TORN BY VENGENCE, INLOVE WITH THE KILLER

Chapter Four: Sold.

Celestine POV

The night didn't fade away; it only stretched. The air felt suffocating with the weight of something irreplaceable that had been destroyed. I sat on the floor beside my mother's body, my back leaned against the wall, my knees pulled tightly to my chest. I hadn't moved in hours. Or maybe more. Time didn't exist to me anymore, not in this house. My hands were still stained with her blood; it has dried now into my skin like something permanent. I had tried to wash it off once, but it didn't work, or maybe I didn't try enough. I stopped trying because some things are not meant to be washed away. I looked at her face as I saw how peaceful and still she was in a way that didn't make sense. Like she had simply gone to sleep. But I knew better.

A sharp ache twisted in my chest; I felt a slight pain at my back, but the tears didn’t come this time. I had cried enough.

"Tears won't bring her back," my own voice whispered in my head. But rage burned through me. A weak shuffling sound came from across the room. I didn't look up because I didn't have to. I already knew.

“You should at least...cover her,” my father's voice sounded hoarse and unsteady.

Then slowly, I turned my head. Elias Moreau stood near the doorway, his posture slumped, his face hollow. He looked smaller from a distance somehow.

"You should have thought about that before you killed her," I said flatly.

"How can you be so heartless?" I continued.

He flinched.

"I didn't mean to..."

I cut him off sharply.

"Stop saying that.

" My voice wasn't too loud, but it was enough to keep him silent.

A flicker of something passed through his eyes. It didn't matter to me.

"You don't get to pretend that this was an accident," I continued. I pushed myself up slowly to my feet. My legs felt weak, but I forced them to stay put.

"You made a choice."

“I was trying to fix things,” he insisted, though his voice lacked conviction.

“You don’t understand what they would’ve done to us."

"Did you just say 'us'?" I asked.

“They’re still coming,” I snapped.

That shut him up. While the truth sat heavily between us. Nothing had been fixed. Nothing had been solved. But it had only gotten worse.

I took a step towards him until I was standing right in front of him again.

“You said they’re coming tomorrow,” I said, my voice dangerously calm.

“What exactly are you planning to do this time?”

"Oh, let's say, kill me too. Right!" I dropped

“So tell me…

He didn’t answer immediately; his eyes dropped to the floor. And that told me everything. A sarcastic laugh escaped my lips.

“You’re going to give me to them,” I said. It wasn’t a question. As his silence confirmed it.

Something inside me broke, like the last piece of something fragile finally breaking.

“I am your daughter,” I whispered.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

“It’s the only way.” I stared at him for a moment, searching his face for something or maybe anything that resembled the man I once knew. The father I once knew. Yet I found nothing.

“You’re choosing yourself. You are selfish," I said.

“No!” he snapped, his voice rising.

“I’m trying to save you!”

“By handing me over?” I shot back.

“That’s your idea of saving me?”

“You don’t understand how these people work!” he shouted.

“If I don’t give them something, they’ll take everything!”I clapped my hands together.

"Wow, wonderful, after having the guts to kill my mother." I gestured with my hands at him in disbelief.

"You still have the energy to raise your voice."

“They already have,” I said quietly.

“They took my mother,” I continued, my chest tightening.

“And now you’re handing them the rest?”

Silence fell again. It was so heavy and unavoidable.

“There’s nothing left here,” I finished.

And for the first time he didn't argue. We didn’t speak again. There was nothing left to say.

At some point, the sky outside shifted from black to grey.

—————

And soon enough it was morning. I watched it happen through the window. A new day like nothing had happened. Like everything hadn’t just been destroyed. Thereafter, a knock came just as the sun fully rose. Three sharp knocks.

My body didn’t freeze this time, nor did I panic. I didn’t even flinch. I just stood there waiting. And of course they came. My father hesitated near the door, his hand hovering over the handle. He looked back at me. I shifted my gaze, not wanting to look at him back.

Permission?

Forgiveness?

Hope?

He would get none of it. I declared to myself silently.

“Open it,” I said coldly. My voice surprised even me.

He swallowed hard and then slowly opened the door. The same man from last night stood there. Calm and unbothered, like he wasn’t standing in a house that had been destroyed just hours ago.His eyes flicked briefly past my father before landing on me. And there it was again.

That look in his eyes.

“She’s ready?” he asked. I closed my eyes for a moment. Like I was a package.

My father hesitated just for a second before answering him.

“Yes." The word hit harder than anything else. This was the final betrayal. Something inside me went completely still. Two men stepped forward. I didn’t move. I didn't fight. Not yet.

“Come,” one of them said.

I let out a soft, humorless laugh.

“You don’t even say please?” I muttered.

They didn’t react. To them, I wasn’t a person.

Just a transaction.

I took a step forward. Then another, calmly on my own, and that seemed to surprise them slightly.

"Good, let them wonder." My inner thoughts whispered.

As I reached the doorway, I paused. Then I turned slowly. My eyes found my father. He couldn’t look at me.

Coward.

“I hope you live long enough to regret this,” I said. My voice was calm. But deep down every word meant something.

His shoulders shook. But I didn’t stay to see more. I turned away and walked out.

The sunlight felt too bright as I stepped out. People were probably going about their

daily lives, laughing, talking, and living while mine was being dragged away piece by piece. The men guided me toward a black car parked outside.

There was no turning back now. I thought to myself. As they opened the door, I caught one last glimpse of the house behind me.The windows, the walls, the place that used to be home. And somewhere inside was my mother still lying on that floor all alone. That angered me again. I liked it. I needed it. Because it was the only thing I had left. I entered the car without resistance.

The door shut behind me with a soft click. As the engine started, I leaned my head back against the seat, staring straight ahead. I was unaware of where I was going, but to me, it felt like this was the end. That I would break.

That I would become whatever they wanted me to be. A slow, cold smile escaped my lips. They had no idea. Only if they thought I would submit to their rules or if they thought I would be easy.

They were wrong. Completely wrong. Because I wasn’t going with them as a victim. I was going as something else. Something sharper and dangerous than they could ever imagine.

And if they tried to cage me, I would make sure they bled for it.

As the car pulled away, one of the men spoke quietly into his phone.

‘She’s secured,” he said.

“Yes. She’ll be delivered soon."

I heard that clearly and was ready for whatever could be awaiting me.