SHADOW OF REVENGE

Yvenne's P.O.V

"Please, spare our lives," my father begged the man in front of him, but he just chuckled, joined by his two companions. Fear coursed through my veins as their laughter filled the room, and tears streamed down my face. After a while, the laughter stopped, and an eerie silence fell over us, punctuated only by silent whimpers from across the room.

I couldn't bring myself to look up at them, intimidated by their presence and the guns pointed at my family. With my head still down, I glanced at my mother, who held my twin sister Jenna protectively, both of them shaking in fear. I quickly looked away and met the gaze of the gang leader standing before us. 

I froze in fear, unable to look away from his tattooed face and body, which only added to his menacing demeanor. His eyes seemed to bore into my soul, and I felt a chill run down my spine. My face spiked with fear as he took a step closer, his eyes fixed on me. I tried to look away, but I couldn't. He reached out a hand and grasped my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

"You're a pretty one," he sneered, his breath hot on my face. "I might just spare your life... for now." His words sent a wave of terror through me, and I struggled to break free from his grasp. But he held tight, his grip like a vice.

My mother's voice trembled as she spoke, "Please, don't hurt my children. Take me instead." The gang leader's gaze flickered to her, and a cruel smile spread across his face.

"Oh, I'm not going to hurt them... yet," he said, his voice dripping with malice. "What exactly do you want?" my father asked, trying to hide his fears as he attempted to negotiate with the men. "I will give you anything you need, I promise. Just don't hurt my family."

My mother kept whispering comforting words to my sister, who was on the verge of a panic attack. But their words only enraged one of the men, who yelled at them to keep quiet.

The room fell silent, except for the sound of my sister's ragged breathing. The gang leader's gaze never left mine, his eyes burning with an unnerving intensity. I felt like a trapped animal, unable to escape. My father's words hung in the air, a desperate plea for mercy. But I knew it was futile. These men had no mercy.

I couldn't comprehend how a relaxing vacation could turn into a nightmare within a week of our arrival. I had warned Dad about the bad feeling I had about this place, but he dismissed my concerns, giving in to Jenna's enthusiasm for coming here instead. Now, we were face to face with three ruthless criminals, threatening to end our lives for no apparent reason.

They had stormed into our beach house, overpowering our security guards and killing them instantly. The memory of that horrific scene still haunts me. I couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt for not being able to convince Dad to listen to my instincts.

The gang leader replied to my father, chuckling evenly. "You think money can save you? We're not here for your money." 

He took a step closer to us. His eyes seemed to bore into my soul, and I felt a sense of dread wash over me. My mother's grip on Jenna tightened, and I could feel her fear radiating towards me.

The leader's voice dropped to a menacing whisper, "We're here for something much more valuable." He paused, his eyes scanning our terrified faces. "Your lives..." he said, his words dripping with malice.

I felt a sob rise in my throat as fear engulfed me, but I swallowed it back, trying to stay silent. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. Jenna gasped loudly, her anxiety spiraling out of control. We were all paralyzed with fear, realizing that death loomed over us.

The leader continued, "You see... I've been paid a handsome sum to kill you, my pretty one, and your father. I've been promised a lot if I achieve my goals, so there's no way I'm giving that up." He pointed his gun directly at me, then my dad.

Who could be behind this? What had we done to deserve this? I wondered, looking around frantically for any opportunity to escape and save my family. But there was none. The gang members were too strong and too well-armed. We were trapped, at the mercy of these ruthless men.

My father, desperate to save us, pleaded, "Please accept my offer and spare my daughter and me. I'm a wealthy businessman; I'll triple the amount you've been paid. Just let us go, and I'll fulfill your every wish. No police will be involved; I promise we can pretend this never happened." His hands were clasped together, and it pained me to see my strong, courageous father begging for our lives.

The leader's tone turned darker as he replied, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Orlando, You're too late for that. I have orders to carry out, no matter what." He stood up, aiming his gun directly at my father's forehead.

"Any last words for your family, or do you have something to say to your dad before he dies?" the leader mocked, his eyes scanning our terrified faces. 

We begged him to reconsider, our voices desperate and pleading. "No, please wait-" But our words were cut short as he sneered, "I guess I'll have to kill him now since you all don't have anything to say to each other." He cocked his gun, and our pleas fell on deaf ears as he pulled the trigger, shooting my father at point-blank range.

"I love you all, never forget that," my father's final words echoed in my mind as he fell, lifeless, into a pool of his blood. The sound of the gunshot still rang in my ears as I watched in horror, my world shattered in an instant.

Jenna's screams pierced the air, and Mom's wails followed as they rushed to Dad's lifeless body. I was frozen in shock, unable to move or speak. The leader's eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw a glimmer of satisfaction, as if he had enjoyed taking my father's life.

Not a tear or scream escaped me as I stared at my lifeless father, my mind numb with shock and grief as I hoped everything that took place was just a terrifying nightmare that I would soon wake up from. I didn't even react or fight back when one of the evil men approached me, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me away alongside his accomplices; I just allowed them to take me away, my body and mind paralyzed with trauma.

My mother's frantic screams and pleas echoed in the background as she rushed towards them to rescue me, but she was brutally struck with the butt of a gun and fainted immediately. That was the moment that snapped me back to reality. 

"Mom!" I screamed in horror as I watched her collapse, and I struggled against the strong grip of the man carrying me. I longed to rush to my mom's side, to check if she was alright, but the man's grip on me was unyielding, he wasn't letting me go.

"Let go of me, you jerk!" I fought against the man with every ounce of strength I had, but before I could go further, I felt a searing pain at the back of my head, and then everything went dark.

*~*

“She's such a pathetic loser," a voice sneered, strangely familiar as I struggled to regain consciousness. "I wonder what I ever saw in you. Well, it wasn't like I had any other choice. I wouldn't be seen with such a weakling otherwise.”

"Well, don't act like you didn't enjoy your moments with her," another familiar female voice jeered, accompanied by laughter.

"Well, I did, I won't deny it," the first voice said. "But it's a fifty-fifty thing."

"That's your fucking problem," the second voice retorted. "I am just so happy right now, looking at her like this. I love seeing her this defenseless and lifeless. She doesn't have the strength to act like she's the best among everyone like she's on top of the world for no reason. And I was so sick of that, so sick of pretending to suck up to her, to act like I loved her. If only she would have remained hidden forever and just didn't bring attention to herself, lay low, then things wouldn't be like this."

I tried to open my eyes, but my vision remained blurry, and I couldn't help but whimper as a surge of pain coursed through my body. "Oh, the loser is waking up," one of the voices remarked, followed by a sharp kick to my side. I cried out in agony as laughter erupted from my tormentors, who seemed to be enjoying my suffering.

Struggling against the pain, I forced my eyes open once more, barely making out the two figures before me. They were laughing and jeering, their faces distorted by cruel grins. My vision was still blurry, but I could sense their malice and contempt.

"Look at her, she can't even speak," one of them sneered, their feet connecting with my side again. I cried out, my body curling into a ball as I tried to protect myself from their kicks and laughter. 

"Gosh, I hate you so much, so fucking much that I've wanted you dead every single day. Thankfully, you get to die by my hands now. I wish I could stay here forever and torture you because I've waited for this moment for what feels like an eternity. But unfortunately, time isn't on my side. I have somewhere to be, and I have to kill you now."

They sighed, "With all this said, goodbye, bitch." A gunshot resounded, and I felt something sharp hit me in the stomach instantly. I let out a scream and clutched the source of the pain; it hurt so much. I felt something sticky oozing out of me onto my hands, and realization struck - it was blood. Tears flowed freely down my face as my lungs constricted; I attempted to inhale, hoping to mitigate the pain, but it only made it worse.

Laughter filled the air as I tried hard to keep my eyes from shutting, and this time, my vision returned. I could finally see. My eyes locked with those of my shooter, and I gasped in shock. A mixture of hurt and betrayal clouded my gaze as I recognized them. 

"Why?" I managed to utter, my voice trembling, as I searched their eyes for answers. I couldn't believe who was in front of me - I refused to believe what I was seeing.

They narrowed their gaze and knelt closer to my face, their expression unchanging - no remorse or guilt, just a cold, calculating stare looking at me with disgust. "Because I despise you, so much," they spoke through gritted teeth. "Do me a favor and don't come back in the next life, where I'll be." "You should have stayed out of my way, Yvenne," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"How could you do this to me?" I muttered, my voice weak. "How could my own..." My sentences trailed off as my eyes began to close slowly. I was losing consciousness, and the pain in my stomach gradually faded, until there was nothing left but peace. The last face I saw was that of my killer, smiling down at me.

Everything went black, and I felt myself drifting away. I thought of my parents, my friends, and the life I would never get to live. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I couldn't cry. I was too far gone. My last thought was of my killer. Why had they done this to me? What had I done to deserve such hatred? The questions swirled in my mind, but I never got the answers. My life slipped away, and I was gone.

T.B.C 

Noeline.

Yvenne's P.O.V 

My eyes blinked open as the sunlight hit my face. I let out a low groan and closed them immediately, feeling the sun's beam. I took a moment before slowly opening my eyes again to adjust to the brightness. Once I could see clearly, my eyes furrowed in confusion as I realized I was lying on the ground, surrounded by bushes and tall trees. 'Where am I?' I thought, looking around my surroundings.

Then, all of a sudden, yesterday's memories flooded back, hitting me like a thunderbolt. I remembered everything - the vacation, the gangsters, my dad, being kidnapped, the familiar voice, and the gunshot. My eyes suddenly filled with unshielded tears as reality sank in. My father was dead, and I would never be able to see or talk to him again. He died for no reason at all.

I couldn't comprehend why anyone would be so cruel to our family, to him when he had always been nothing but kind and generous to the people around him. He even taught my sister and me to b