(Luke’s POV)

“The audacity of that woman to try to attack you!” My father growled, his voice was tight with anger.

We were standing on the balcony with wine glasses in our hands. I just reported to him what had happened—about the attempted attack, and all that.

“I’m glad you’re alive, and she didn’t get the chance to hurt you or worse, cut your neck,” he continued.

I nodded. Collected and relaxed. “I would never let her hurt me so, don’t worry, dad.”

“Still, you need to be very careful and alert. She’s getting mad and insane, and we never know what runs through her head next.”

He had a point. Anyway, even as he spoke, I could still recall the bold and desperate eyes of Grace. However, I was confident I could handle her well. She wasn’t that hard to torment while she was under my watch.

“Kill her,” he suggested next. His tone was deadly calm and serious. “End that woman’s life, Luke. Show no more mercy, commit no mistakes. Do it cleanly and leave with no trace.”

I stared him in the eyes. A faint, almost unnoticeable protest shifted on my face, but I shrugged it off immediately before it became too obvious. “If this is just about my safety, you absolutely have nothing to worry, dad. I’ve got her under control. And besides, we can still use her.”

He disagreed, “She is no longer of use, so might as well just kill her so she will shut up forever.”

My jaw clenched. His words appealed to something directly inside me, yet I couldn’t name what it was. He simply didn’t want her gone; he was ordering me to erase her and shut her down completely.

“Why are you suddenly quiet?” His brow raised as if he noticed and suspected something. “What is stopping you from killing her? Tell me the truth, son, are you in love with her?”

I did not blink, did not even flinch, just stayed still.

He nodded, immediately confirming his suspicion based on my silence. “If you can’t do it, then I’ll just assign someone else who can handle her. I won’t let her continue living just because you fell for her—“

“In love? With that woman?” I finally spoke again, cutting him. My lips curled cruelly. “If I did ever fall in love with Grace, even for a second, I wouldn’t have stabbed her on the day she walked down the aisle. I would never hurt a woman if I truly loved her, and since she was only a pawn for revenge, how could I genuinely have feelings for her?”

He looked in my eyes, not quite convinced, and still skeptical if I was being honest.

“She is someone I see nothing but as an enemy easy to be slain,” I continued coldly. “Whenever I look at her, she’s a constant reminder of what her family did to us in the past. And lastly, I will never love the only daughter of the people who destroyed us once, dad.”

His doubt turned into confidence and pride. It was like I hit the very words he needed to hear.

“Good. I knew I raised you well. Not to be soft-hearted, especially with the enemies, but to be a warrior.” He turned to me and tapped my shoulder. “Do it tonight. Kill her quietly and cleanly. Make sure to leave no trace.”

I nodded, obeying an order not from a father but from a master. “Consider it done already.”

He smiled. “I know you can make me proud, my son.”

As soon as he let me go, I went straight to the cell where I last left Grace. There I saw her, napping, silent, and alone.

She alerted and had her eyes opened widely when she heard that I opened the heavy metal door. She glared at my entrance. I stopped in front of her.

“What are you doing here again—“

I denied her the liberty of finishing her words by giving her neck a one swift and strong knife hand strike, making her lose her consciousness right away. Her body went limp before she could even move or react, falling down into my arms.

I held her and stayed still for a moment, just staring at her naturally beautiful face. I hated to admit it but even at this state where she was disheveled, shattered, and brushed, she still looked stunning. A tragic kind of poetry was in her features…

Before I lose my mind, I decided to regain my senses and keep in mind my mission. I should not fail in this task that my master trusted in me.

I tied her hands, as well as her feet. I also wrapped her mouth with a cloth, preventing her to move and shout whenever she gained her consciousness back.

I carried her in my shoulders like a sack, and when we were outside, I tossed her into my truck.

The whole duration of the drive was quiet and violent, with thoughts screaming inside me. I didn’t mind if the storm outside began to blur the windshield, and a thunder was shaking the sky like a noisy hint of a war.

I stopped at the spot where I must bury her. It was remote and isolated, away from houses and people passing by, so nobody would see and have the chance to help her. Trees towered like sentinels. No one would find her here, I was sure of it.

Getting out of the car, I wasted no time… I immediately dug a grave for her.

The excavation was deep, thick, wet, and unforgiving.

When the hole I made was enough, I put her on the ground beside it. She was still sleeping deeply. But in the shadows, she almost appeared to be peaceful.

“I’m sorry, Grace, that I have to do it to you,” I said emotionlessly, voice hoarse. “But your blood is the repayment that your family owes mine.”

I rolled her in while she was tied, gagged, and out of her consciousness. I was sure she was ready to vanish from this world like a smoke in the wind. Unnoticed, nobody giving a damn…

I shoveled to finally cover the hole again. Slow, merciless, and with finality.

I didn’t care if I buried her with the heavy and angry rain running over my skin, sweating, and the mud clinging to my clothes.

When it was over, my arms ached, my hands bled a bit, and the weight of what I had accomplished pressed against my shoulders like a heavy punch.

I remained still and silent as I stood and looked.

Somewhere in the distance, the building there loomed, and I sensed that behind one of those huge window glasses, my father was watching, observing, and making sure that I did what I supposed to do.

Going back to my car, he finally showed up.

“Job well done, my son!”

I grinned and tilted my head. “Just a piece of cake, dad.”

His men were behind him. Quiet, reverent, attentive.

He patted my arm. “You just have no idea how much you made me proud with what you did tonight, Luke. You showed me what a real Wilson could do. Cruel, unforgiving, and efficient.”

I crooked a smirk. “I only did what I had to do, dad. She’s finally gone as she wished. I buried her with zero chance of survival. Nobody will find her.”

With satisfaction, he nodded. “Now, go home and take a rest. This might have tired you, so you have to regain your strength because tomorrow is another day, and maybe, another mission awaits you.”

I followed and drove away under the veil of the dark night.

While driving back home, my thoughts stayed behind. I just buried that woman…

Grace Moore… My sweet and fragile Grace. Probably, she was still alive when I left her there, but when she realized she had just been dug into her grave, she might panic through dirt, darkness, and horror. But she wouldn’t stay alive for too long. She wouldn’t survive. And that was the plan.

I recognized that what I did was cruel and heartless. But this was her purpose, and this was my purpose, too. Ending her life with no mercy.

Somehow, beneath all the cruelty I had, I felt a bit sorry for her…

Maybe if we had just met in another circumstance, I wouldn’t have to bury her… I would even love her. Fate was indeed harsh for us, making us sworn enemies. And I chose blood over her…