My fingers flexed, itching for the moment when I would snatch Olivia from her blissful ignorance and make her family pay for their treachery.
I brushed a spiderweb aside and checked my watch, the seconds ticking down to the fateful moment I had spent months anticipating.
My heart pounded with vicious glee as I yanked on the wrists of my leather gloves, ready to seize what was mine.
After all the Manwarrings had taken from me, it was time for them to pay in blood.
Olivia.
The Manwarrings’ precious jewel.
Their weakness.
She was perfect.
Young, beautiful, and completely vulnerable.
Olivia had wandered between the trees ahead, her wispy, pale pink dress clinging to her slender curves as she admired a marble statue that created an interesting backdrop to the wedding venue.
So pure, so virginal … so utterly corrupt.
She would learn the price of her family’s sins soon enough.
I crept closer through the brush, my boots scarcely stirring a leaf.
She tilted her head to study the sculpture, exposing the pale column of her neck.
How I longed to wrap my hands around that throat and squeeze the life from her pampered body.
But no, I had other plans.
Plans that would destroy her wretched family from the inside out.
The distant sounds of laughter and music from the wedding reached my ears, a cruel reminder of the joy that was denied to me. My life had become an unending nightmare, and until the Manwarrings faced the same fate, I would find no peace.
As I watched Olivia wander further into the forest, I marveled at the stark contrast between her delicate beauty and the darkness that surrounded her.
She paused before an erotic sculpture, its sensual curves casting shadows that seemed to dance around her. Her eyes, wide with wonder, traced the intricate details of the artwork, oblivious to the danger that stalked her.
With each step she took, the celebration in the distance grew fainter, its warmth and protection receding like a dying flame. It was as if the forest itself conspired with me, swallowing her up and leaving her defenseless to my vengeance.
I followed her, my footsteps silent as a predator closing in on its prey.
The wedding music was nothing more than a distant echo now, replaced by the rustling leaves and Olivia’s ragged breathing.
I crept up behind her as she bent low for a closer look at the sculpture of the naked woman writhing in the final throes of ecstasy.
“Good evening, Ms. Manwarring,” I greeted her, my voice cold and unforgiving. “I do hope you’ve enjoyed your night … for it’s about to take a rather unexpected turn.”
Olivia gasped and whirled around.
