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“You interrupted Poison’s agenda. You’ve pushed them to do more than they thought capable. They are nothing but loyal to you, as you are loyal to them. You’re stronger than you think. And …” She walked all the way around me and stopped right behind me, her lips dangerously close to my ear. “And you’ve done some work on my son too.”
My eyes widened, and I glanced over at Akio. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that my son would’ve never held a gun and shot at someone before you. I’ve tried hard so many times. I’ve tried to inspire him relentlessly to join us. And tonight, he told me that he would.”
Dazed, I teetered from foot to foot.
My stomach tightened, and I had the urge to puke up my fucking breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This couldn’t be the truth. Akio couldn’t have been lying to me this entire time. He couldn’t have been putting up a front. He cared about Nicole, who was being abused by his family. They were working with the police force to pimp out girls, to pimp out Nicole. He wouldn’t join them.
Unless … he was afraid of them.
I glanced over at him, knowing that he wouldn’t hurt me or my parents. He had done everything in his power to help Ana and steal medication, even when he didn’t have to. He knew why she needed it and still helped Poison.
Akio’s mother placed her gun into my hand and wrapped my fingers around the grip. “Kill your mother.”
Shakily, I grabbed the gun from her and aimed it at my mother. From her knees, Mom stared up at me and let her tears fall down her blood-stained cheeks.
I didn’t know what to do. One way, we all died. The other way, only my parents did. Mom would want me to stay alive, to survive the wrath of the Redwood rich and to become someone better than her.
But I …
I tightened my hand around the grip, trembling even harder.
But I couldn’t do it.
“I can’t,” I whispered, lowering the gun. “I won’t.”
Akio’s mother grabbed the barrel in her fist and aimed it right at Mom’s forehead. “Do it.”
“No.”
“Do it, or”—she held out her free hand and took a gun from her husband—“I’ll kill you.”
“Imani,” Mom whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Just do it, please. I don’t want you to die at her hands. Kill me and your father. I’ve been nothing but a pain for you all these years. Get your revenge.”
“I can’t.”
“She’s done nothing but trap you in this house and hold you back, Imani,” Akio’s mother said firmly. “You’ve thrived with those boys and become something admirable to our family. We’ve been watching you every step of your journey. We’ve watched you become a killer.”
“A killer?” Mom whispered. “Imani, have you killed someone?”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head.
While I hadn’t taken someone’s life, I’d broken the shell of the perfect girl Mom always wanted me to be and become a monster with Poison. I hadn’t done anything that I regretted yet, but I knew that I was capable of much more.
“Kill your mother and prove yourself to me.”
Something inside me snapped. How could this woman even think that I wanted to prove something to her? How could she fucking think that I would ever trust her or be loyal to her like I was to Poison? I would never.
“Let go of the gun,” I said, my frown turning into a scowl. “And let me do it myself.”
She curled her lips into a devilish smirk and released the gun, turning her body to face my mother. This woman had taken so much from my family and constantly threatened them. There was no way that I would kill my mother for her.
So, I peeked quickly at Akio and then turned the gun on his mother. Before I could realize what I was doing, my body reacted. I shot the gun once. Then twice. Then unloaded all the bullets into Akio’s mother.
Killing her.
