Page 141 of Unholy Masks

“What the fuck are you on? Cocaine?” Irene gritted her teeth.

“To covet someone else’s things. Yara is mine. Tany and I would have been her family had that pig not…” I punched the wall. The pain comforted me. Mine and hers.

The ringing in my ears grew louder until it was all there was in my head. It was everywhere. It was all over. It drowned me. “She replaced us with you and your sister.” I laughed until tears burned my vision.

It was unfair, what Yara did, but I had forgiven her for her mistakes. My love for her was bigger than my anger.

“Tany? What are you talking about?” Irene blinked.

“You still don’t understand, do you?” I glared down at her. I wanted to do more than just kill her. I wanted to take things from her, like she had taken from me.

Irene winced, staring at the rope around her wrists and ankles.

Her face changed. She blinked before she looked up.

“You…”

There.

“You’re the fucking Strangler! If you are her, who did that to you?” Irene’s eyes widened when she finally fit the pieces together. “Oh.”

“Yes.”

“You knew Yara might eventually suspect you.” She stiffened. “You hurt yourself. You seriously hurt yourself,” she whispered, eyes widening in horror. “You did that all just to sell the lie?”

“Selling the lie is always important. Words are useless without action, Irene.” I chuckled, and her eyes narrowed in disgust. “You have to understand that.”

“What about Enzo?” Her voice faltered. “He liked you and—”

“What about him?” I shrugged. “He was just another tool to make the story perfect.”

“My God,” she said, as if she was only now realizing there had never been a line I wouldn’t cross, not for Yara.

“It was a good performance, don’t you think?” I smiled. Her fear tasted heady. “I think Yara believed every second of it.” I took a slow step closer. “All of you did. It was so easy, easier than I believed it would be. And so boring.”

She stared at me for a long moment before her lips pulled up. She was smiling, and I hated it.

“You underestimate Yara,” Irene said. There was no hesitation, no doubt. “She is smarter than you. All the lies you’ve told, none of them matter.” She held my gaze without flinching. “Yara will find me, and she’ll kill you for what you did to me, and for what you did to Kat.”

She looked at me like she pitied me, like I was the one bound by ropes, awaiting my execution. Smug and superior. It made me want to destroy her confidence, that last piece of hope.

My fingers twitched. I wanted to tear that smile off her face.

“Do you think you know Yara better than I do, you little bitch?” I snapped.

“I don’t just think I know, I know Yara better than you. You were nothing to her, you delusional psycho.” Irene scoffed. She was mocking me. “For fuck’s sake, she didn’t even remember you.”

Growling, I lunged at her. Grabbing her hair, I slammed her against the cracked concrete wall twice with a smile. Her pained cries were beautiful.

“I made her remember, didn’t I?” I said when I finally let her go. She winced, but she didn’t look like she had learnt any lessons.

“After you killed so many women? She didn’t remember you because she is fond of you. She remembered you because she hates you.”

I shook my head. “No, she remembered me because her soul recognized me.”

“Bullshit.”

“You don’t deserve her. You betrayed her. After everything she gave you…” I leaned closer. “After everything she trusted you with, you left her when she needed you most.”