“No! I heard her whimpers and so did he when he carried me out of the basement, but do you know what he did? He just walked the fuck out. He wanted her dead, Aiden. He burned the mansion while she was in it.”

I’m shaking, my entire body going into some sort of shock and anger all at once. “He killed her… He killed my mother.”

“Calm down, Elsa.” Aiden rubs my arm, his voice strong but soothing.

“I can’t calm down! He killed Ma, Aiden!”

“She shot herself,” he grinds out, holding on to patience he doesn’t own. “She wanted to die.”

“Just because you wanted her to die doesn’t mean she wanted to die.”

His left eye twitches and I regret the words as soon as I say them. What the hell is wrong with me?

Ma is a monster in Aiden’s eyes. She was a monster to me as well, but I keep holding on to the fact that at some point she was my ma. Sweet and caring and with a blinding smile.

“I-I’m sorry, Aiden. I didn’t mean —”

“I never wanted her to die. I only wanted her to leave me the fuck alone.” He squares his shoulders. “You’re better off without her. She shot you and your father. What else do you need to let her go?”

My lips tremble and I fight the need to hit and scream at him.

I don’t because he’s right.

Ma was messed up, but maybe I’m messed up, too, if I can’t completely hate her.

Once we return, I need to talk to Dr Khan.

What if I eventually become like her? What if my trauma will take over my life like her trauma has taken over hers?

The door clicks open.

Both Aiden and I stand side by side as the newcomer steps into the basement. My hands ball into fists on either side of me.

Agnus.

Remaining at the door, he places both hands in his pockets.

He appears different now, more monstrous and vicious.

Agnus, Dad’s right hand man, Knox and Teal’s caretaker, our saviour, but he’s also a murderer.

That knowledge makes his features sharper, younger and harsher.

His light hair is styled back and his pale blue eyes appear serene. Confident. Just like when he ordered his men to burn down the mansion while Ma whimpered in it.

I start towards him, but Aiden wraps his hand around my arm protectively.

Agnus retrieves a cigarette from a pack, but he keeps it between his thumb and forefinger without lighting it.

That must be the source of cigarettes’ smell in the basement.

“How did you know we’d be here?” I ask.

“I get a direct notification when this door is opened.”

“Does Dad know about this?”

“He doesn’t need to.” Agnus pauses. “Yet.”

The thought that Dad trusts him burns at the back of my throat like acid.

“I assume you remember now,” Agnus continues. “I told Ethan you’d remember if you come down here, but he’s stubborn when it comes to emotions.”

“You killed my mother,” I breathe, my face going up in flames.

“Shut up, Elsa,” Aiden whispers harshly, but only I can hear him. “Don’t provoke him when we have no exit plan.”

He digs his fingers into my arm, keeping me in place. He’s watching our surroundings, probably searching for a way out.

“What will you do?” Agnus asks with that infuriating confidence. “Tell Ethan?”

I swallow my rage even though I want to poke his eyes out. It kills me that this man has been on Dad’s side after he erased Ma from the face of the earth.

However, Aiden is right. I have to be rational about this.

“What if I do tell Dad?” I ask slowly.

Agnus twirls the cigarette between his fingers. “You saw Abigail dead.”

“She wasn’t dead. She was whimpering and pleading for help.”

“And I helped her.”

“By burning her?”

“By offering her a way out, yes. Half her head was gone. She was going to die either way.” He watches the floor as if she was still lying there, moaning in pain. “Besides, Abigail has been the living dead since Eli’s drowning. I respect her choice of finally putting herself and everyone else out of their misery.”

“You don’t regret it, do you?”

“The only thing I regret is not forcing Ethan to send her to the psych ward sooner. A miscalculation on my part, unfortunately. If he did, neither Knox nor Teal nor Aiden would’ve been hurt. If he did, both of you wouldn’t have been shot and separated for ten years. So no, Elsa. I don’t regret purging Abigail from the life she didn’t want in the first place.”

He’s a psychopath, isn’t he?

If he’s so detached after killing someone, he must be some sort of a psycho.

However, as I hear his argument, I can finally see why he did it. I can finally see why Aiden thinks it was the right thing.

Ma wanted to kill me and Dad.

Ma stopped being my mother the moment Eli died. She drowned with him in that lake and since then, she tried everything to bring us all down to her hell.

The fact I wanted her to live isn’t only an insult to Dad and I, but it’s also an insult to the three children she traumatised; Knox, Teal, and Aiden.

It’s an insult to the promise I made to Aiden ten years ago.

I had hoped to have everything, but it was impossible.

One way or another, Ma would’ve ended our family just like her family ended.

“If you think you’re so righteous,” I ask Agnus. “Why didn’t you tell Dad about what you’d done?”

“Like you, he has irrational feelings towards Abigail. He would’ve wanted her to live even after she shot you both.” He pauses speaking, still twirling the cigarette. “I’ve been by Ethan’s side since we were ten years old. I know from experience that if he stops trusting someone, he’ll cut them completely out of his life. I can’t afford that.”

“What if I tell him?” I try to keep the challenge out of my voice.

“You won’t, Elsa. Ethan lost so much. First Eli then Abigail and then ten years of his life. He finally thinks he can start anew with you, Knox, and Teal. If you tell him unnecessary things, he’ll cut me from his life, but he won’t cope well with it. If you want to be the reason behind that, then by all means, go right ahead.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m simply stating facts.”

I narrow my eyes. “Sounds like a threat to me.”

He smiles without humour. “Believe me, this isn’t how I issue threats. You’re lucky to be amongst the few people I’ll never threaten.”

We maintain a war of gazes for what seems like an hour. Agnus doesn’t flinch or even blink.

A stone. He’s a damn stone.

“He’s right.” Aiden faces me. “Steel Corporation remained standing because of Agnus. If he leaves, it’ll backfire on your father badly, especially with the competition between him and Jonathan.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side.” I glare at him.

“I am, sweetheart. That’s why I’m telling you to disregard your emotions and give free reign to your brain.” He strokes my cheek. “Deep down, you know this is the best thing to do.”