Chapter Six: Elettra's POV

“What are you doing here?” My father queries, dropping the black file he has in hand.

Not gonna lie, I had no plans to come here.

But after Theron…

Goddamnit, I can't even bring myself to say the words.

That monster touched me!

I feel my skin crawling with disgust and a layered feeling of pleasure. As much as I wanted his hand off my body, I couldn't bring myself to stop him.

Those hands..were too good, I can't lie.

However, the thought that I got married to a man who's in the age range as my father makes me want to disappear.

So I seized the opportunity to run when his little female guard thought I was asleep.

I lick my lips, shaking my head from side to side.

“I can't stay with Theron, dad. He's a monster and he's old. This is too–”

“Too much? Well you didn't think confronting a criminal was too much?” He snaps, cutting me off.

I blink back, my lips part but no words come out.

“What was I supposed to do? You wouldn't confront him despite having the law on your side.” I huff.

My father's a big talker of justice but he couldn't even get vengeance for his own wife's death.

For how long are we supposed to tremble because of a criminal? If nothing, it should be the other way round.

“Criminals like Theron are difficult to apprehend. They have connections everywhere, and you'd know that if you snooped around the documents properly.” He growls.

I roll my eyes, pacing towards the gray coated wall where my mother's picture hung.

“For a man who's renowned in the police force, you talk like you're scared,” I mutter, crossing my arms.

My father casts a haughty look at me, his light blue eyes flashing with rage.

I think I said too much.

“Renowned?” He scoffs.

His hand swing forward, his index finger pointing at my face, “Thanks to you, I've been suspended and I have no idea when I'd resume. Thanks to you, your brothers are ashamed to call themselves officers, and thanks to you, we're the talk of the town and certainly not for anything good!” He hisses.

My insides twist with fear, I shouldn't have said that.

I should really stop to think at times.

The pulse on my neck throbs as my lips curl downwards.

Just like every other day, he decides to remind me how much of a problem I am to the family.

My mother is the only person who understands me but she was taken away from me.

So what did he expect me to do? Sit on my hands like him?

He didn't let me go to the police academy because I am a female.

He always sidelines me whenever I try to help with anything at home, my opinion is as good as trash.

And he only finds faults in whatever I do.

He pushed me to confront Theron.

And maybe that wasn't the right decision but none of them were going to get revenge. Someone had to do it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at your husband's house?” My brother's voice brings me out of my thoughts.

A hard lump forms in my throat as we lock eyes, but I straighten my back.

“You really call him a husband?” I snarl.

“Oh my bad, he's just a friend. After all, the marriage at the church was a scene for the movies,” Silas' cocks his head, fixing his hands into his faded black jeans.

God, I fucking hate when he uses sarcasm on me.

“Silas, talk to her. She needs to go back, the last thing I want is for that criminal to cause more trouble for me,” My father instructs Silas but his eyes are fixed on me.

I round his body, moving towards Silas.

Not that we get along but he's reasonable.

If I give him a good enough reason to stay back, then maybe he might just help me with this.

“No, I don't want to go back. Listen, my marriage has caused more problems than it should. And living with him is literally me with a ticking bomb on my neck.” I swallow, my mind drifting back to his hands inside me.

But I push down the memory.

“He's going to kill me anyway. So why don't you let me stay back so we can work together as a family to get him arrested?” I suggest, rimming my eyes in hopes that they see the potential in my plan.

Silas' brows pull together but they relax almost immediately, following the shaking of his head.

I know that disappointed look.

It's the same one he gives whenever he finds something I say silly. My hands ball into fists on impulse.

“Nonsense!” My father yells, startling me so much that I lunge forward.

I spin around, my heart slamming hard against my ribcage.

“Listen to me Elettra, you've done a lot of stupid things already. And your most recent plot landed you into a marriage with a criminal. Go be with him and bear the consequences. If he kills you, so be it.” He grits the words through his teeth, his face hardening with disgust.

“But the last thing I'd tolerate is getting my other children killed because of you!” He scowls.

His words make my pumped fist deflate, my shoulders drop and my eyes moisten as the tension within me makes my breath hot.

I want to cry my eyes out of their sockets, but what difference will it make?

He'll call me weak like he always does. At this point, I wonder if I'm really his daughter but the resemblance we share answers my question.

He's always been tough, a hard nut that I've never seen crack.

And he wants his kids to be like that. My brothers grew to be like him but I didn't.

They became the exact replica of my father–tough, hardworking and principled.

While I leaned onto my mother's soft but brave personality.

He never hesitates to make me feel out of place, so I grew to always prove, to always impress.

That's how I got into this mess.

“Is that a tear?” Silas asks, his tone tinging with amusement.

I quickly wiped my face, realizing that the tears were flowing down while I was lost in thought.

“Elettra, go back. You don't belong here anymore,” My father orders.

Like I ever belonged in the first place.

I'm reluctant to move because I know I don't belong in Theron's mansion either.

If I step out of this mansion, I'll be running out of the city too.

With a deep sigh, I stride towards the front door, my nose inhaling the familiar woody scent in the area.

But the moment I get to the main door, I stop in my tracks.

My brows pull together in annoyance.

Why’s he here?