<h4>Chapter 552: Before I Start the Killing...</h4>


    Could... could this be what he had been waiting to hear for months??


    And now it was slipping away before it could even take shape.


    He turned to her quickly. "What did you mean when you said we could be something more?" he asked, his voice sharper, almost pleading.


    "It doesn’t matter anymore." Nnenna shook her head, her eyes a storm of anger and hurt. "You’ve been lying to me for who knows how long. You know how much pain I’ve been through these past eleven years. You know it took me years to ept who I am. And still, you let me believe a lie, even when you knew the truth."


    "I’m sorry," Somto said quietly, staring at his empty hand like it was proof of everything he had just lost.


    "When did you find out?" Nnenna’s voice was steady, but her eyes burned. She didn’t even nce at his failed apology.


    Arthur snapped out of his own spiraling thoughts at that question. His anger red, but he forced himself to stay silent. This wasn’t about him. This was about Nnenna, her entire life hanging on the secret Somto had done keeping for... years.


    "I... I’ve known for—" Somto stammered.


    "Don’t you dare lie to me again," Nnenna cut in coldly.


    He swallowed. "I’ve known for more than eleven years."


    Her breath hitched. "You’ve known since the beginning?!" The disbelief in her tone carried a sharp, trembling edge.


    Arthur finally spoke, his voice low and dangerous, every word dragged out like it cost him to say it. "All those nights I poured my heart out to you... every time I told you how not knowing was killing me... you had the answer to a question that has haunted me for more than half my life, and you kept it to yourself?"


    Somto’s shoulders sagged. "I understand you’re upset. Both of you," he added, ncing at Arthur. "It’s my fault. But please, this isn’t the time to tear each other apart. We’re still kidnapped, remember?" He gestured toward Athena, who hadn’t said a word since Nnenna stepped away from her. The queen’s expression was unreadable, as if she had been pushed out of the moment entirely.


    Knowing he was right, Arthur’s jaw set like stone.


    Nnenna stepped forward, her voice cutting through the silence. "Well, you finally have us here. What are your ns for us? To finish what you started?"


    Athena’s eyes softened. "Of course not. You’re family. I would never try to kill you—"


    "You really can’t stop lying, can you, Athena?" Somto’s voice snapped like a whip.


    Her head jerked toward him.


    "You killed her parents," he said, fury vibrating in every word. "Your own sister was family, yet you and your psycho husband murdered her and her husband in cold blood."


    Athena’s face went pale, but he didn’t let up.


    "And ever since that night, you’ve been hunting Nnenna, trying to finish what you started. You think your sins are buried, but they’re not. You think no one knows. But I know."


    Herposure faltered for the first time. How much does he know? How could he possibly know? He was just a teenager then...


    Nnenna’s heart thudded in her chest. "Wait—" her voice trembled, but her eyes burned, "you killed my parents?"


    She had never known them. Never seen their faces. But the rage came instinctively, roaring up like it had been waiting in her bones her whole life.


    "How could you murder your own sister?" Nnenna’s voice was icy, her gaze locked on Athena. "Well, that answers my question. Since you brought me here to finish the job... go on. Finish what you started." She didn’t care whether Athena actually would or not, there was no fear left in her tone, only defiance.


    Athena’s eyes flickered. "Would you stop trying to drive a wedge between my niece and me, Somto? You have no evidence for any of your ims." Her words were cold, measured.


    "Evidence?" Somto’sugh was humorless. "What do you think I’ve been doing for the past ten years? I’ll give you credit, you’re a chameleon. You hid well. But not well enough." His voice dripped venom.


    Something in Athena’s expression shifted. The polite mask cracked. "Well," she said atst, her tone ttening, "since it seems you already know far too much, I might as well stop pretending." The faint smile she had been wearing vanished entirely.


    She turned to Nnenna. "I’m sorry, dear. It was never my intention for things to go this far. But... there’s nothing I can do about it now."


    Her hand slipped behind her back and came forward with a sleek ck pistol.


    But instead of pointing it at Nnenna, she leveled it at Somto.


    "You," she said, her voice razor sharp, "are a meddling prick who has been ruining my ns for as long as I can remember. All I wanted was to eat breakfast with my niece for the first time ever before I start the killing, but you—" her eyes red—"you still ruined it for me."


    Click


    She cocked the gun. The sound echoed through the room like a death knell.


    "Kidnapping you this time was just to make sure I put an end to that habit of yours... permanently."


    The cold click of a bullet sliding into ce made Nnenna’s stomach twist.


    "Stop it!" Nnenna’s voice cut through the air. "You want me, don’t you? I’m the one you’ve been hunting for years. I’m the one you want to kill. Let them go, and you can have what you came for." There wasn’t a tremor in her voice, she wasn’t afraid of dying.


    Athena didn’t even nce at her. "You think you know what I want?" she said, her toneced with contempt. "You have no idea."


    "Put down the gun, Aunt Athena," Arthur said coldly, his voice slow and deliberate.


    "Oh, now you remember I’m your aunt?" Athena let out a short, bitterugh, but her hands never wavered on the weapon.