Page 351 of Marcello

He screamed in agony and dropped the knife, his hand suddenly useless.

I kicked the blade away –

And that was when I went in for the kill.

“YOU’RE… NOT… A MAN,” I roared, landing a punch with every word.

I felt the crunch of his nose as it broke beneath my fist.

“YOU’RE… A BOY.”

His jaw dislocated, and he fell backwards onto the ground.

I dropped on top of him, straddling his chest and pinning his arms to the floor with my knees.

“A STUPID…”

I forced my thumbs into his eye sockets –

“SPOILED…”

And ground them into his eyes.

“PSYCHOPATHIC…”

Cesare screamed as blood welled up and spilled down the sides of his face.

“CHILD.”

He tried to buck me off, but I only drove my thumbs deeper into his skull.

“THIS IS FOR MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER, YOU PATHETIC… PIECE… OF SHIT.”

A few seconds later his screaming stopped.

His feet drummed on the ground one last time…

And his body went entirely limp.

I stayed there for a few seconds, overcome with rage…

And then withdrew my thumbs from his bloody sockets.

It was over.

A weariness settled in as the anger finally left my body.

Weariness… and grief.

Not for the monster dead on the floor…

But for my brave, strong, beautiful wife.

Her words in the hospital echoed in my mind:

I want you… to KILL THEM ALL.

I smiled darkly.