Bound by Deception

34.1 Aria Takes a Stand

With Margot staring down at her from above the barrel of the gun, Aria, in a swift motion, grabbed her foot and twisted it. Margot yelped, dropping the gun just as the bullet grazed Aria's cheek. She fell to the ground and Aria shot to her knees, dragging herself over the older woman and clamping her hands over her throat.

"You killed my parents!" She shouted, tears streaming in rapid rivulets down her cheeks. She dug her nails into Margot's thin flesh. "You killed my friends! You killed EVERYONE!"

"Get off me!" Margot screeched, clawing at Aria's back. Although she was quite adept with a gun, Margot wasn't as good as she used to be with wrestling due to her old age. Aria easily overpowered her despite the excruciating pain that wrapped around her leg like a vine, squeezing the limb until it started to become numb.

"Bitch!" Aria slammed Margot's head against the ground. "Why, why, why?! Why did we ever trust you?!"

"Have your family killed in front of you -!"

"I DID!" Aria slammed her knee between Margot's legs, and the woman let out a howl. "I SAW MY FAMILY DIE! YOU KILLED THEM! SO, DON'T PULL THAT CARD ON ME!"

"Aria..." Margot struggled to speak. Her eyes were glazed, but they showed no remorse.

"Kazuki could die, and it'll all be your fault," Aria gasped between tears. Her hair framed her face like a curtain of tumbleweed and she kneed Margot in the stomach, kicking the pistol away. "It's your fault that Edward died, your fault that so many agents died, and it's your fault that all of our innocence died! Do you know how many children would have died if you and your shitty posse went to war with us? Do you?! Those kids would be just like you were! Do you want more children to suffer because of your selfishness?!"

"You killed my son!"

"You put a hit on him! What was I supposed to do? I was doing my job"

"I...you'll never understand what I went through!" Margot hacked. "You'll never understand how I suffered. My goals are of no meaning to you! I just want revenge; revenge for my family and my son!" She tried to sit up, but Aria's weight pushed her down.

"You'll be seeing your son in hell," she snarled and applied more weight to her arms. Margot struggled relentlessly, but it was all futile, as moments later she went still. Her eyes glazed and rolled back; her breathing had ceased.

And Margot Dupont was dead.

~***~

"How's he doing?" Sterling, rubbing his bandaged arm, immediately questioned the doctor the moment the man stepped out of the bedroom.

"He's in stable condition," he responded. "We'll have to keep him a few times to track his progress, but he'll be fine. The medication is currently wearing off right now so you might have to wait a few minutes before seeing him." He began to leave, then hesitated. "Remind me again, how are you related?"

"He's my...cousin," Sterling said.

"And my...cousin," Aria added.

The doctor blinked, then frowned. "Alright," he said, then as he was walking away, muttered under his breath, "Weird family. Can't even remember their relations."

Once they were alone in the waiting room, Sterling turned to Aria. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to lean against his side. His hand fell on her bandaged knee, rubbing the skin gently.

"How are you feeling, my lady?" He murmured, pressing a kiss to the base of her neck, then one on her cheek.

"Alright." Aria gazed at her hands, picking the dried blood from her nails. "She's really dead, right?"

"Yeah. The feds will think it was a suicide case."

"You really like to use that as your excuse."

"It's reasonable. Beside her, they'll find anxiety pills and the pistol she had." He shivered. "When I saw her press that to your head, I nearly lost it. I wanted to run to help you, but I couldn't leave Kazuki."

"It's good that you stayed with him. I was fine in the end." She smiled placidly. "And at least I didn't get shot."

"You were going to."

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Margot is dead, but should she have died? What about the war? Did she make that up? What will happen now? I'm so sad that this book is ending, but who knows, maybe I'll write another assassin story? 

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