Sentencing Sapphire (Sapphire Dubois: Book 3)

Chapter 12

William glanced down at the blood-covered nails on the floor. Some of them popped right off while others took effort.

If he could get the new concoction right, there would be no more need for games. But The Hunger was placing more focus on the heiress than his boiling brew.

William sighed, he was getting nowhere and he didn't have to look at the time to know the Hemlock was wearing off. Chrissy's facial muscles twitched, and she was able to blink tears away. The Hunger purred inside him, urging him to go further. There were no nails left to pry. He wanted her dead now.

William walked over to the heiress who was in great pain; her hands and feet were swollen and red from inflammation.

"Heeph," she begged, her tongue still thick with his poison.

While The Hunger celebrated the plea, William held the knife in his hand and watched her lying in her own piss. He should change the sheets; they would start to reek soon. He was about to carry her to the bathroom, but then she peed out of fear, or pain, at the fifth nail.

"Jo-n." she whispered.

"John?" William said, amused. Was she talking about the Vanderpilt boy? The one Sapphire had sent to distract him.

Kill her–kill her–kill her, The Hunger chanted.

The urge filled William and turned his five senses on high. When the dark surge ran through him, it was hard to see anything else.

Yes, end it now.

As William raised the knife over Chrissy's stomach, the image of his daughter pushed through the black fog. She had done as he requested; she had killed the priest. He had to stop. He had to put down the knife in order to get his daughter back.

His hands shook at the resistance. The blade wouldn't move. William tried again. He raised the knife then thrust it toward Chrissy's stomach. She let out a yelp of distress.

The working muscles in her body trembled as William stared down at what he'd done.

The tip of the blade had stopped right above her stomach. He'd managed to freeze the urge.

No! The Hunger roared. Kill her now.

The desire was strong, but William fought it. He was sweating, fighting his own muscles until he beat back The Hunger.

William screamed and threw the knife to the floor. He marched back to his mini-lab and sat down to take control over his clenching muscles. His eye landed on the lines of tubes and the boiling bulb. He saw it. He eased another milliliter of poison into his new concoction and watched the colors turn with joy. It was the chemical reaction he'd waited for. It wasn't to where he needed it yet, but it was a start.

Of course, this was all in theory. William eyed the heiress, then took the concoction. He mixed it with extra strength Hemlock and walked back to Chrissy.

"Don't worry, I'm almost certain this won't kill you," William told Chrissy as he injected her.

As soon as her body had turned to stone, he raced out the door. Sapphire was still in court and he didn't have to leave for another hour, but if he stayed, he feared he'd pick up that knife and stab Chrissy.

If you're so sure about your daughter, The Hunger hissed, why can't you bring yourself to take another look at the Polaroid in your pocket?

William turned the key to his new Mustang and drove away before the voice forced him to go back inside.

Deep down, he knew The Hunger was right.