Page 139 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

"When I'm through with both of you, you'll wish Lucian had been the one to kill you first." She straightened, adjusting her grip on the wrench. "He would have been merciful. I'm afraid I don't have that particular quality."

She turned to the second Alpha, who was now blubbering incoherently.

"Did you really think I was just a helpless little Omega who would roll over at the sight of an Alpha's teeth?" The wrench tapped rhythmically against her palm. "I'm Marcus Vale's daughter. And I think it's time I embraced the family business properly."

The metallic clang of the wrench striking bone reverberated through the warehouse as Serenity worked methodically. Blood spattered across her silk blouse—Lucian's earlier insistence that she should've changed now making perfect sense.

"The femur," she stated clinically as she brought the wrench down on the sobbing Alpha's thigh, "is the strongest bone in the human body." Another swing, another crack. "It takes approximately 1,700 pounds of force to break it." Her golden eyes, now burning with red flecks that seemed to glow in the dim light, locked onto her victim's face. "My father made sure I understood anatomy."

Lucian's laughter echoed in the vast space, rich and appreciative as he leaned against a support beam, his amber eyes never leaving her.

"The photos of me in the shower," Serenity continued, moving to the other brother, "were a particularly distasteful touch." She brought the wrench down on his fingers, the crack of bones giving way under metal satisfyingly sharp. "Did you think I wouldn't find out about those?"

"Please," the Alpha begged, blood bubbling between his lips. "We were just?—"

"Following orders?" Serenity completed his sentence, her MBA-trained voice analyzing his excuses like a particularly disappointing quarterly report. "That's what they all say, isn't it, Lucian?"

"Every single time," Lucian confirmed, loosening his tie and rolling up his sleeves. "They never have original material."

The Alpha's desperate eyes darted between them. "We can pay?—"

"I'm worth billions," Serenity interrupted coldly. "What could you possibly offer me?" She selected a different tool from the array laid out on a nearby table—a pair of pliers that glinted under the harsh spotlight.

Hours later,when both Alphas had been reduced to whimpering masses of broken bone and torn flesh, Serenity finally stepped back, her once-pristine outfit now a canvas of crimson splatters. She hadn't once flinched, not even when she'd extracted fingernails or when she'd systematically dislocated joints.

"Finish them?" Lucian asked, coming to stand beside her, his own hands stained red.

Serenity considered the question, head tilted. "No," she decided. "Let them live with what they've lost. Let them remember who did this to them." She placed the bloodied tools down with the precision of someone completing a successful business negotiation. "That's a better punishment than death."

Lucian's eyes shone with something beyond pride—something like recognition. "You truly are your father's daughter."

"No," Serenity corrected him, wiping her hands on a towel. "I'm my own woman. And apparently," she added with a small, dark smile, "I have quite the aptitude for this line of work."

They left the warehouse without looking back, the dim emergency lights casting long shadows as they walked side by side. Lucian held the car door open for her, a gesture that seemed strangely formal after what they had just shared.

The drive back to the compound was quiet, the night enveloping them as they sped through empty streets. Neither spoke, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable—it was an acknowledgment of boundaries crossed together, of a darkness shared.

"Financial management and torture," Serenity finally said as they approached the compound gates. "My resume grows more interesting by the day."

Lucian's mouth quirked upward. "Most people just put 'problem-solving skills' on their CV."

"Is that what we did tonight? Solved a problem?"

"We eliminated a threat," he corrected, his voice low as he pulled into the garage. "And you showed me something I needed to see."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"That you're not just capable of surviving in our world, Serenity." His amber eyes reflected the dashboard lights as he turned to her. "You're capable of ruling it."

Serenity stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows of her suite, staring at the compound gardens bathed in moonlight. Blood still lingered beneath her fingernails despite the thorough shower she'd taken. She didn't mind.

"I thought I'd feel something more," she said, aware of Lucian's presence behind her. "Guilt. Revulsion. Something."

He approached, stopping just close enough that she could sense his body heat. "And what do you feel instead?"

She turned to face him, golden eyes meeting amber. "Clarity."

Lucian's lips curved into a knowing smile. "The Vale blood in you was always going to recognize itself eventually."

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