'It's Victor Graham. The man who killed Mom.'
The words rang in Taylor's ears. Victor Graham? Alive? He didn't deserve to live. Word has it that he left for Scotland after the deed. And he should know well enough that the moment he returned to America, Taylor and Leo would be after him.
With a vengence deadlier than the deadliest poison.
'Are you sure?'
'Positive,' Leo nodded furiously. 'He's definitely back in town.' He looked out of the window. 'I'm gonna get him. I'm definitely gonna get him. Soon.' He spat the word out in disgust.
'Good for you,' Taylor said, her eyes steeled. 'Count me in.' Without a word, she took out the Zippo lighter in her pocket, and started to manipulate it, her blood boiling, yet keeping an aloof expression on her face. The Zippo lighter was a gift from her brother Drew, who used to joke that when Taylor got that murderous look on her face, she would act so cold, she needed a lighter to warm her back up.
His breath catching in his throat, Leo looked at his sister, silently remembering the day their mother died.
It had been the twins' eighth birthday. Back then, in Russia, before they made new names and identities for themselves, Taylor and Leo were known as Anya Ivanovna and Alexei Ivanov respectively.
Their grandfather Alexander had thrown a huge party in their honor. And their mother Alix had just finished singing the Ivanov family song, an anthem sacred to the members of the Ivanov clan. Anya had been talking to her elder brothers Andrei, and Viktor, and her sister Emma. Alexei had been hanging around their father, Nicholas and the tall birthday cake when he ran towards his siblings, urging them that it was time to cut the cake.
At this time, Anya had missed her mother. Seeing Alix answering the front door, the girl ran towards her mom, but blinked in surprise when a man, later to be known as Victor Graham, emptied a whole magazine of bullets into Alix, who, realizing the danger too late, hurried to remove a pistol she'd always carried for protection.
Anya watched as her mother went down, with Graham grinning evilly. Noticing the pistol still in her mother's hand, Anya grabbed it without thinking and fired wildly. Out of the five shots she gave out, only two found their mark. One got lodged in Graham's upper arm, while the other nicked a nerve in his leg, causing him later to walk with a permanant limp.
At that moment, her family, not to mention the guests at the party, hurried to the door. Dropping the gun, Anya immediately ran to her mother's side, where her brother found her, listening to Alix's last words. Anya promised Alix that she would be strong, that she would protect her family at all costs. Unknown to Alix, however, Anya also promised silently to avenge her mother.
With a vengence deadlier than the deadliest poison.
Now, Taylor closed her eyes slowly, remembering the events of this fateful day. She never celebrated her birthday after that, and she didn't even attend her mother's funeral. She became strong and cold, waiting for the chance to kill the man she wanted dead.
'Taylor?'
Her brother's voice shook her from her memories. 'Yes?' she answered.
Leo hesitated. 'Look, I know you'll probably think I'm totally intruding but ever since Mom died, you've been so cold, like you're waiting to kill the guy who killed Mom.'
'I am.' It was so blunt, Leo seemed surprised. Taylor smiled softly at the look on her brother's face, but the smile faded slowly when she heard what he had to say next. 'And that's the other thing.'
'What other thing?'
'It's kinda hard to say...'
'Tell me.' Taylor snapped her Zippo lighter shut.
'Well, it's just that--'
'What?'
Leo seemed almost disappointed. 'It's just that...'
Taylor inhaled. She knew it was coming. 'Just say it.'
'I noticed that,' there was deep anguish reflected in Leo's blue eyes. 'All these while, you've never once...even as a little girl...grieved for Mom.'
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