“Don’t worry. My bullet travels fast, so you won’t feel any pain.”
Looking at her, I gulped by reflex, as I could imagine what was going to happen in the next second. A bullet piercing through my skull.
Suddenly, a bullet whizzed through the full-length windows of the living hall before striking Ramona’s hand, causing her to drop the gun.
Without any hesitation, I grabbed it and held her at gunpoint. “Don’t move.”
Holding onto her injured hand, Ramona collapsed onto the sofa. Despite the cold sweat beading down her face, she didn’t make a sound. Nevertheless, her breathing had grown heavy.
She gave me a bewildered look, likely shocked at how I managed to turn the table in the blink of an eye.
But given how sharp she was, she quickly found the answer. Looking at the dilapidated window from afar, she squinted her eyes as it dawned upon her. “Are you working for the police?”
Her guess was only half correct. Technically, it was the army.
Her question helped me get a good grasp of the situation. It seemed that after what happened to John, Benson reorganized the security around Featherstone Corporation. They lay in wait until Ramona triggered them.
Although I wanted to have a candid discussion with her, I wasn’t sure if the house was bugged by Nathaniel. Hence, I played dumb. “Quit with the jokes, Ms. Sutton. You have already done your homework on me. If I worked for the police, do you think Nathaniel would let me live till now?”
Just as I spoke, a deep male voice rang out from the door. “What’s going on?”
Turning around, I saw Nathaniel enter the room.
Ramona pleaded with him for help, “Quick, kill her! She’s with the police!”
Evidently, it wasn’t convincing at all. Nathaniel simply knitted his brows in curiosity.
“What are you hesitating for? The police shot me just now. Or else, how do you think she managed to get the gun? Nat, stop deluding yourself. This woman is here to kill you!” Ramona yelled.
Interpreting her words differently, Nathaniel questioned with a sarcastic tone, “In that case, who held the gun initially?”
After a brief pause, his eyes sharpened. “What were you planning to use the gun for? And what’s with the bunch of guys outside?”
Momentarily stunned, Ramona admitted, “That’s right. I did all that. Today, my objective is to eradicate this woman before you do something beyond your capabilities and die because of it. Just tell me! Are you going to kill Sienna?”
Ramona had lived a violent and turbulent life, causing her to emanate a murderous aura. Despite having one of her hands crippled, she was still powerful and not to be underestimated.
Nevertheless, Nathaniel didn’t answer her question. Instead, he focused on the fact that Ramona had overstepped her boundaries by killing his subordinates. “Help me? You got Anthony to distract me, came to my place armed, and killed my men. Ramona, it seems this incident has shown me who you truly are!”
Sometimes, men and women just saw things differently.
Ramona wanted to save his soul, but all he cared about was the facts.
Closing her eyes in resignation, she suddenly dived at me and snatched the gun away from my hand.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t left-handed and needed some time to get into position. The delay allowed Nathaniel to pull out his gun.
While Ramona had her gun pointed at me, Nathaniel aimed his at her. Threatened by the Mexican standoff, she held back from pulling the trigger.
Staring into the barrel of his gun, she asked in disbelief, “Are you actually pointing that gun at me?”
“You are certainly quick with a gun, but don’t forget who taught you how to do it.” Nathaniel ignored Ramona and warned her with an indifferent expression, “Put the gun down right now and leave the organization. I will then pretend that this never happened.”
“Are you kicking me out?” Ramona’s beautiful eyes suddenly lost their sparkle.
“You were the one who chose this,” Nathaniel replied calmly. “When I took you in, I told you that I would take your life if you betrayed me.”
Unwavering, Ramona raised her gun higher. From the look she gave me, I would see the tears glistening in her eyes. “I didn’t forget that you saved my life. And that is the reason why I’m willing to sacrifice everything to prevent you from destroying your future.”
“You should mind your own business.” Nathaniel’s tone firmed and sounded just like the time he humiliated Anthony, cold and devoid of emotion. “Ramona, my patience is wearing thin.”
Breaking into a smirk, Ramona laughed wryly. Despite the fact that she was crying, she desperately tried to maintain her laughter. “Ha, haha. Finally, you are going to abandon me. I might as well annihilate this threat for you!”
Just as she spoke, Ramona pulled the trigger with a chiseled finger.
Bang!
A bullet flew out but not from Ramona’s gun.
It was Nathaniel who fired the shot.
He had killed a woman that was willing to give up her life to eliminate a threat to him.
Just as the gunshot rang out, Ramona collapsed onto the ground. Her eyes refused to shut and stared blankly in despair, unwilling to believe that he had shot her.
With that, a deathly silence descended upon the living hall.
At that moment, I could feel a chill extending through my limbs. Looking at Ramona’s corpse, I was struck by how fragile life was again and hugged myself in reflex.
Without a doubt, that was Nathaniel’s true face.
Regardless of whether one was family or had his best interest at heart, everyone was an expendable tool for him as long as he didn’t care.
After a long while, Nathaniel let out a devilish smile before kneeling down and closing Ramona’s eyes for her.
Standing back up, he looked down at me and commented with an icy tone, “Anthony has never changed while you never planned to love me, am I right?”
Sitting on the sofa in silence, I didn’t answer. Instead, I hugged myself tighter.
As long as I stayed by his side, I would always be surrounded by death. Unable to shake the sensation away, I began to feel suffocated by it.
“Sienna, will you only give me a second look when I die?” Nathaniel mumbled inaudibly to himself.
“No,” I replied, trembling.
After pondering a moment, he let out a sarcastic grin. “For a moment just now, I was struck by a thought. I wondered if you meant that as long as I’m willing to change, you would spare a thought for me. But the very next second, I realized that you wouldn’t do so due to your hatred for me. Even if I were to die right in front of you now, you wouldn’t even bat an eyelid.”
It was a pointless question since he already knew the answer.
Pursing my lips, I couldn’t help but worry about Anthony’s situation.
With Ramona dead and my intentions exposed, I was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
I felt as if we were standing by a cliff where a gentle push from Nathaniel would send me hurtling down.
Ever since the beginning, Nathaniel knew how strong my feelings for Anthony were. It was just that he thought he was superior to Anthony and could change me. He also assumed he could change how love or even the world worked. Unfortunately, it was nothing but a fool’s fantasy.
Ramona’s death didn’t just come as a massive shock to me, it also caused Nathaniel to realize that by continuing this game, he would end up losing everything he had.
Nevertheless, Nathaniel didn’t do anything further after that. Instead, he reholstered his gun, carried Ramona up and left.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.