Fifty two

JADE POV

Lexis' struggle grew weaker, and I watched without an ounce of mercy as I choked the life out of her. She had known what to expect if she ever betrayed me, and that was exactly what she was getting.

"Stop!" Hayden's voice reached me, and I turned to take in the look of horror in his gaze."What are you doing?" He yelled, his eyes lingering on Lexis' pale face. "You are going to kill her!"

That was the plan, but on second thought, I let go and lexis fell to the floor. She spluttered loudly as the oxygen I had deprived her of rushed into her lungs, a fitful cough followed and she lay on the floor, unable to pick herself up even after a full minute.

"Where is Ryland?" I asked, and she managed to look at me, ugly tears leaving stain marks on her cheeks, and her eyes were bloodshot as if she'd gotten scratched by cats directly on her irises.

"I don't..." She started when I raised a hand to silence her.

"I would think really well about how I would answer that question if I were you Lexis because you never know, your life might just depend on it" I got out in a cold voice and the fear that had lurked in her eyes increased two-fold.

"But I really don't know where he is hiding out. I was surprised when I saw him myself".

"Yet, you decided to do his bidding, but I am not surprised since you also helped him murder our father... Was that how easy it was for you to turn against me after I spared your life? You knew the consequences, yet you went ahead with it. You actually thought you would succeed didn't you, you believed in that tiny head of yours that you would get away with it".

Her gaze turned vicious, her pheromone spiking in anger. "I fucking did it because you hurt Hayden" she screamed, her voice hoarse, due to the pressure I had applied while choking her. I wondered if I had caused more damage than I'd meant to do. "I wanted to make you pay for what you did to him. The only way Hayden would ever truly move on was when you were dead and out of the picture, I did it because I hated your fucking guts".

"What..." Hayden spluttered in confusion, as he did a double-take at Lexis. "What are you talking about".

Lexis turned to him with tears in her eyes, her voice a lot softer. "I was so mad about what she did to you, Hayden. You did not deserve any of that. She hurt you and left you with permanent scars. Did you think I was just going to let it all go"

"Save your lover quarrel for later, or not since I am not feeling very forgiving at the moment," I snapped, deciding that I have had enough. I pulled out my gun and aimed it at Lexis. Her eyes widened.

"You can't!" She yelled as she got to her feet hurriedly, then she went into panic mode, as she saw my finger tighten against the trigger. Hayden was suddenly in front of her, shielding her with his body from me, holding himself up even tho he was clearly in pain from the posture. Lexis stared from behind him, tears streaming down her face and her hand clutching at Hayden's pants as if they were her lifeline.

"Step away from her, Hayden. I do not want to kill you".

"No, I can't do that. Let her live. I have been looking after her for so long and in those times, she never did anything that could have endangered your life. Please, can you just forgive her for her first mistake?"

"Betrayal is not a mistake. She premeditated her whole action, but just because she didn't succeed, does that mean she gets to go with a pat on her back. I don't fucking think so".

"If you want me to live a good life then you will spare her life" Ryland got out imploringly, his eyes boring into mine from where he stood. He was brave to get that out of his mouth because he would have gotten into a lot of trouble in the past for such a statement. I wasn't his master anymore, so I wasn't going to feel offended, but as his Don, it still showed blatant disrespect to the instructions I gave him earlier.

I scoffed. "You will live a good life either way. I already ordered you to."

The shrill ring of her phone made our gaze jump in the same direction until we were all staring at the little object on the table. I stepped towards the phone, keeping my eyes on Lexis the entire time because I knew she could get it in her head that she could escape while I was not looking, then I would be forced to shoot her.

I hadn't shot her yet for Hayden's sake, only because I felt a little guilty for breaking his heart, so I guess I could give him some leeway.

I picked up the phone from the table and took in the detail of the person calling her. It was an unknown number but I could sense who it was from. Lexis had lied about not being in contact with Ryland. I could bet that they talked almost every day about how to get rid of me. It was interesting.

I turned to face Lexis who was still hiding behind Hayden like a fucking coward. If she was willing to take my life without feeling an ounce of remorse, then she should be willing to die too, or at least fight till the very end like a fucking warrior.

Alvarez had spoiled Lexis too much hence why she made rash and childish decisions.

"Answer the call and put it on speaker" I ordered, as I stretched the phone towards her. Lexis reached for it hesitantly, her hands trembling as they wrapped around the phone.

Lexis stared at the number, then brought it closer to her face as if she couldn't read with her two eyes. "One wrong word and I'll really put a bullet in your head. Get Ryland to meet with you" I said and she nodded, took a deep breath, and answered the call.

"Hello..." She got out weakly and I was already tempted to put a bullet in her head if she didn't get her act together.

"What took you so long to answer the fucking call. I have been waiting for an update all day long. Did you go through with our plans".

Lexis's gaze clashed with mine, and I gave her a warning look that made her compose herself. She cleared her throat a little. "Stop yelling at me ok. I told you I had it under control, why do you have to call like I can't fucking get things done without you breathing down my neck".

"Because you fucking can't. I want my empire back Lexis. I am so done with the fucking witch and her stupid plans for revenge, and her rollercoaster of emotion. Getting Jade out of the way is the only way I can come back and take care of you, so why the hell are you stalling? Did she catch up to you or what".

"Don't be ridiculous, of course, she didn't. Besides, I already put the poison in her drink. It was hard to get her to come over, but I had a perfect excuse that didn't look suspicious at all. Jade already left. Maybe she'll get into an accident once the poison gets activated".

"That is not going to happen".

Lexis' brows furrowed matching mine. "What do you mean by that".

"Remember that she is not really human, so the poison will only work to make her weak... But it's all part of the bigger picture... "

Lexis cut him shut with pure indignation that even I couldn't tell if she was acting anymore.

"Are you fucking insane. She is going to know it was me and she'll fucking kill me. You need to get me out of here Ryland. You promised you were going to protect me".

"And I will fucking do that, you don't have to freak yell so much. Meet me at the last place we saw each other, and I guarantee that you will be safe for the duration of when the whole shit is going to go down".

"And what about Hayden," she asked, her eyes leaving mine until they were fixed on his. "I am not going to leave him behind".

"I do not want to deal with all this nuisance. I don't have to protect him when he's loyal to Jade. Do you want to ruin all our plans by letting that blabber mouth in on it?"

"Do not give me that when you know I did this all for him and nothing else. It's either you rescue us both, or I go to Jade and tell her everything".

"And what good would that do then you get killed? Hayden is not in my plans, so you either come alone or you do not come at all. You have an hour to meet me. If you bring Hayden despite my warnings, I am going to kill him. I do not give a fuck that you are in love with him, got it!" he gritted out harshly and ended the call.

I could feel all of Lexis' emotions. Ryland had betrayed her once again, even after she put her life on the line for him. I couldn't help but rub it in, it was always a thing of mine to taunt my enemies to the point of madness.

"You choose the wrong side once again Lexis, even when you should have had more sense after you were burned the first time. You wanted to save Hayden, and now you are not even going to get a chance to. ".

"I got Ryland to meet with me. Isn't that enough to let me live. For what it is worth, I am sorry for everything...".

I eyed her, my heart tingling with indecision. I never forgave betrayal, but as I looked at Hayden who Still had hope in his eyes, I decided to make an exception, but they didn't need to know that yet...I needed them on edge until I took care of the whole mess. "Once this madness is all over, I will decide what to do with you," I said then waved two of the guards over. They were soon standing beside me.

"Keep an eye on them. They are not to leave this place or have access to any of the gadgets in the house. Do you understand me" I asked?

"Yes, boss!"

"I will be killing Ryland by the way, so just giving you a heads-up so you are not too shocked when you hear about it".

Lexis turned to face the window, the anger in her chest a palpable feeling in the air. "I do not care what you choose to do to that psychopath. He turned his back on me first, so I will also not hesitate to sell him out even though he is my flesh and blood. He had played me for the very last time, and I will not play the fool again".

I turned to go and Hayden grabbed my hand. It was an impulsive move that he hadn't thought through. I stared at him, with a raised brow.

"Be careful" Hayden said, his gaze holding mine and lingering on me as if he hadn't seen me before. "He said he had the assistance of a witch. He might know you are on your way before you even get there. He might set up an ambush".

I smirked, as I tugged my hands from his. "I would be highly disappointed if Ryland does not put up even a little bit of a fight. He went up against me, he should be willing to go down in style and not just like the coward he truly is. I'll be back for you Lexis, you better pray I feel better after dealing with Ryland" I said and walked out of the building.

I got into my car and turned the ignition. The car zoomed to life, the sound of its engine soothing the edgy feeling I was still harboring inside.

Ryland would never give up his quest for revenge until either of us dies, but he had another thing coming if he thought it was going to be me. His first betrayal had taught me everything I needed to watch out for when dealing with him. I knew the kind of man he was. Ryland was almost like me. He wanted power and would do anything to acquire it even if it required him to kill his sister.

Right now, he was with a witch, but with the power flowing through my veins, I knew there was absolutely nothing that he threw my way that I wouldn't be able to handle.

Once he was out of the way, I'll finally be able to live my life with one more villain out of the picture.