Chapter 122

[Evelyn’s POV]

“Hello, Michael.”

My voice echoed off the stone walls, causing the figure in front of me to go stiff. From where I was standing, Michael was currently hunched over on a small cot with his back facing me.

I wasn’t sure what I expected when he began to move around and face me. From what I was told, he had taken a serious beating from Alexander the night that I’d been drugged. But when the two of us finally came face-to-face, I was a bit surprised to find that most of Michael's face had already been well into the healing phase.

That’s a shame.

There was nothing more than a light shade of bruising around his nose and right eye.

For someone like myself who was always looking to help others, and worked primarily with plants for their medicinal properties, I truly thought that I was going to end up feeling some sort of sympathy toward Michael.

Most people knew that it wasn’t in my nature to wish ill on others. However...It appeared that I had reached a breaking point. When I left myself to look at Michael, I felt nothing but mind-numbing and heart-wrenching anger.

I wanted to possess the ability to reach through those steel bars and throttle him within an inch of his life.

Much to my disgust, Michael had the actual audacity to smile at him.

“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” he slithered. “May I ask, what brings you to my side of the dungeon?”

“You really care to ask me that?” I countered. “I wonder...Do you even fully realize why you're in here?”

Michael clicked his tongue in distaste. “Apparently, I underestimate my dear Stepbrother’s intelligence. All this time, I’d believed that the bastard was in that car and as it would turn out, he’d been one step ahead of me. As per usual,” he scoffed.

My stomach rolled with disgust at his clear inability to see the full, unbearable picture.

“Jesus Christ, you really are a fucking monster,” I hissed. “You’re not even remorseful for the mess you caused and the lives you came so damn close to destroying. I’m not even going to mention the poor driver who lost his life.”

“I take it that Alexander’s gotten to you too? No doubt he’s turned your mind against me as well,” he remarked sharply.

“I saw the videotapes of you in that mechanic shop. You mean to tell me that Alexander somehow found a way to frame you? No. Not only that but there are people who are willing to testify against you once all of this is brought to court.”

Michael’s expression of disdain melded into mild surprise .“Court?”

“Yes. He intends to have the legal system decide your fate,” I told him. “Although, I’m fairly certain that you were probably expecting Alexander to try and kill you himself.”

He sneered. “Wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Could you blame him? Even if that was the case, do you think trying to put an attempt on your life would be any less fair than what you put him through?”

“It’s different!” he shouted.

“Is it?” I questioned.

Michael looked as though he stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “What do you want me to say? Hell, shouldn’t you, of all people, be happy with the fact that you’re not actually married to a man who’s bound to a wheelchair?”

I slammed my fist against the door of the cell and a fit of fury. Michael fell silent.

“I’m not referring to Alexander, you self-centered asshole!” I stared him down with all the inner hatred I had. “He’s not the one who ended up taking the brunt of your failed murder attempt.”

Michael drew his brows together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“That car—the one that you ensured had the brake lines severed—was the same car that crashed into my brother. It’s because of you and your horrible plans that he’s been stuck, fighting for his life in a coma for the last several months,” I explained heatedly.

For once, Michael looked as though he was actually mulling over what I’d told him. He tore his eyes away from me. A weak shadow of shame fell over his features.

“Wow, to think I rendered you silent,” I commented dryly. “For someone so confident and self-assured, how quickly you folded.”

“It wasn’t intentional,” he said. “What happened to your brother, I mean? It wasn’t like I specially set out to target him.”

I curtly shook my head. “You’re missing the point, Michael. How on earth could you attempt to kill your own sibling, let alone think about it?”

A vicious look crossed his eyes. “Because I was fed up with constantly having to live in his shadow,” he growled. “You ought to know what that feels like. You and I...We’re practically the same.”

There was no stopping the humorless laugh that tore from my chest.

“No, we’re nothing close to being the same. I don’t live in Samantha’s shadow the way you believe that you live in Alexander's. Growing up, yes, Samantha had the majority of the attention but look where it got her now. She hasn't the slightest idea how to run a pack or understand any of the given responsibilities. Her own marriage is falling to pieces.”

“So, what’s your point?”

I could feel my eye twitching with irritation. “My point is that my Stepsister ended up sabotaging herself in the long run. She listened to no one but her mother, who did nothing to build a real foundation for her life. When you live for someone else’s plans, you’ll look back and realize just how little of your life belonged to yourself.”

Michael’s face took on an array of emotions. “I find it hard to believe that you came all the way down here to give me a lecture on life.”

“Don’t think of it as a lecture. Try to think of it as advice and, perhaps, a warning.” My tone dropped a noticeable octave. “You will face the consequences of your actions, whether it be life imprisonment or total exile. But know this...”

I got as close to him as I physically could given the bars that stood between us.

“If my brother doesn’t make it out of that coma, I will find a way to kill you myself. He’s the only real family I have left and I’ll be damned if I lose him because some narcissistic sociopath is jealous over his own siblings' achievements.”

Without another word, I tore myself away from Michael’s cell and headed back toward the stairwell. I kept my eyes locked on the ground and barely caught myself from tumbling down when I ended up walking into something firm and warm.

When I pulled my head up I saw that it was Alexander. My heart leaped in my chest. I shouldn’t have been so surprised, considering that he’d told me he was going to be waiting close by while that whole interaction took place.

I couldn’t fully decipher the look on his face. Perhaps, it was because the lighting was so poor. Either way, I knew it wasn’t enough to hide the pain that was evident on my own face.

All I could do was shake my head and make my way up the stairs.

The downfall of feeling such intense emotions of anger is that they leave you feeling drained and utterly void of anything else.