Face to face with a killer

A bullet was fired. But not from the man in front of me, it was Camilla's Father.

“Diego, have you gone mad?!” He shouted at the man whose gun had been shot right out of his hand. “How dare you point your gun at your older sister”

There was tension between the two. I could tell.

“Uh, it's alright da.. I mean Papi” I said with a shiver in my voice. “I'm fine” I wasn't! Would Diego had pulled the trigger if Camilla's Father hadn't stopped him?

Diego didn't utter a word, instead, he just stared me down. He may have not spoken, but his eyes said it all, his words from before fresh on my mind “you're not Camilla” have I been compromised already?

“Wait, what's that?” Camilla's Father said as he turned Diego's neck to the side, “have you been in a fight? Looks like you lost”

Wait, fight? I glanced at the mark on his neck. They were fresh, probably last night. And it looked like his neck was pressed against or rather pinned down.

Diego hit away his Father's hand. “It doesn't concern you,” he scoffed. He left, but not before giving me one of the craziest death stares I had ever gotten.

“Sorry about your brother Cammy” Camilla's Father apologized, “Ever since your accident, he hasn't been the same” he had a saddened look on his face

Who cared about all that?! I almost got killed just now. Wait, could it be that Diego was the one from last night? And if so, what was he doing at The Reaper's home by that time of the night?

Camilla's Father reached out and touched my shoulder gently. “Go upstairs and get ready my darling. I've arranged a welcome party just for you, Everyone will be there and so will Victor and his Father. So make sure to wear something nice”

Hearing Victor's name made my stomach churn but not as much as hearing his Father's, The Reaper. But this was great news, I could kill him tonight, it would be in and out. Simple! I mean, how hard could it be to kill The Reaper?

I nodded “Alright papi”

****************

Upstairs, I stepped into Camilla's room. It was like a princess paradise, the floral wallpapers, the armchair sitting in the corner, the books stacked accordingly on the massive bookshelf, the fancy wardrobe, the massive bed, she really was living the luxury life.

As I glanced around, something caught my eyes. It was a diary— Camilla's diary. It was tucked into the corner of her wardrobe. I pulled it out and started flipping through the pages, my heart sank as I read the words

—April 15: I can't keep doing this, I'm tired, the agency wants me to lose more weight but I feel I don't have any more weight left. I'm fading all in the name of beauty.

—June 3: Just had another fight with papi about the wedding, I hate Victor, he's a self centered asshole. I don't wanna marry someone I don't love, why can't papi see things from my side

—September: Victor just hit me again, it's become a daily dose now…so is having sex, my cheek is swollen red. But it's okay, I'll just cover up with makeup like I always do. Smile for the camera Cammy, I'm just a doll in a dreamhouse.

And then the last entry: I wish I could just disappear forever… I wish I was dead. Maybe then, I'd be free.

I sat down at the edge of the bed. Holding the diary up to my chest. I felt the tears about to fall but I held on. She was a prisoner in her own life, trapped with no one to turn to. “At least she's at peace now" I muttered to myself.

They can't hurt her anymore, now they're dealing with me and I'll be damned if I let Victor treat me like shit!

I looked out through the window and could see the guests already arriving. I hurriedly got into the closet and put on my dress, came out and did my make up too.

“Time to show them the new Camilla Estella"

**************

By the time the party started, I was ready—dressed in a sleek red gown that hugged my body in all the right places, but I wasn't just here to look pretty, beneath my gown was a little suprise for The Reaper; A knife.

Tonight was gonna be my night, the night I had literally been training for my whole life

I descended the stairs slowly, every eye in the room turning towards me. Every man, his wife and their bodyguard. I recognized all their faces, they were all Mafia Bosses. These same people had hired me for jobs to kill a few uncooperative clients. Their gaze was cold but I kept my cool and smiled politely as I walked past them.

Diego was there too, drifting from corner to corner. I tried avoiding him as much as I possibly could even though I could feel his stare from a mile away. It was clear that he was on to me, I needed to act with caution. Last thing I needed was someone getting in the way of my plans.

Just then, I heard a voice call out my name. “Urgh" I whispered to myself. It was Victor. Now that I knew the pain he put Camilla through, the sight of him made me want to vomit. He was just like his Father, an inconsiderate man with no regard for other human beings.

“Camilla" he said, his voice dripping with false charm as he approached. He leaned in to kiss my cheek, and I fought the urge to pull away “You look stunning"

"Thank you” I said coolly, trying to maintain a neutral tone.

Dinner was tense, The table was filled with powerful men discussing about business deals, betrayals and of course, the marriage plans for Camilla and Victor.

The Reaper smiled smugly. “This union will solidify our familie’s power”

I almost choked, My hands clenching under the table. I was sitting opposite to the man who had made my life miserable, the man responsible for all my pains and suffering, I itched to stab the knife through his neck there and then but I couldn't act now.

Just then, the lights flickered and went out. Set of gasps echoed around the room followed by the unmistakable sound of guns being drawn.

When the lights came back on, nearly every man on the table had a gun pointed at someone else.

I gulped

“Have you no manners?" The Reaper said, his voice cold and menacing. He continued eating as if nothing had happened.

I clenched my jaw. The arrogance of that man made my blood boil, I tried to hold on. I took a sip of my soup, only to pause. My tongue tickled, the bitter taste unmistakable. I had tasted it before, it could only be one thing.

Poison!

Good thing I've trained for this. As an assassin, you get to build your immune system to fight against certain types of poisons, and luckily this was one of them. My body neutralized the toxin quick. I set the spoon aside calmly, masking my reaction.

Someone had just tried to kill me, but who? And did they want to kill Camilla or Caroline?

I looked towards Diego's direction, but he was nowhere to be found. It couldn't be… Or could it?

The Reaper excused himself from the table a while after that. I seized the opportunity and did the same few moments after him. Slipping away unnoticed. I pulled up my gown revealing my assassin outfit that I had worn beneath earlier. I hid in the shadows as I followed him to the balcony.

“Do you think I didn't notice you" he said, his voice low and amused.

Before he could turn to face me, I threw the knife at him. He dodged it with ease and deflected it to the wall.

“You'll have to try harder than that" he said, His tone mocking as he turned to face me.

I lunged at him, my fists flying. He went for his gun but I grabbed it before him and took a shot but the gun had no bullets. “Ha!" He laughed “Bet you thought you had me"

He was fast, blocking every attack I threw at his face. Well I wasn't surprised, he was The Reaper after all. I was clearly outmatched.

He pinned me down to the wall and used my own knife to trap a piece of my clothing down. What the actual fuck! This can't be real.

“Let me go you bastard!" I hissed, struggling against him.

"You attacked me with nothing but a knife with no gun and no backup” He smirked, “You've got spirit, I'll give you that”

“I swear I'll kill you!" I yelled, "I'll destroy everything you love!" wishing I could smack the dirty smirk off his face.

"Hahaha" He chuckled, “I have a much better idea" he started to talk, “Come work for me, you're sloppy on your feet but I know an assassin when I see one" his voice switched, he sounded so cold and serious, his whole vibe changed. It was scary.

“Never!" I resorted, still trying to loosen the knife.

“That's too bad" he said as he loaded his gun with bullets and pointed it to my face.

What was it with people pointing guns at me today!!!

“It's Either you work for me" he had a devilish look in his eyes, I recognized that look anywhere, “Or you die". It was the same look he gave when he watched my family burn.

I had to make a choice between working for someone I had sworn to kill or dying. The tables had turn.

"Times up” he said as he walked closer. He pointed the gun to my head and forced my chin up so my eyes could look directly at him.

So this is what it means to be at the mercy of The Reaper.