23

Elena

“I’m sorry! Elena, I’m so sorry!” Adrian suddenly sobbed, reaching out to grab the hem of my dress. He pointed a trembling, bloody finger at Vivian. “It was her! That bitch forced me into this! You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved!”

I stared at him with complete disdain. That wasn’t what he said when he stood over my deathbed.

“How dare you, Adrian?!” Vivian shrieked, snapping her head toward him. “You were the one who crawled back to me after I divorced my ex! You begged me to take you back! You told me you hated Elena and wanted her dead! You planned all of this, and now you’re blaming me?!”

I stood back with my arms crossed, watching the two lovers tear each other to shreds.

Idiots.

“Lucas!” I called out suddenly.

The entire room froze. Adrian, Eleanor, and Vivian all whipped their heads toward the front entrance in panic.

After a long silence, I let out a soft laugh. “Oh. He’s not coming. I was the one who handed the evidence to the police and put him behind bars.”

Eleanor let out a guttural scream, leaped to her feet, and lunged at me. “I’ll kill you!”

Before she could touch me, I delivered a sharp front kick directly into her stomach. She flew backward, hitting the floor with a loud groan.

“Damn you!” she wheezed from the floor. “We didn’t even poison you yet! We haven’t done anything to you!”

“None of you are innocent,” I said, closing my eyes for a brief second to erase the memory of the cold hospital sheets. “In this lifetime, every single one of you will pay in full.”

I turned back to Kane. “Take them all. They can work off your debt in whatever dark hole you throw them into. And if they can’t pay...” My eyes flicked to Vivian, who was trembling violently. “...Harvest their organs.”

“No! No!” Vivian screamed. “I have nothing to do with this debt!”

“You’re his wife,” I reminded her sweetly. “And you’re carrying his child.”

“I’m not! The baby isn’t his!” she shrieked, driven mad by fear. “The baby belongs to my lover!”

Adrian froze, staring at her in complete disbelief. “What... what did you just say?”

Vivian bared her teeth at him, laughing bitterly through her tears. “Did you honestly think you were man enough to father a child?! You pathetic coward!”

“How dare you cheat on me?!” Adrian roared, grabbing her hair with his remaining strength. “I ruined my life for you!”

“Let go of me! I didn’t ask you to beg me. You did!” she screamed back, clawing at his face. “I saw how easy you were. Nothing is my fault.”

I exhaled slowly, taking in the scene. Vivian was Adrian’s obsession, and Vivian had used him all along.

Poetic justice.

“Take them away,” Kane ordered.

His thugs surged forward, dragging Adrian, Vivian, John, and Eleanor out the front door. They fought and screamed the entire way. Vivian begged me to save her, but I didn’t even look back.

“Karma will catch up to you!” Eleanor shrieked as she was dragged down the driveway.

Karma!

I am their karma.

The front doors slammed shut, leaving the grand mansion completely silent. I walked over to the window, watching the unmarked vans drive away.

I took a deep, clear breath. For the first time since my rebirth, the air felt pure.

It was finally over. I had reclaimed my life.