Page 77 of Poison Aches

I’m dying, and I don’t give a damn about it.

“How do you know what I want?” he hisses.

I stare him down and pronounce each word. “Because I know all your failures.”

His eyes widen in shock.

“And now that your life is coming to an end, I know you want to go down as the Godfather who achieved the impossible. Something your father couldn’t. And you’ll do it by any means necessary, am I wrong?”

We stare at each other. The rain becomes nothing but white noise.

It all comes down to legacy.

To reverence.

Fucking respect.

That’s why Grandfather does this, gathering a hundred of the top members of the Family, then holds a memorial service for his departed father.

He wants to set a precedent, an example of what he wants others to do for him after he’s gone.

Little does he know that I’ll burn this whole place to the ground if it comes down to it.

“You’re not much better than me. You also have it coming.” So he does know! Good! “You’re dying too!”

“My goodness, how did you know that?” I gasp dramatically, pretending to be shocked.

“You…you…” he stutters, his eyes wide. “Those rumors are true, aren’t they?! I heard that something is wrong with you!”

I chuckle then, turning to face my dearest grandfather head-on.

I lean down and fix his heavy coat and slightly adjust the pathetic blanket on his lap.

“Grandfather, I’m so relieved that you know, but the thing is… we all have it coming. It’s just, some of us will go out with a parade of fireworks, blood, and ashes. What about you?”

With that, I straighten up and beckon for Ripley who’s been standing nearby all this time.

“Yes, sir?”

“Grandfather’s been in the rain for too long. God only knows his frail health can’t handle the elements,” I say, holding Grandfather’s dark stare. “Please take care of him.”

“You… our deal…” Grandfather chokes and coughs, stunned by the way I just dismissed him instead of the other way round.

I have intense, insurmountable power and pull.

While Grandfather just said that it’s down to me and Vaughn, as far as the rest of the Family is concerned and the deep underbelly as a whole, I’m the big diablo boss here.

“I have to bid you goodnight, Grandfather,” I mutter softly. “But yes, I haven’t forgotten our deal. I am a man of my word, after all. I will uphold my end.”

“Oh good.” Without meaning to I think, a flash of relief enters his eyes but when he catches my gaze, he grows still as the rain beats down on us.

“But, Grandfather, will you uphold yours?”

Will you keep your mouth shut for now and give me the fucking reins later?

Will you uphold your end by making them all think they have a chance when they don’t?

Will you do all that, even though you don’t know that I will screw you over?

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