Chapter 221: RAGE IN HER EYES (2)
It was not only because of the familiar stance and fighting style, but also because of Hazel’s brutality.
River could be stealthy when she executed her mission. However, an assassination was not always a clean job. At times, it could get messy, and River would show her brutal side.
She attacked not to make a quick kill, but to destroy her opponent. Instilled fear in the process. Inflicted more injuries than necessary until her opponent died from them. Battered and almost unrecognizable.
This was River’s method, and Arlo knew this by heart. Before they were lovers, they were childhood friends. He grew up with her. He remembered her quirk and habit.
Therefore, it seemed as if River was there to take revenge on him when he saw Hazel attacking him with brute force.
Arlo grabbed a sharp piece of the broken vase that Hazel had used to smash against his head and tried to attack her, but she dodged it easily. Arlo didn’t have the element of surprise, as his movement slowed down because of the wounds he sustained. Hazel saw it.
Panting heavily, Arlo crawled back until his back hit the desk, and he saw that Hazel had gone to get another vase. At this rate, she was going to destroy his face and let him bleed out until death took him.
"Why are you doing this?" Arlo asked, and he spat out blood on the floor. His face was riddled with confusion and anger. He saw River in Hazel. Was this her ghost that had possessed Hazel? The thought alone was laughable.
He was seeing things because he still looked for River in every corner of the house, or in anything he saw or did.
What was more, he looked for River in Aubrey. They shared the same blood after all, but to his annoyance, they shared nothing more than that.
"Did River send you to kill me?" Arlo tasted the metallic blood in his mouth.
The pain was unbearable. He felt dizzy, but if he lost consciousness now, it would be the end of him. He had to stay until they arrived...
Still, there was no answer.
Hazel picked a white vase that Elise bought when she went on vacation with a group of her friends. Her ghost would haunt her if she knew what Hazel was going to do with it, but she could be happy, too, because Arlo was a piece of trash who had been involved in her death.
"Is River still alive?" There was a flicker of hope in his voice when Arlo asked the question.
Did River instruct Hazel to do all of this? Was she still alive somewhere, and was the dead body only part of her fabricated plan?
"Answer me!"
Hazel answered him with a smash on his shoulder. The vase shattered into a thousand pieces, the sharp shards scattered on the floor, along with Arlo’s blood that pooled around his body.
She was going to make it as painful as possible for him.
By this time, Arlo’s handsome face and meticulous attire were covered in blood. His face was almost unrecognizable. He had a few cuts on his cheeks and neck, and his lips were busted. Blood was oozing from a large wound on his shoulder.
"How is your life, Arlo?" Hazel tilted her head, towering above him. She regarded the man coldly. "Is it worth it to kill her?"
No. It was not. Not even his son was worth all of this. If he could turn back time, he would do it differently.
"Is it River?" Arlo insisted on asking the same question. "She is still alive, right? She sent you to kill me because she can’t show herself."
"Yes, because you are not worthy of her presence. She will not give you the satisfaction of meeting with her, even if it’s your last breath."
Surprisingly, Arlo chuckled. "Did River brief you to say all that? That sounds like something she will say." He even missed the way she talked. "Keep talking."
Hazel was filled with bitterness. She wanted to kill him and be done with him, but at the same time, she wished to drag this out for as long as she could.
"Keep talking. What else did she say to you?" Arlo breathed heavily; he spat a mouthful of blood again and watched Hazel’s every move.
He must have lost his mind because he saw more and more of River in her. He didn’t pay close attention to Hazel before, but she had this gait when she walked.
People who didn’t know River wouldn’t be able to tell, but Arlo grew up with her. He had liked her even before she noticed his existence.
It was so sad that their story ended up like this.
"Did River really hate me? Did she tell you how much she hated me?"
Hazel didn’t answer; she walked back to pick up the scissors that she had dropped earlier and approached Arlo. This time, she squatted down so she would be on the same eye level as him.
"Yes, she hated you so badly. She said that you were the worst thing that had ever happened in her life."
And after saying that, Hazel stabbed his kneecap. Twisted the scissors to exacerbate the wound, while Arlo was wailing in pain.
However, there was no change in Hazel’s expression. She didn’t feel satisfied, she didn’t feel happy, and there was no joy in her eyes.
She thought that hurting him would give her some kind of pleasure, but she was wrong. She still felt empty. It was not enough; she wanted to destroy them all. She needed more.
There was something wrong with her brain. Hazel was numb; not even the gory sight of the man whom she once loved could make her flinch.
But her mind snapped back to reality when she became alerted. A few people were moving in the corridor.
Hazel’s first reaction was to grab Arlo’s gun, which was hurled under the sofa. She stood up and pointed it at the door when two people entered the room.
They backed out right away when they saw the gun pointed at them.
Two men, and Hazel recognized both. It was Michael and Noah, Arlo’s right-hand man. They came because they heard the commotion here.
"Arlo! Are you okay?!" Michael shouted from behind the wall.
Arlo coughed several times before responding to his brother, but his gaze remained locked on the gun in Hazel’s hand. "Come in. She is using my gun. It’s empty."
Hazel glanced at Arlo and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. When Michael and Noah barged in, she moved towards Arlo again and pulled out the scissors harshly, which made him let out an ear-piercing scream.
She grabbed his hair and pulled his head back when he recoiled, trying to move away from her. The sharp point of the bloody scissors pressed against his windpipe, drawing blood when it pierced his skin.
Meanwhile, Noah aimed his gun at Hazel, while Michael didn’t have any weapons with him.
"Hazel Leighton," Noah said; he was confused.
He recognized her immediately as the red color of the sunset filtered through the room. It was getting dark out there.
"Hazel Leighton?" Michael narrowed his eyes to get a better look at the woman, who held his brother on the tip of the scissors. "What is she doing here?"
Michael was unaware of the connection between Hazel and River because he had not been informed about the entire situation. He knew about what happened to River and how Aubrey had shot her, but he was in the dark for the rest of it.
Meanwhile, Arlo had told Noah almost everything, and he could get the connection. Arlo was right; Hazel had something to do with River.
"Don’t kill her!" Arlo managed to speak. He didn’t want Hazel to die. She was the only connection to River.
Noah groaned. Hazel was within his shooting range. He could take her down in any second. "Put the scissors down, Mrs. Leighton. Let’s talk about it."
Noah was thinking about shooting her hand, but it was so close to Arlo’s neck. If the bullet pierced through, Arlo would be dead. Moreover, she put her body behind Arlo in a way that she didn’t give him a clear shot.
Hazel was staring at Noah, but from the corner of her eyes, she could see Michael. It was her first time seeing him again, and he hadn’t changed much. He probably got a little thinner with his new hair color. He had dyed his hair green.
He had done these silly things to upset his father, and Arlo couldn’t talk him down to stop his antics. He reminded her of Logan. Was this a second child’s trait?
"Put the gun down," Hazel said with a voice that was colder than ice. The room was getting darker now, and it was hard to see the other’s expression.
"Put the scissors down," Noah replied harshly.
"Put the gun down, Noah."
"Arlo, I don’t know what you are going to do with her, but this is not going to work. I am going to kill her if she tries to make a stupid move." Noah didn’t listen. His eyes were fixed on Hazel.
"Kill me, huh? Just like your friend over here had killed River?" Hazel sneered. Even in the dark, Noah could feel the strong murderous intention coming from her.
"Put the gun down, Noah," Arlo repeated, annoyed now.
Noah did, but not in the way he expected. Right at that moment, they heard a gunshot—but not from Noah’s gun.