Page 71 of The Hunted

“You are. You are dangerous, determined, lethal, smart.”

He ticks his points off on his fingers like he’s taught me some grand life lesson.

“Those are the things I taught you. Everything I did was necessary to make you the killer, the future leader that Albatross deserves.”

“After I kill you, I will dismantle this fucked-up organization. You placed it above everything you should have loved! You ruined me! You killed my mother and made me watch. You beat me. Had others beat me within an inch of my life. Starved me, then set me upon the world to kill for you. You taught me hate! Blinding, raw, brutal hate!”

The words I’ve longed to say for years rip from my throat. Fuck does that feel good.

“Always dramatic, son. I made you a man. I made you!”

Spittle flies from his mouth, and he rises from behind the desk. His face, so similar to my own, turns red with rage as he walks toward me.

“You were always an ingrate. Everything I did was for you, to make you strong, make you a leader. You were born to carry on my legacy!”

“I was born to fucking end you.”

I stare into the eyes of my father one last time and see nothing. Nothing of the man who should have loved me. Nothing but blackness and unending emptiness. I take a breath. He reaches for his gun, and I squeeze the trigger. The shock registers on his face right before the bullet pierces his skull. His lifeless body falls to the floor. Just like that, the man that gave me nothing except his name, is gone.

I stand over his lifeless form, and the hate that has lived and raged inside my heart and mind for years, finally quiets. No more looking over my shoulder. No more living up to false expectations. I’m free. My smile finds its way onto my face before I even realize it’s there. It’s over. This nightmare is finally fucking over. I should feel some sort of grief for killing my father. A better man might, but I don’t. I feel light. I feel alive, free.

That’s the last thought I have before a loud bang rings in my ears and pain floods my chest. I look down to see my blood bloom across my chest, slicking my shirt to my skin.

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