TW: Mentions of violence and suicide.
“But you are not.”
“What?”
“Hmm, let’s see . . .” Ares took a folder from his desk drawer. He opened it and said, “Athena Verity Loide, now 25 years old, a daughter of a prominent architect. Studied at Ridgeview High in high school but transferred to St. Euredy Memorial High School in the middle of second semester. You graduated from a decent college, the University of St. Euredy—Bachelor of Arts in Communication. At the age of 18, you started vlogging and it became your path to fame and success. At the age of 21, you became an ambassador of a famous clothing brand. Etcetera, etcetera—I don’t want to waste my time enumerating all of your achievements.”
Ares closed the folder, but then immediately opened it again. He chortled, and then it turned into a maniacal laughter. “Aren’t you that murderer’s daughter? Rumor has it that you are just like your mother. I did some research about it, and it turns out that the rumors are true. You are indeed that killer queen who was never caught when you murdered 26 students in Ridgevi—”
“It’s 23.”
“See?” Ares chuckled, grinning mischievously. “I told you, I know basically everything.”
“You don’t know everything, Ares. You have no idea why I did it in the first place.” Athena cast a glance towards Damon who remained unconscious. She is still pointing the gun at Ares.
“Oh.” Ares lifted his brow, giving her a smile. “So tell me, why did you do that?”
“Because they deserved it.”
“And what made you think that they are deserving of death?”
“Those people aren’t innocent. They are bullies, and I’m not their only victim. Many kids killed themselves because of what they did, and the worst part of it is they didn’t care nor did they feel any remorse. I am just returning them the favor and giving them the taste of their own medicine.”
There was a moment of silence between the two of them.
Athena shrugged her shoulders. “I had to put things to an end. I can’t just let them continue to ruin everything—not my life, not other people’s life.”
“That is what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Ares sniggered. “I can’t let them continue to ruin everything—not my life, not the family’s honor!”
“But Astrid, really?!” Athena pulled the trigger. “She followed every order you gave her without any hesitation! What did she even do to you to ruin your life?! She is such a pure soul! How can you do that to her when she has done everything for you out of love?!”
Ares responded with silence. He wanted to say something but he couldn’t. Instead, memories of the moments he spent with Astrid flashed through his mind. He conjured up a vision of his little sister in his mind. Astrid was smiling so sweet and genuine as she handed out her gift for Ares’ birthday. She was the only one who remembered his birthday and gave him a present.
It was only her who taught him the definition of unconditional love. She was the only one who stayed by his side no matter what.
But no. He doesn’t care about Astrid. Yes, he doesn’t care about her. That was something he was trying to convince himself. At the end of the day, he still can’t change the fact that he cares for his sister, though not as much as he cares for himself.
Ares groaned. “Fine. What about we make a deal?” he proposed.
“A deal?”
Ares nodded. “Help me kill the rest of the Gavis, with no traces behind, and I’ll let you have Astrid. After their death, the family fortune shall be mine and the two of you shall disappear from everyone’s eyes. To make things short, kill my family, run away with Astrid, and do not ever bother me again. I suppose it’s a fair trade. I’ll have everything I want and you’ll have Astrid all by yourself.”
“I haven’t killed anyone since then . . .” Athena hesitated for a moment, thinking of what she should do to his proposal. “. . . but it’s not like I have much of a choice at all.”
Exhaling a sigh, Ares raised his chin up. “Drop the gun if you agree to this deal.”
Athena held her breath for a moment as she argued with herself inside her mind. She had two choices. Accept the deal and save Astrid, not only from death but also from the terrors she had in this abusive family—or decline his proposal and deal with it in her own way.
In this situation, it would be a lot easier if she would choose the former However, that didn't ensure Ares would honor his pledge. The Gavis were untrustworthy. Every one of them could be deceiving, and Ares who wanted them gone wasn’t an exception.
After thinking about it, Athena lowered the gun and hid it behind her. “Deal,” said she.
Anything for Astrid.
Athena gently strokes Astrid’s hair as they lie on the bed of her chamber facing the large window beside them. The view of the rising sun is what greets them.
It has been hours since Astrid stabbed herself. Fortunately, Athena awoke just before her beloved fainted. The drug Astrid gave her last night was not intended to kill Athena, but rather to cause her to lose consciousness in a brief period of time. Still, she couldn’t believe that Astrid tried to kill her with the drug Damon gave her. Although, given the previous events, she may have done so out of fear or because she was not in a stable condition.
“Seems like we have a lot of adjusting to do now that you’re finally free from your family,” Athena mumbles. “You could try to kill me, but I know you can never do it.”
She continues to stroke her hair, waiting for Astrid’s response to her explanation. She has given her the entire narrative, down to the last detail, even the secrets she has been keeping from her for years. She couldn't bear the thought of lying again. Not to her, but for her.
Astrid never faces her. She stares outside and says, “The twins didn’t lock me in the closet out of fun or out of their ill intentions. They did it because my mom was going feral and she looked like she was about to kill me. I'd be dead by now if it hadn't been for them.”
Athena stops stroking her hair. She is dumbfounded. It is something Astrid has never told her before.
Astrid continues to speak, “Cadmus’ attempts of killing me were actually my requests. I needed an excuse so Ares wouldn't have to issue me another order. He just . . . wouldn’t let me go. It’s insane, true, but it’s the only solution I could think of. Cadmus . . . He refused to do it but I insisted. It took a while for him to grant my request, and I know he did it out of the pressure I gave him.”
Athena could give no words to her. What she has just said has taken her completely by surprise.
The Gavi family . . . There is truly nothing normal in them—all exceptional in their own way.
When Athena recovers from shock, she exhales a sigh. “I’ll give you three choices then. Run away with me, leave everything behind, and start a new life or the same thing, though not with me, or return to your family home. But even if you go back there, your brother won’t accept you. There’s nothing that awaits you there but danger.”
Athena buries her face on Astrid’s shoulder as she hopes for Astrid to choose the first choice and not the last ones. But if Astrid decides to go with the last choices, then she can do nothing to change it. “It’s all up to you really . . . but please could you let me watch the sunrise with you until the last day of your life?”
The Tribune Times
Just In: Following Astrid Gavi's disappearance, the rest of the Gavi family, with the exception of the eldest heir, were discovered dead in an abandoned hotel in the woods. The eldest heir, Ares Gavi, stated that they were looking for Astrid when his team lost communication with them in the middle of their operation.
Ares taps his pen on his deck, holding a folder containing Astrid’s information as he glances to the window beside him. The sun is still faint, but it seems like it’s more gloomy than ever. The snowflakes are fading.
Ares then looks back at the folder he’s holding. He stares at Astrid’s profile picture. While doing so, he feels so somnolent, as if an empty void in his soul continues to expand no matter how hard he tries to cover them with bandages.
He clenches his jaw. “If she wrongs her, I’ll kill her.”
It already has been days since the announcement of the death of the Gavi family. Questions just never stop, so Ares has quite a hard time burying the truth and imposing lies for people to believe.
He did a good job putting on an act though. Deception is something he has been doing ever since he was born into this world.
With deception, there comes betrayal.
He has betrayed Damon and Selene to get what he wants. He has made Damon and Selene the scapegoats of his crime—claiming that Damon plotted the murder of his family and Selene being his accomplice. After finding out the death of her brother and Ares’ accusations of her, Selene committed suicide.
Astrid and Athena on the other hand have completely disappeared. No one knows where they are. Nobody knows whether they are still alive. Nobody knows which option Astrid chose.
They are in the shadows and will be, perhaps, there forever.
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