\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 99\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 99\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
90\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. I could feel every single pair of eyes on me, even Silas\u2019s, but I didn\u2019t look up. I just stared at the now blank phone in my hand. The video had ended a few seconds ago, and I hadn\u2019t even noticed how tightly I\u2019d been holding it until my fingers went numb.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Somewhere in the background the lawyer was still babbling, begging for his life, but I didn\u2019t hear him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes there\u2019s a moment when your emotions stop making sense. Sadness, anger, guilt, rage, all of it mixing together until you don\u2019t even know what you\u2019re supposed to feel anymore. That was me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease forgive my son!\u201d a woman suddenly cried, dropping to her knees with a thud. Her hands trembled, her eyes darting up to mine. \u201cPlease, Violet. I know what they did to your brother is unacceptable, but please, can you just let it go? They\u2019re only kids. They have a future ahead of them. If you let this video go public, they\u2019ll lose everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another woman went down on her knees, then another, and another, until all of them were kneeling. \u201cY-yes, that\u2019s right,\u201d one stammered. \u201cPlease forgive them. They\u2019re boys, sometimes boys go out of hand when they\u2019re playing around. We will make sure to discipline them. Please-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cut her off, my voice low. \u201cDiscipline them? How?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blinked, staring at me like a trapped animal. She glanced at the others for support, but no one looked back. \u201cI-I will talk to him\u2026 make sure he changes.\u201d She paused, then quickly added, \u201cI will also take away his PC and phone for six months\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes met hers, and she flinched. I tried to control my anger, but these people made it nearly impossible to stay calm with every passing moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think humans can\u2019t stoop any lower, they always find a way to sink further,\u201d I muttered, almost to myself. Then I turned to the first woman who had spoken earlier. \u201cAnd what did you say? They\u2019re just kids? They have a future? Do you think my seventeen-year-old brother didn\u2019t have a future? Sebastian had plans. He wanted to be happy, but your sons took that from him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced at the phone in my hand, my grip tightening again. My voice dropped even lower. \u201cAnd they\u2019re not even sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018What still got to me was his eyes. When he fell he screamed for his sister. What was her name again? Yeah, Violet. He called her right before he dropped. It felt like something out of a movie,\u2019 One of the boys had said on the video, and the words echoed in my head. I breathed harder. Tears blurred my vision as I pictured Sebastian at that moment, terrified, and calling for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head. I wouldn\u2019t cry. I was done crying because of these people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first I\u2019d thought maybe I could punish the boys for what they did. But then I realized they weren\u2019t the whole problem. They wouldn\u2019t have become monsters without the people who raised them. Their parents made them what they were. No one should be allowed to stomp on another person just because they were richer or more powerful. They had taken everything from me; now I would take everything from them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood up, Everyone\u2019s eyes were on me. My aunt stepped back, silent and suddenly small, afraid I might look her way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to Silas. \u201cSilas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raised an eyebrow. \u201cYes, Miss Violet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you really take everything from them?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:57 Tue, Jan\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 99\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded. \u201cI can. I can ruin them all, to the point where even breathing will be agony.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at the women. \u201cThen do it. Ruin them. Take everything. Make their lives unbearable; make it impossible for them to step outside without sinking in shame. If the pressure forces their sons to turn themselves in, use your influence to get them declared innocent for now. Let them go home thinking they\u2019re safe only to go through hell. When I\u2019m satisfied with how much they\u2019ve suffered, that\u2019s when you put them back in prison. And once they\u2019re inside, let them learn what it\u2019s like to be bullied.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their faces went white with fear. My aunt and Riley both opened their mouths, stunned. Only Silas looked pleased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the lawyer?\u201d Silas asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned my head toward the lawyer, the man who had coddled those boys and lied for them. He looked at me like a man begging for mercy. I felt nothing for him. It was men like him who made the world dangerous for innocent people. He felt no guilt for what he\u2019d done, he feared only for his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRuin his reputation,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd make sure he never practices law again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lawyer\u2019s eyes widened, his mouth opening as if to speak. For a moment he even started toward me, but then his gaze flicked to Silas standing just behind me and he froze. Whatever he had planned to say died on his tongue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll leave it to you then,\u201d I said, my voice calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Silas replied. \u201cI will get it done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at the phone in my hand one last time before turning to give it to Silas. He took it from me and smiled faintly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned and began to walk away. Behind me, the women shouted and begged, but I ignored them all. My head stayed high, even as my hand clenched tight with anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside, the cold air hit my face. I drew a breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alec was leaning against the door, waiting. When he saw the look on my face, he didn\u2019t say a word, he simply pushed the door open for me. I gave him a small nod and was about to step inside when I heard my name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cViolet\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stopped and turned. My uncle was standing there, looking frantic, his clothes rumpled, his eyes wild.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him for a moment, then turned back toward the car.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait,\u201d he said quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout yesterday-\u201d he began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about it with you, Uncle,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He froze, then nodded slowly. \u201cI understand. I\u2019ll leave you to get your mind together for now. This is\u2026 not even the best moment. Julian just died.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes widened. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just came back from the hospital,\u201d he said, sighing. \u201cThey said it was suicide. Even though I have no idea why he would kill himself. It\u2019s strange. He had a bright future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:58 Tue, Jan 6 M\/17 \u2022\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 99\u00a0<\/p>\n
56\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t listening anymore. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. Julian, the man who\u2019d made my life miserable, who\u2019d hit me yesterday, was dead? And it was suicide? That didn\u2019t make sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why would a man like him kill himself?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unless-\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to Alec. He was watching me with an expressionless face, like everything was to be expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
H-Hades. Did Hades kill Julian?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought sent a chill crawling down my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh God. Who have I gotten myself involved with?\u00a0<\/p>\n
AD\u00a0<\/p>\n
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10:58 Tue, Jan 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 99 \u00a0 Chapter 99\u00a0 Chapter 99\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 90\u00a0 The room was so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28015\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}