“No.” There’s a small scoff in her tone. “Because she annoyed me just by existing. She took far too much of Father’s time and attention.” A hint of jealousy seethes underneath her cold words. She can’t stand it that she had to share.
“Does Vincent know?”
“Maybe. But it doesn’t matter. He only cares about Roland, not some bimbo he banged a few decades ago.” She sips the tea. “Ugh, bitter. Why do you drink this dreck?” Despite the complaints, she sips some more.
Still, I don’t drink mine. She could’ve taken something earlier to make her immune to whatever she might’ve added to the matcha.
Her phone beeps shrilly four times. She checks the screen. A slow smile splits her face, revealing rows of bone-white teeth. “Oh, look. They all died of massive heart attacks.”
What?
“And then veins burst in their brains. How sad.” She faux-pouts. “Now I’m just a poor orphan. Even my unborn nephew is dead.”
I frown. “Unborn nephew?”
Mom blinks innocently. “Didn’t you know? Kenna was pregnant with Roland’s son. She thought no one knew because she wasn’t really showing, but…” A shrug. “I might’ve let her live if I could be certain that she wasn’t pregnant with a boy. It’s so…complicating.” Mom smiles again. “But no, I’m alone. Except foryou, your brothers and your father. I just need to get that bitch Akiko out of the way.”
Madness dances in her eyes. The icy chill spreads until not even the tea can warm my hands. She lives in her own world, believing only her version of reality. She would never accept that none of us agrees with her. She might even harm Klein and my sisters-in-law if her twisted logic decides they’re the threat to her idea of a “happy family.”
I’ll be damned if I’ll let her. Even if it costs my life, I’m going to keep my family safe. “What if I stop you?”
“Stop me from what?”
“Doing this. Hurting the family.”
She snorts. “Didn’t anybody teach you to love your mother?”
“They did. And I do love Akiko.”
She explodes to her feet. “She’s not your mother! I am!”
I jump to my feet as well. The water I left in the pot is now boiling. “She’s been a true mother to me, unlike you!”
“You stupid, ungrateful…!” She swings the gun up.
I go low and lunge at her. A loud gunshot, followed by a thud as Mom slams into the mat on her back and loses her grip on the gun. A metallic clatter, and she screams. The water in the kettle spreads all over the mat.
Yes!
I lunge for the gun, but she kicks it out of reach, then comes at me with surprising speed and power. A sharp sting on my arm. A gash forms on my arm and drips blood, dotting the floor crimson.
Surprised, I glance at her. She’s holding a small knife. “I always have a backup.”
I grab the copper pot and swing it as a makeshift weapon. It’s awkward, but better than getting sliced up. Her blue eyes glow as she lashes at me over and over again, each strike vicious. Fromthe way her pupils are dilated, she must’ve taken something to improve her strength and speed.
“Close your eyes, Klein!” I call. This is going to get ugly and brutal.
Adrenaline pumping, I kick at Mom’s knee as she takes a swipe. The tip of the knife cuts through my forearm like butter. But my foot connects with her knee and something crunches.
Screaming, she loses her balance. I don’t bother to go for the gun. I launch myself at her, aiming my knee at her ribcage. She rolls out of the way and plunges the knife into my thigh. Out of reflex, I pull it out and stick it into the closest part of her I can reach.
She hollers. More blood than I ever imagined a human being can hold gushes out. I blink, dazed. I might’ve severed an artery.
Her complexion turns ashen. She opens and closes her mouth as though in disbelief. I shake as nausea roils in my gut. I can’t move or process. It doesn’t seem real.
Within a few minutes, the light in her eyes fades.
I stare at her for a moment, inhaling the metallic smell. I keep thinking she’s going to get back up, like some kind of horrible bleeding Terminator. She’s the kind of monster that never dies.
