“Won!?”
I remain silent, my eyes never leaving hers.
Penelope is coming undone. Anything I say will only further set her off.
Her ponytail flings as she spins on her feet, stalking over to where she left her gun. Picking it up, she points it at me.
"You bitch!"
Anger rises in me, fury unleashed like I've never felt before. and I feel my whole body heat up.
"I'm the bitch, Penny? You made my life a living hell, hunted me down years later, ordered my husband to be killed, and forced me to go into hiding because you tried to kill me. And now I'm here again! For what? What did I ever do to you besides share the DNA of your father?"
Screeching, her arms flail as she unleashes all her anger towards me. Her words are as venomous as she is.
"My father? That man loved you more than he ever loved me, even when he thought I was his. He was hellbent on you taking over for him..." She laughs without humor, the sound hollow as she grits her teeth at the memory. "Like you could ever. You've always been weak, Ria. Too nice. Too fucking trusting." She spits out that last word like it grossed her out. "Bland."
Penelope clenches her free hand into a fist, smacking it against a pillar as she stalks back to me with a vengeance.
"You took everything from me and now I'm going to make you pay for what you did."
A sense of calm rushes through me. I feel a gentle gust of wind followed by the smell of coconut and citrus.
Mom.
Somehow, I know she's here with me, protecting me and lending me strength.
So I do what she's always done-- what she's always taught me.
I attempt the one thing I know will throw Penelope off-kilter.
"Tell me, Penny. What exactly is it that you think I took from you? What have I done personally to you that's made you so mad?"
I try to understand her.
Sighing, I give her another once over. Seeing for the first time exactly what my father has done to her by denying her the one thing she craves most in the world.
Love.
She stops right in front of me, one hand still clutching the gun while the other is fisted, her knuckles red and bruised from when she punched the wall. She’s watching me carefully now, her face turning almost curious.
"Penny, I'm sorry he brainwashed you into thinking I'm the enemy. I've never in my life thought ill of you or wanted anything from you other than friendship."
Penelope's eyes darken. She raises an eyebrow and then she extends her free hand, a pocket knife materializing from behind me. Her henchman hands it to her. She keeps her eyes locked on mine as she cuts the zip ties binding my hands together.
I look down at my unbound hands, stretching the numbness and soreness away as I rub my wrists from the cuts the zip ties had caused.
I gasp when she uses the tip of the knife to tilt my chin up, nicking my skin as she forces me to meet her gaze. Then she gestures to the man behind me.
"Zane."
Rough hands wrap around my arms and before I can even blink, he's twisted my arms behind me and I cry out in pain. My shoulder that's still healing throbs like a motherfucker and blood starts dripping down from my chin to my chest.
A satisfied grin pulls Penelope's mouth.
"You want to know what you did to me, Ria?"
I don't answer her, my eyes straining against the pain.