – as I dived forward.
My mother landed underneath me and the knife went flying. Immediately I moved to pin her down so she would not move. I did not notice her order ringing through the room until it was too late.
"Shoot! You piece of-" her words registered milliseconds before the gun went off.
"NO!" I shouted just as the metallic sound of a shot rang out through the room. The sound that would kill one of us... and I did not know who it was.
