Riley’s POV
I stepped toward them deliberately.
The sound of my boots against the floor echoed through the hall, steady and controlled. The knife hung loosely in my hand, but the blood still dripping from it made its own quiet rhythm against the ground.
Ethan, Daphne, and Wendy reacted imdiately.
Their formation broke.
Daphne grabbed at Wendy’s arm, trying to pull her forward, but Wendy jerked away, shoving her back in return. Ethan took a step back, but there was nowhere to go. The guards had sealed every exit, and the walls behind him offered no escape.
"Go," Daphne hissed under her breath, pushing at Wendy again.
"Why ?" Wendy snapped back, her voice shaking despite her attempt to sound firm. "You were part of it too!"
Ethan didn’t say anything. His eyes stayed on , wide and unfocused, his breathing uneven.
They kept shifting, each one trying to put the other ahead.
I stopped walking and they froze.
I looked at them for a mont, taking in the way they moved, the way they avoided my gaze, the way none of them wanted to stand alone in front of .
"Don’t worry," I said.
My voice cut through their panic imdiately. "I’ll choose who goes first."
Silence dropped again. I tilted my head slightly, letting my eyes move between them.
Daphne.
She stiffened when my gaze landed on her, her grip tightening around her own arm as if she couldn’t hold herself together.
Then Wendy.
Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to speak, but nothing ca out. Her shoulders were tense, her body already leaning away from .
Then Ethan.
My gaze stayed there. He didn’t move. He couldn’t.
Sothing in his face changed the mont my eyes locked on his.
Recognition.
Fear.
Understanding.
I took one step closer. "You," I said to him.
My voice was quiet but clear. "Co here... dead husband."
The words landed exactly where I wanted them to.
Ethan’s body went rigid.
For a second, he didn’t react at all, like he hadn’t processed what I said.
Then Daphne’s hand shoved against his back.
"Go," she muttered.
Wendy joined in, pushing him from the side.
He stumbled forward. His feet dragged at first, like they were stuck to the ground, but the force from behind him was enough to break whatever was holding him in place.
He lurched toward , off balance from the force of the push from Daphne and Wendy, his body unable to steady itself.
I stepped aside at the last second and he missed completely as his body hit the floor hard, the impact loud enough to echo through the hall. His hands scraped against the ground as he tried to stop himself, but it wasn’t enough.
He landed fully, face down.
For a mont, he didn’t move. Then he pushed himself up slightly, breathing hard.
I turned slowly and walked toward him.
I didn’t rush. I circled him instead.
One slow step at a ti.
He tried to get up, but his arms shook under his weight. He barely managed to get onto his knees before dropping back down again.
I stopped in front of him. Then I moved again, stepping around him in a slow circle.
He followed my movent with his eyes, his head turning slightly, his breathing still uneven.
I let the silence stretch.
Then I crouched down in front of him. Close enough that he couldn’t avoid looking at .
"Where should I start?" I asked.
My voice was calm and grim.
He swallowed hard, his throat moving visibly as he tried to find words.
"Riley... I-"
I didn’t let him finish.
"While you were married to ," I said, my tone sharpening slightly, "you treated like I didn’t matter, like trash."
His lips parted again, but no sound ca out.
"You cheated," I continued. "Not once. Not twice. Openly. Like it was nothing."
His gaze dropped for a second, but I reached forward and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at again.
"No," I said. "Look at ."
He did. Reluctantly.
"You didn’t even try to hide it," I went on. "You didn’t care if I saw. You didn’t care if people talked. You didn’t care about anything except yourself."
His breathing picked up again, his chest rising and falling faster.
"And then," I added, my voice lowering slightly, "you went even lower."
His eyes flickered.
"You slept with your own stepsister," I said.
The words ca out clean and direct.
"In a company I built."
My grip on his chin tightened slightly.
"A company I fought for," I continued. "A company I kept standing when everything was falling apart."
His face tightened, his expression shifting between guilt and panic.
"And you did it there," I said. "Like I ant nothing. Like everything I worked for ant nothing to you."
"Riley... it wasn’t-" he tried.
I cut him off again. "And even after all that," I went on, my voice steady, "you still ca after ."
His eyes widened slightly.
"You ca back," I said. "Like you had any right to."
I let go of his chin and stood up slowly.
He stayed where he was, his body still low to the ground, his hands pressed against the floor for support.
"You used ," I continued as the words ca out sharper now. "The other day."
His shoulders stiffened.
"You knew I was hurt," I said. "You knew I wasn’t in control. And you still fucked relentlessly while I was wounded."
He shook his head quickly, panic rising in his expression.
"No-no, I didn’t-"
"You did," I said.
My voice didn’t rise, it didn’t need to.
He went quiet. I stepped closer again, stopping just in front of him.
"And then," I added, "you ca running back."
His eyes flickered again, avoiding mine this ti.
"The mont you found out," I continued, "that Wendy-your so-called lover-was cheating on you too."
At that, his head snapped slightly toward Wendy before he caught himself.
I saw it.bI let out a short breath.
"You didn’t even hesitate to think Ethan," I said. "You ran back to like I was your backup plan."
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.
"You beca obsessed," I went on. "Suddenly, I was the one you couldn’t let go of?"
I tilted my head slightly, studying his face.
"And now look at you."
He didn’t respond. His body stayed tense, his breathing still uneven, his eyes flickering between fear and sothing else he couldn’t hide.
I took another step closer. Close enough that he had to lean back slightly to maintain distance.
"Now," I said.
My voice dropped quietly. "Tell ."
I raised the knife slightly, letting him see it clearly again.
"What should I do..."
I paused.
My gaze locked onto his. "...to soone who’s committed all these cris?"
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