Page 75 of The Devil of Hollywood

“I don’t care what you want. I care what’s best for this family—for our line. Look on the positive side, the faster you get this over with, the less you have to see me. No more surprise visits. I promise.”

“We all know how reliable those promises are.”

My mother paused, an evil smile surfacing as she leaned over my desk, putting her face level with mine. “It’s truly pathetic how you wait around for a man who despises you. What are you hoping for, Marian? That Drayton figures out the truth and rushes in like a knight in shining armor? We both know that’s not happening. Besides, why would he want to now that he’s getting drunk and high with the sluts of Hollywood? It’s who he always was, Marian. He’s turned into exactly who he would have become. A womanizer. A man-whore. He fucks every woman who spreads her legs. Pick up a tabloid. See for yourself. The whore of Hollywood. That’s who you love.”

“What do they say about throwing stones in glass houses, Mother? I don’t believe he’s the only one with the reputation. Would you like to know what they say about you?”

My mother sneered, but I saw how my words got under her skin.

“Jealousy. That’s all it is.”

I smiled. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you’ll ‘trick’ yourself into believing it.”

“Maybe I’ll⁠—”

I surged forward, not just in the memory but towards Simon. And I was screaming. Swinging.

“You’ll what, Mother?” My head tilted and she stayed silent. “Nothing. You’ll do absolutely nothing. You can’t. When it comes to me, you’re weak. I’m strong. … Stronger than you.”

That damn smirk. “Look. At. You. I like this new Marian. I should have forced you into my profession. I could have made you so much more than some worthless CEO. You smell blood, and you’ve found the nerve to go for it. Such a pity I didn’t see it before. You may be a shark after all.

Loud muffled wails tore me from my enraged satisfaction. Warmth sprayed over me as I swung wide over Simon’s chest, splitting and tearing his skin open with the jagged grooves.

Shark.

Shark.

Womanizer.

Man-whore.

I reared back, making a deep laceration not far from the first. The skin was open, revealing muscle and even a part of his breastbone. I angled, drawing back the opposite way, ripping through skin to form a large X over his chest. Over and over, I let my rage and screams leave me through the continuous massacre I was creating. Through the raw realizations at what had been created because of me and my mother. Chunks of skin were resting on the ground, and the guard’s face was so pale from the loss of blood. I wasn’t going to be the mouse anymore. I couldn’t be, especially now that I was married to Drayton. But who was I now? Who was I becoming?

“Shark.” I gulped down air, trying to catch my breath. “I’m a shark. I’m a shark.” I turned towards the crowd of guards that were eating up my every move, pointing the knife right at them. “I’m going to kill you all. I’ll destroy every one of you.”

I didn’t wait. I turned, thrusting the serrated knife right through the middle of Simon’s throat, reaching for another knife off the cart and stabbing it into the center of the X on his chest. His body stiffened for only a moment before it went limp. I stumbled back, feeling my legs give out as I fell to my ass. The room was spinning. My mind was going in and out of the fog that kept trying to suck me under.

Screams.

Drayton’s voice had me flattening my palms over the stone to the side of me and digging my fingers in as I closed my lids.

“Shark.” I sobbed, feeling for the anger as I whimpered through Drayton’s deep growl. “I’m a shark. I am.”

“Marian?”

I didn’t open my eyes as footsteps hurried up. I put my hand out flat, facing it towards Elec as his voice rang out again.

“You did great, but you need to listen to me. When The Unavowed finishes, it’s not over. He’s going to want to talk. He’s going to want you to stay. You don’t want to be here. You belong back at home. You belong at The Gardens. I can help you there.”

“By erasing my memories?” I finally open my lids, cutting my glare up to him. “I’m a shark.”

Confusion swept his face, but he nodded. “You are that. You have potential to lead. Great potential. I can help you with that. I’m not going to lie. I don’t trust you⁠—”

“Trust me?” I laughed, hearing the wildness in my tone. “You don’t trust me? I don’t trust you.”

Again, he nodded. “You’re smart not to. It doesn’t change the fact that your future is going to change drastically after this. The ties you have to The Order, they’re just ties. Your home is back with us. Back with our circle.”

“My home?”