Page 109 of The Guru: Shadow
He smirked. And then his palm wandered to her face, his thumb slowly caressing over her cheek. He took his time until he spoke. His words carefully chosen.
“Honesty above all,ma belle.”
Everything in her froze. It was the second time he used those exact words. Only this time, the way he said it, the way he emphasized it – her heart hammered against her chest, so fast as if it believed there would not be a tomorrow.
Oh. My. Gods.
“H-How?” she breathed out with her shattered breath and stumbling heart.
But her mind already zoomed out, her hands trembled while images from the past flooded her consciousness, swirling memories back to her like a hurricane in front of her inner eye.
Memories that were only fragments and blurry visions stored somewhere deep down in a hidden trunk in her mind, deeper like the depth of the oceans.
“I know what you did,Father. And you will pay for it.”
“Please, dear, it was a mistake, nothing of the sort happened, you’re watching too many movies.”
“Liar.”
“You are sick, baby girl, please, put the damn gun down. Your mind is not right.”
“My mind is perfectly fine, you made me take those meds, you made me believe I’m sick, but I’m not. You drugged me. You lied to me. You used me. You took me.”
“Emma, please, this is your obsession speaking.”
“It is not, because I have proof.” And her past self threw a folder into his father’s lap. “Everything’s in there. What you told the doctors, what they advised, what they diagnosed, the payments, and–’ her voice almost inhumane with all the derogatory she could have. “And photos of what you did to me.”
Her father’s eyes became blank and empty as he took the file, turning the pages. “Where did you get that?”
“It does not matter, what matters is that I got it, and I got off the meds. Now, any last words?”
“Emma.” A shudder ran over her back; it was the way he said her name. “Please be reasonable, I’m family. Family above all.”
“You are no family. You are a rapist, an abuser, a pathological liar. Family means nothing to me. I value only one thing, the one thing you lack.”
And then a loud bang echoed through the room. She didn’t even flinch. There was no remorse or feeling at all. And when her father’s body fell to the floor, blood running leaking heavily onto the ground, she stared one last time into his lifeless eyes.
“Honesty above all, Father. May you burn in hell.”
That night,in the small town in Michigan she had called home back then, had been the most defining and yet freeing of her life. It was the day she broke free. And now she finally understood.
Oh. My. Fucking. Gods.
“It was you. You gave me the folder.”
28
DEIS & EMMA
PLAYLIST: KINGS IN YOUR CASTLES – STOMPER FEAT. JULES TEREA
Deis
It was time.
It was time for her to know.
It was time for his last and final move.