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“I’m a Price,” he replies in this detached tone that makes my stomach plummet. “Atlas, Jacob, Florian, and Kian just think they are better than Bellamy and Maxwell because they managed to keep their empire and prosper. And everyone who thinks they are better than someone else needs to learn a lesson.”
“They never acted this way. Bellamy betrayed his cousin, and Maxwell just became collateral damage. Apples usually don’t fall far from the tree.” I give him a once-over and lift my chin. “You prove that fact. They loved you, and what did you do? Grew up to be a serial killer who hunts them.”
Some psychologists can excuse his behavior by arguing that he was kidnapped at a young age, so it affected him and how he views his birth family. I believe that the man who raised him should be blamed for his turning into a murderer who harasses the Price dynasty and feeds on their misery, but I disagree.
The Four Dark Horsemen went through hell and back in their childhood, and none of them grew up to be psychos. To be a vicious demon is a choice, and no one can convince me otherwise.
“I always found his pain fascinating,” Frederick replies as if he didn’t listen to a word I said, while he presses his fingertip to the blade and draws blood. “Seeing Florian crushed did something to my insides in a way nothing could top it. Whenever he fell, I smiled. Whenever our mother hurt him, I experienced joy, and whenever I heard him cry in bed…I just couldn’t help laughing under the covers.” Frederick must have had signs of psychopathy as a child that no one diagnosed.
Shivers travel down my spine as another stabbing sensation sweeps over me, and my fingers curl on my lap, making me frown. Why didn’t he tie me up in any way? Is he so sure about himself that he doesn’t even expect me to run?
“And then they kidnapped us. I just wanted to see him suffer and for someone to finally tear his flesh so the blood would flow.” He hisses. “What a glorious sight it would have been. Instead, they took me away to another cell where Death planned to kill me.” A displeased huff slips past his lips as he drags the knife over his chin, leaving a few cuts on already bruised flesh. Looking at him now shows all the various scars on his face and neck. “I could hear them raping and torturing Florian, and it brought me joy here.” He places his splayed palm on his heart. “So much joy. The best music to my ears is someone’s suffering. It shows their weakness as humans.”
My stomach twists while my heart bleeds thinking about Florian, but I control the tears that threaten to spill out as I won’t give him that kind of satisfaction. “Maybe it’s news to you, but you’re human too.”
He looks at me again and rolls his eyes. “I’m superior to anyone else. And Death saw something in me that day, so he kept me as his. Because he had a legacy to uphold.”
“To terrorize the Price family?”
“Terrorizing the Price family was a personal vendetta. Our great-grandfather slept with Death’s grandmother and then disappeared, leaving her alone to face the scrutiny. She had to marry a wife beater later on, and Death couldn’t stand her pain, blaming only one person. The Price patriarch.” That would explain why this started with Grandpa Atlas and his brother. Their father was the one who caused the unstoppable chain of events with his actions. “I had little interest in that, but everything else? The child trafficking rings, the women he stole so he could have his pimping businesses, and the men he gathered just to torture them and get good money for it all? How could I not admire it?” The bile rises in my throat again. How far gone do you need to be to admire this? “Plus, he had all the money in the world. Being his son was a dream come true, even if his preaching and nagging got on my nerves.” He frowns. “He had his annoying moments, and that’s why I finally had to cut his throat off. Couldn’t listen to that bullshit no more.”
I shift a little and wince as the stabbing pain intensifies and starts coming in irregular waves. “And that’s when you decided to form your own plan?”
“I went on a killing spree, and while it sustained some of my desires, I still craved to see Florian’s downfall. Because he acted as if he was better than me by becoming this monster who only murders the bad people and hunts down the likes of us.” He comes closer, the blade swaying more rapidly, and my heartbeat becomes so fast and loud I can feel it in my throat. “The Four Dark Horsemen believe they are the superior kind when we are all the same. People who get joy from killing others.” His manic laughter mixes with the thunder booming, sounding even more sinister. “Why does it matter who’s the victim if the outcome is all the same?”
For a psychopath such as Frederick, victims are just toys with no life history, personality, or soul. He doesn’t care about anything but his own wants and needs, which makes him incapable to see the difference between himself and the dark four or their New York friends.
The men in my family kill to protect those who cannot be protected otherwise or stop the madmen who think they’re invincible. Their darkness serves as a shield to those who have no voice or hope left.
Frederick’s darkness destroys and terrorizes.
They are not the same because darkness even has gray in it.
“Maybe you’re just jealous that Florian has everything. Status, friends, family, and you don’t.” I gauge his reaction, and he gives me none, which means he doesn’t care about any of those things. “So you finally couldn’t hold back?”
“I wanted to kill them all, truth be told, but then my cameras caught a kiss.” He squeezes the blade so hard, it cuts his hand. Blood drips on his leather shoes, and he lifts his hand to his mouth, licking it away. “And I knew it was just a matter of time. You’re my perfect weapon.” He drags the blade to his artery, playing with the tip, and for a second, I wonder if he plans to kill himself too. “They all love you, Jacob included. You’re connected to them all, and you’re carrying their heir. I can even fulfill my promise to Death now.”
“He’ll find me. Florian will find me and kill you.” I’m not sure how much time has passed since my kidnapping because of the weather change, but Florian will find me on time. And my brother as well.
They will never fail me.
“I’m counting on it, sweetheart. That’s the whole point of this show.” My brow furrows, only for me to cry out when extreme pain rushes through me, tingling my spine, and then I feel wetness in my underwear. Like I’m peeing without actually doing it. “I hope they will get here for the baby’s birth. The medication to induce labor has already kicked in, it seems.”
“No,” I whisper, placing my hands on my stomach. “No.” It’s too soon. I’m barely seven months along. Giving birth in such conditions would risk my baby’s life. “You’re a monster.”
“I know. Isn’t that great?” Another burst of maniac laughter. “I can’t wait, actually. I’d like to cut it out from you so I can stab it myself.”
My contractions intensify while all my maternal instincts rise up, pushing any other thoughts away besides protecting my baby from this psychopath.
I’ll do anything.
“Besides, I want to watch you bleed. It will be a long and painful process but so worth it for me. There is no world in which Florian’s son lives. I won’t allow for this to happen.” He cups my cheek, smearing me in his blood, and I slap it away. “My apologies, Jimena. It’s nothing personal. Any last wishes before I proceed?” He shakes the blade. “I picked my favorite one to do the honors, so you should be flattered.”
“Listen to me well, Jimena. If you ever get yourself in an impossible situation, remember one rule. Survive no matter what, and use all your strength. Bad people have no mercy, and only a cunning mind can deceive them. “
“But what if the man is scary, Daddy?”
“Then you use his weapons against him.”
