Page 60 of Maddening Fixation

Sometimes they died before they broke.

“Romeo...”

His voice softened, as though appealing to reason.

“Show mercy.”

A bitter smile crept onto his face.

“Ten years ago, we could have arranged for the judge to sentence you to death.”

“We had the influence. The money. The connections. We chose life instead.”

His eyes searched mine. “And now you stand here claiming we’re the ones who deserve to die?”

A harsh laugh escaped me.

“Life?” The word dripped with contempt. “You call what you gave me life?”

I took another slow step forward.

“No. What you gave me was ten years in a living grave.”

“My sister was murdered. My name was buried beside her. My youth was stolen. My soul was left to rot behind the walls of Ravencliff. Death would’ve been an act of mercy.”

My voice was no longer raised.

It was calm and infinitely more dangerous.

“What you gave me was far crueler.”

Without another word, I grabbed him by the collar of his expensive suit.

The fabric bunched in my fist.

He stumbled as I yanked him out of the chair.

I dragged him across the polished floor without the slightest concern for his dignity.

His shoes scraped helplessly against the marble.

The dining room doors burst open as I hauled him into the freezing evening air.

The courtyard had become a scene straight out of hell.

Every surviving member of the Flynn family knelt on the cold stone, stripped of their expensive clothes, their wealth, and the pride they had hidden behind for decades.

Their pale skin trembled beneath the biting Irish wind.

Armed men surrounded them in a perfect circle, rifles lowered but ready.

Not a single one dared move.

The empire that had once terrified half the country had been reduced to frightened old men and weeping cowards.

I shoved my grandfather forward.

He crashed onto his knees several feet away from the others.