"You existed."
She drops my chin, chucking the knife carelessly against the wall like all sanity has left her body.
"You act like you're above all of this." She barks out a short laugh. "But money is everything, Ria. It changes everything." She takes her time looking me over, her eyes lighting up as it lingers on the blood pooling on my chest. "It can even kill your incessant need to be this good person."
"Penny." Her name comes out in a rush of breath. I ignore the pain as best I can because though I feel like she might be a lost cause, I still want her to know I am not her enemy.
"I'll keep repeating it until it gets through to your head. I don't want any of it and I don't think I'm
above it all. If he––our father–– had just come to me instead of doing all this... I would have politely declined." I jerk my head up, ignoring the sting of the knife cut and the almost numbing pain shooting up my shoulder and back. "You were always meant for bigger things than me. I've only ever wanted a simple life. I would have never taken what you rightfully deserved-- what was always yours."
Her mouth drops open in surprise before she shakes her head, refusing to believe me or my words. She keeps shaking it until the rest of her starts to shake too.
Repressed pain and the aftermath of Vincent Santos' rejection fuels the anger she has for me. Like a movie, her emotions play out on her face as she looks away and starts to pace.
Then the fury comes back, and she whirls back around, once again pointing her gun at me.
"He left me nothing. Did you know that?"
I strain to keep my eyes open, but I keep them locked on hers. I start to feel the weight get heavier in my stomach and the daunting realization of this truly being the end of my life prompts me to face her head on.
She’s stuck in her head. She’s so far gone, lost in the memories and years of emotional abuse and manipulation she endured. The look on her face turns crazed and without warning, Penelope screams. The action is so sudden that Zane's hold on me loosens a bit in surprise and he shifts, not knowing what to do. The other man who's been standing against the wall behind Penny turns away, looking almost afraid. It's clear these men know her and the capabilities of her anger.
Fear starts creeping up my spine. Though I've known her for a long time, I don't knowwhatshe's capable of.
“What are you talking about?” I have to force the words out.
She sneers at me, her gait unsteady. “I didn’t inherit a single thing. Everything in the company was left to his relatives in the Philippines. I worked hard. Expanding our clientele and because of me, we cornered the market in Europe. And what do I get to show for it? Jail time with no inheritance? Because of you?”
“Do you hear yourself Penelope? I justfound out about him and the truth of who you all really are. I spent my whole life not knowing about all of this. You and your family threaten my life, my family’s life and now you’re paying for your sins and somehow it’s my fault?”
“BECAUSE IT IS!”
I snort. I don’t want to rile her any further but her persistent need to blame me for her actions and the actions ofherfather is pissing me off.
“Except it’s not and I suspect you know that because you’re the one with a gun aimed at me, Penny. If this is solely about revenge, what exactly do you gain from killing me besides knowing you killed the object of your father’s obsession? Are you really angry at me or are you getting back––”
My voice dies out when another scream pierces through the air and this time she charges at me with purpose. She disengages the safety on her gun.
I have minutes if not seconds left of my life.
She’s going to kill me.
I shut my eyes and think about the two people I love most in the world.
Noah.
Adrian.
How I wish I could be with them right now, in the safety of my husband’s arms holding our son. Noah and I may not have had the best luck in life, but we managed to come out on the other end. If fate happens to grant me another chance to be with them, I won’t focus on the negative or take anything for granted again. Bearing witness to what their money has done to my father, to Penelope, to Aunt Patricia… I know for certain that I am the fortunate one in all this. I won the life lottery when I fell in love with Noah.
I’ve lived a full life with no regrets because at the end of it, I was privileged enough to be his wife and have Adrian, the beautiful fulfillment of that love.
I hang on to that.
A crisp sound slashes through the air, like tapping on a table but intensely forceful.
The hands that were holding me captive suddenly fall away and I feel Zane fall before I hear it. His legs bump mine and I drop forward onto the floor. I manage to open my eyes in time to catch my descent, enabling me to use my good shoulder to take the brunt of it.