Cassandra woke in the dark. The first thing that registered in her brain was that she was cold, her arms were numb, and she was furious. How many times had these people come after her now? This time, though, it was different. They'd hurt Nickolas.

About this time, cold fear and dread settled into her mind. How many bullets had he taken? Was he dead? She might never see him again. Not that he'd wanted her to anyway. That was just another thing that added to her fury.

She wished he was here right now, so she could tell him what was what. He had no right to decide what her future should look like. He wasn't here, though. In all likelihood, he was lying on the floor of his room at the pub, bleeding to death.

As her awareness heightened, she discovered her mouth was bone dry. When she tried to move, she realized her arms were shackled to the ceiling, which would explain the numbness. She sniffed in the darkness and immediately sneezed twice. The air was thick and mildewy.

"Well, I thought you'd never wake." It was a woman's voice, and blinding light filled the room.

Cassandra flinched. Footsteps on the floor told her whoever had ordered her capture was coming toward her. A grating sound filled her ears as the blindness wore off, and she found herself staring at. . .no.

"Mother?" She enunciated the word slowly, each syllable almost standing on its own. "What's going on?" She breathed.

Lady Antrucha laughed cruelly. "Nothing. Yet."

Cassandra found herself fighting against the chains that held her. "What have you done?"

"I'm doing what I set out to do: making money and receiving a title." Her mother spat. "I've taken steps to achieve my goals, but there was always something holding me back, nagging at the back of my success." Horror flooded Cassandra. "I couldn't let your 'father' go on being happy."

"What did you do?" Fury bolted through her, and Cassandra jerked against her chains like a madman.

"I made a deal that would set me up for life and tear him down simultaneously." Maria shrugged like it was so easy to gloss over death.

"You killed him! It was you!" Cassandra's scratchy throat rebelled against her shouts, but she didn't care.

"Not exactly." Maria gave her a feline smile. "I simply gave someone else the tools to do so."

Tears choked Cassandra, and she tried to even out her breathing. She had known her mother was capable of evil, but it had never occurred to her that it could be something so terrible. Ezra had been married to her for over two decades—how could she turn her back on the person who had lived beside her for so long?

"How?" Maria read her expression. "With great pleasure. He was nothing to me. For a time, he provided my means into society, but that wasn't enough. He was never enough, the old buffoon."

"Why?" Tears rolled down Cassandra's cheeks, and her voice was broken.

"Because he never adored me. He knew how I felt about him and was indifferent to me." It was obvious that this infuriated Maria. "And he was going to throw me aside for you and your bastard of a sister. After all my years of planning, he was going to tear it down in one stroke."

"So you killed him?" Cassandra breathed.

"No," a gruff male voice drew her attention to the shadows. "I did."

A figure stepped into the dim light, and Cassandra caught sight of a blunt, square chin, thick lips, a Roman nose, and above them, it was Lavinia's eyes looking at her with such contempt. The big, brown orbs took her in as if calculating every detail about her. Yes, those high cheek bones and delicate brows were Lavinia's.

"I don't understand." Cassandra gasped, unable to remove her eyes from the big man.

"Shall I explain it to you in small, simple words, so your little brain can grasp it?" He mocked, a smile ghosting his lips.

"Who are you?" She breathed, her chest felt tight, and she knew his answer before he spoke.

"Did Nickolas never describe me to you? How disappointing." There was that ghost of a leering smile again. "I'm sure you've heard my name before, though."

"Granger." She breathed, fear and confusion churning about within her.

"Bingo." He finally smiled fully.

"You killed him? Why?" The words were more desperate than she'd intended. "Because that murdering bastard destroyed my sister." Granger flared, rage evident in his eyes. "He took her from me, and then left her by the wayside like so much garbage. He wasn't there to watch her writhing in that dark hovel our parents put her in after they discovered what she was carrying. All that blood, he didn't have to clean it up, and when her ragged breathing came to a halt, he wasn't there to watch her body go cold and rigid." The touches of insanity breached his eyes.

"You're Lavinia's uncle." Cassandra was struck by the realization. All this time, it had been someone so close to them.

"Well, well, well, despite your shortcomings, Maria, you did manage to produce a somewhat clever daughter." Granger chuckled, and the madness in his eyes subsided.

Cassandra noticed her mother's slight look of disgust, and she wasn't sure if it was aimed at Granger or at the idea that she had to claim Cassandra as her daughter.

"How could you do this to her then?" Cassandra fired, anger overcoming her other emotions.

Granger snorted. "Because of her, I'll never see my sister again." He looked disgusted. "She'll be the last to die, you know. I'll make her suffer the most." He chuckled suddenly. "Honestly, I should have ended her life all those years ago. She doesn't deserve to breathe."

Cassandra found herself writhing in her bonds. "She's not the guilty one, Granger. You are!" She spat with as much force as she could muster. "Like hell she doesn't deserve to live! At least she would have honored the life her mother got to live instead of chasing down the ones her mother loved. You're the one who should die!"

Wild insanity danced in Granger's eyes as his anger mounted. "Watch your mouth, little girl." He sneered. "Or I might have to end you faster than I anticipated."

Cassandra laughed mockingly. "You know, I can't wait for you to meet your end. Nickolas is going to come after you, and you'd better get out of the damn way before he comes, because he's going to destroy you. After what you've done to dishonor your sister's memory, you deserve to die, too."

Granger crossed the distance between them, his fingers closing painfully on her throat. "What did you just say?"

Cassandra struggled in his grasp. "I said—" she wheezed. "You are—dishonoring—" His fingers closed down harder, and spots danced in her vision.

"I am avenging her, making right the wrongs done to her." Granger snarled.

As she felt the saliva beginning to dribble down her chin unhindered, Cassandra lashed out with an unbound foot, catching Granger in the groin. He released her immediately, stepping back with a barked curse. Cassandra, however, remained unaware of him as she fought to draw air into her tortured lungs.

"You know, I might have given you a sporting chance at life." Granger growled. "But I see you only wish to die like a washed up whore."

Cassandra watched him clap his hands together as her vision cleared. A rushing sound filled the little room, and it wasn't all in her head.

"Come, Maria." It was like he was calling a disobedient hound, but Cassandra took no notice as water began lapping at her ankles.

Horror filled her, and she began to fight against her chains with all her strength. She was going to drown helplessly and alone.

"Have fun." Granger called mockingly, and a shaft of light appeared above for a brief moment before the trapdoor was slammed shut.

The water was rising swiftly, chilling her knees in mere moments. Panic flooded her mind, and she fought against her bongs like a wild animal. Warm liquid dribbled down her arms, and a tiny part of her was aware that it was blood, but she had no time to pay attention to the injuries. She had to get out—get free!

She was in utter darkness now, and her mind could think of nothing but the cold feeling of water filling her lungs. The memories resurfaced of when she'd almost drowned before, causing her to thrash wildly.

Unbidden, a scream escaped her lips as the water reached her waist. Terror was her master now, and she surrendered to its grasp.

The water reached her chest, and her breathing turned rough and uneven. It wasn't that she wasn't ready to die. Nickolas was probably already gone and her father, too, but this death was too much. Drowning was the thing she feared the most, and somehow, Granger had known that.

Nickolas. Her tears slowed as the water reached her chin. He'd always been there for her, but he was gone now. Every tiny memory of him resurfaced, and her breathing slowed as she tipped her head back, shutting her eyes against the terror.

This was her end. It was all over. The water tickled her ears, and she tried in vain to pull herself further up out of its reach.

Instinctively, she drew in a last gasp of air as the water covered her head. There was a flash of light from above, and she wondered if heaven's gates would open for her. Then there was only darkness and cold, cold reality. This was it.

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Sorry for the long wait! I got SUPER busy right around the time I was planning to post the next chapter and then I was out of town all last week, so it never happened. This story is winding up to a close. . . I'm hoping to surprise y'all one more time before the last chapter 😉.

Well, what do you think of all this trouble? Also, Granger is Lavinia's uncle?!? That's some crazy family ties right there! What do you hope will happen next?