END OF THE BEGINNING

"You have been nothing but a disgrace to my bloodline! Always ruining everything, one after the other!" Mr Stephen shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls of his home office.

His son stood a few feet away from him, staring down at the floor sporting a blank expression, with his hands tightly clenched into fists by his side.

"Father-"

"No! I have had enough of your reckless behavior! I cannot leave you to keep dragging my name through the mud, especially now that the election is around the corner!" His face was reddened with anger.

"I think it will be best to allow the government to deal with you as they please. Why would you get involved in fraud for goodness sake?" He asked with furrowed brows.

Evan peered at his father's indignant eyes, he did not want to go to jail. He committed the crime intentionally, knowing that his father would always cover up for his dirty deeds.

"No father, you cannot do that. You have to intervene, I don't want to go to jail, please!" He exclaimed, surprised at his words.

"I can do whatever I want, as long as you keep being a nuisance!" Mr Stephen replied in a superior tone.

"Father, please give me another chance. I will rectify my mistakes," he suggested pleadingly.

"Your whole life is a mistake at this point." His father retorted with a scoff.

"Just one chance," he requested again, looking his father in the eye.

Evan knew he had hit the last straw at this point, and was ready to do anything to earn his father's forgiveness.

His father stared at him in silence for a few minutes, tapping the tip of his fingers on the top of the desk.

"There's something you can do for me." He said abruptly.

"What is it?" Evans immediately asked, his tone laced with desperation.

"You see, There's this person that keeps biting off more than he can chew. He's an obstacle, and I want him gone." He supplied in an eerie tone.

"Wait, You mean…" Evans trailed off with widened eyes, he took a step back at the glint in his father's gaze.

Evans had done a lot of terrible things in his life. But took a life, and he was shocked that his father would ask that of him.

"You do whatever I say or you end up behind bars, make your choice." His father threatened in a low tone, staring him down with both eyebrows raised in question and daring him to refuse.

"This justifies why you're my stepfather, after all," Evans murmured under his breath as he walked out of the office. As he was about to get through the door his father mumbled to him.

"You have three days"

Evans sighed and walked away. He put a call across to his drug dealer to make an order.

"There's no way I can do this with a clear head" Evans mumbled after ending the call.

After two days...

Janet was startled awake by a deafening noise. A quick look at the bedside clock informed her that it had just passed midnight. She lazily wiped the sleep from her eyes with a frown.

Another bang echoed through the walls and she jumped out of bed in alarm. With trembling hands, she fastened her robe around her waist and quickly rushed to the door, moving to grab her phone as she went.

However, her steps were halted by the sight of her door being slammed open, Janet stared at the masked figure that stood at her doorway with wide eyes.

"Who are you? Wh- what are-" She was cut off by the man's next action as he strode towards her and swiftly tossed her over his shoulder without making a sound.

"Hey! Let me down! Who are you?" She shouted in surprise.

Still, the man did not utter a single word, carrying her along as he stormed out of her room.

Janet could barely understand what was going on; the next thing she knew, they had arrived at the living room, where she was roughly dropped to the floor.

"Janet!" She whipped her head to the side to see her parents huddled a few feet away from her, mirroring her frightened expression.

"Mom? Dad? What is going on?" She cried with her heart hammering against her chest.

"What a lovely family reunion we've got here!" A deep voice resonated in the room, grabbing her attention.

It was only then that she took notice of the dangerous-looking men that surrounded them, all with masks fixed on their faces.

"Now that you're all here, we can finally get started." The same voice bellowed as the man stepped closer, looking distinctly separate from the rest.

"Who are you? What do you want with my family?" Her father called out in a firm tone.

The man let out an amused chuckle with a crazed look in his eyes.

"You brought this upon your family! This is what happens when you interfere with things that are greater than you." He answered with gritted teeth.

"Who sent you? It must be someone from the opposing party?" Her father questioned with a shaky voice as his eyes swept over the group of men.

"Enough of the chit-chat! None of that will matter when you're dead anyway." He muttered darkly, raising his arms instantly.

Janet shook in fear at the sight of the gun in his hands.

"Please, leave my family out of this. Deal with only me instead!" Her father yelled with a resigned expression, finally grasping the severity of the situation.

The man stared at her father blankly, "Sure."

Janet felt her heart jump out of her chest as a gunshot rang out in the room. She gaped at her father's unmoving body as her mother shrieked and let out a scream.

Another gunshot rang out, silencing her mother immediately.

"Mom! Daddy!" Janet finally let out a scream as she rushed to their bodies. Her mother spluttered and choked until she watched the life drain out of her eyes.

"No! Wake up! Please, mom! Dad!" She shook their bodies, staining her hands with blood and wailing loudly.

Her breath hitched as she felt a presence directly beside her. She turned her head to see the man that had just murdered her parents, looking straight at her with a maniacal grin.

She tightly shut her eyes, waiting for the next gunshot, aimed for her this time.

However, the next thing she felt was a strong grip on her, roughly pulling her up.

"Wh-what are you doing? She stuttered with tremors.

"I think I would have some fun with you first, you pretty thing," The man said, regarded her with hooded eyes, scanning her body with a lust-filled gaze.

"No, no!" Janet exclaimed tearfully, filled with dread at the look in his eyes.

His hands gently caressed her hair with a sick smile that made a shudder run through her body. In an aggressive motion, he dragged her to the couch, tossing her haphazardly and climbing on top of her.

"No! Please, no! Don't do this, please! Just kill me instead!" She cried out, trying to push him off her.

"Boss, this is not-" One of the other men started, stepping closer.

The man turned his head to him, staring him down.

"You already did your job, fuck off!" He said with a wild look in his eyes.

His eyes were red and his nerves were raging due to the effects of the hard drugs.

"No please, help me!" Janet screamed as the men exited the house.

"Shut up!" The man shouted, slamming the butt of his gun on her head.

Janet let out a gasp at the pain. She could feel the liquid running down the side of her head, and her world shattered as she lay helpless, her parent's lifeless bodies etched in her mind.

Through her blurred vision, she could make out the man unzipping his pants before his weight crushed her. She tried to scream, to do anything, but her limbs were numb and she could only let out small whimpers.

The man's grunts above her were the last thing she heard before she succumbed to darkness.