Bianca’s POV
I paced back and forth in the slightly dark room, my heels clicking against the polished marble floor. The cold, calculated fury boiling inside me was barely contained as I waited for those incompetent fools to show up. My fingers drummed impatiently against the side of the chair, my mind racing with thoughts of how everything had gone wrong. How could they mess up something so simple?
The door creaked open, and two men stepped in, their heads bowed slightly as they faced my wrath. I could see the fear in their eyes, but it wasn’t enough to quell the rage that surged through me. I had expected more, much more. Instead, I got
failure.
“You idiots,” I hissed, my voice dripping with venom. “You had one job. One–Job.”
The taller of the two shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting nervously to the other man as if searching for a way out. But there was no escape from this. Not now. Not after they had failed me so miserably.
“Miss Bianca, we- he began, but I cut him off with a sharp wave of my hand.
“Don’t you dare try to explain this away!” I snapped, my voice rising as the fury consumed me. “How could you screw up something so simple? A fire, for God’s sake! Christiana should’ve been burned alive! Those brats of hers should’ve been screaming in terror as the flames engulfed them! But no, she’s got a twisted ankle, and they’re all perfectly fine!”
I could see them flinch at my words, but I didn’t care. I wanted them to feel the full weight of my anger, to understand just how badly they had messed this up. My nails dug into the palm of my hand as I clenched my fists, trying to keep from slapping the stupidity right out of them.
“You call yourselves professionals?” 1 continued, my voice seething with contempt. “I paid you an obscene amount of money to make sure Christiana never walked out of that house. Yet here we are! She’s alive, and those damn kids are still breathing.”
“We did everything you asked-” the shorter one dared to speak, but the glare I shot him made him stop mid–sentence.
“You clearly didn’t do everything. I sneered, stepping closer to them, the distance between us closing until they could feel the heat of my anger radiating off me. “Because if you had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
They were trembling now, the realization of their failure sinking in. Good. They needed to understand just how serious this was. I wasn’t paying them for half–assed attempts. I was paying them to get results, and they had delivered nothing but disappointment.
“The entire plan was ruined because you two imbeciles couldn’t do the simplest thing right!” I continued, my voice cold and biting. “Do you have any idea how close I was to getting everything I wanted? Alex would’ve been mine, all mine, if that woman and her wretched spawn had been out of the picture.”
They exchanged nervous glances, clearly unsure of what to say or do. It was pathetic, really. To think I had put my trust–and my money–into their hands. I should’ve known better, should’ve taken care of it myself. But no, I had wanted to remain untouchable, above suspicion.
Now, because of them, I was left with nothing but a minor inconvenience for Christiana and the same old problems. The image of her and those brats walking away from that house unscathed made my blood boil.
“I want answers,” I demanded, my tone icy. “How did this happen? How could you be so careless?”
The taller one swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he tried to find the words to justify his incompetence. “The fire started as planned, but there were more people in the house than we anticipated. The guards, the staff… they reacted faster than we expected.”
I could barely contain the scream of frustration that clawed at my throat. “That’s your excuse? That there were more people? You should’ve known! You should’ve planned for every contingency! I hired you because you were supposed to be the best, and this–this is what you give me?”
They both stood there, silent, their heads bowed, not daring to meet my gaze. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
“Get out,” I finally spat, unable to look at them any longer. “And pray I never see your faces again.”
They didn’t need to be told twice. They scurried out of the room like the vermin they were, leaving me alone with my anger and the bitter taste of failure.
I was very close to winning, and it was driving me nuts. The thought of how Christiana had slipped through my fingers, escaping with nothing more than a twisted ankle, was maddening. My plan had been perfect, so close to eliminating her and those insufferable brats. But now, all I could think about was the way victory had nearly been mine–so tantalizingly near. The rage bubbling inside me was unbearable, my mind racing with the frustration of almost having everything I wanted. I couldn’t let it go. I wouldn’t. Christiana’s downfall was inevitable, and I’d make sure of it.
As the door slammed shut behind them, I threw my hands against the edge of the table, gripping it tightly to keep from completely losing control. Everything I had worked for, everything I had planned… all of it was slipping through my fingers like sand.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm raging inside me, No. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. If those idiots couldn’t get the job done, then I would find someone who could. Someone who wouldn’t let Christiana walk away from this a second time.
A slow, dark smile spread across my face as a new plan began to take shape in my mind. One way or another, I would make sure Christiana paid.
And when she did, Alex would be mine.
All mine.
