Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Silence filled the church as everyone was too shocked to speak. It was Styles who first broke the quiet when an awkward unamused laugh came out of him. He went there with the group still half asleep that his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when Mr. Higgins almost caught them earlier the moment he accidentally stepped on a stick outside. And now this. "Things can't get any worse than this, right?" he muttered mostly to himself.

"Uncle?" Katherine questioned. She looked between the two while many theories ran through her head. "Why are you calling him uncle?"

Deborah pressed her lips together and looked away, unwilling to give anything to them. Their situation already looked bad, but she couldn't help holding on to hope that she and Higgins would get out of this alive. She planned to keep her mouth shut and not tell them anything.

Something passed between Katherine and Damien when they caught each other's eyes. No words were exchanged and yet they were able to read each other's minds. Damien cast his men a look and gave a silent order, and in the next second, Team Beta shoved Mr. Higgins down.

The old man grunted when his knees hit the floor. He tried to get back up but one of the men kept him down by putting a hand on his shoulder. Higgin's cry caught Deborah's attention, her head snapping forward. She hissed, "What are you doing! Don't hurt him!"

"Then start talking!" Katherine bit out.

"Do not say anything, Debbie," Mr. Higgins gritted out in between pants. "I am not hurt. Do not worry about me."

"Let him go!" Deborah pleaded, and for a second, Katherine believed that the woman actually had a heart. "You want me, so let my uncle go!"

Katherine's momentary sympathy didn't last long. She studied the two and then made a split-second decision. Taking her time, she strolled behind Deborah and drew her knife closer, letting the tip glide up Deborah's arm and making her whimper, and then Katherine pointed the blade to Deborah's throat. 

With her teeth clenched tight, Katherine forced the words out of her mouth. "Very well. If Dear Aunt Debbie doesn't speak, then why don't we let Ol' Higgins do the honors. You'll tell me, won't you?" She tilted her head to the side, waiting for the butler to decide whether his silence weighed heavier than Deborah's life.

"Who are you?" Mr. Higgins stared at Katherine with wild eyes. It was the first time that he had seen her like this and he actually felt scared of her. "You are playing with a dangerous weapon, child. Take that away from my niece this instant!"

"Who am I?" Katherine scoffed—although at this point, she was acting more like Queen. "I'm Katherine Young, daughter of Mason and Natalie Young. They were good people whom this woman killed for selfish reasons. And this?" She used the flat of the knife to tilt Deborah's chin up. "This knife is an extension of my hand. So be careful, Old Man, my hands have been a little shaky lately when I'm stressed. You don't want to provoke me, or I might just slip..."

"You would not dare hurt a fly. Young Madam, you are not a killer!"

"Oh, but I am," she hissed. At that moment, she was embracing her alter ego. There was no escaping the truth that she was groomed into an assassin. That even though she knew it was wrong, she still did it anyway. That she was blinded by faith and vengeance that she would one day find her parents' killer. She went through so much with only that one goal in mind. And now she was there. "So if you don't start talking, I'm going to start slicing."

"I do not believe you will do it!"

A glint flashed in Katherine's eyes after being challenged. She moved her knife to Deborah's arm and in the next second, Deborah screamed in pain. Katherine only ever so lightly pressed the blade to the other's skin, so the cut was shallow. But since the knife was so sharp, as soon as it made contact with the skin, blood oozed out of it. It dripped down the arm and soaked the sleeve. "I told you not to test me, Higgins. The next one will be on her neck," she said.

"Okay! I understand! Stop!" Higgins swallowed, his eyes widening in horror. The way he looked at Katherine was as if he had seen a monster. "I will tell you."

"Everything. The truth."

"Yes. I will tell you the truth. But please, stop hurting her." Higgins croaked. Then his shoulders slumped. He was ready to confess.

Higgins sat on the heels of his feet, his head lowered and his hands clenched tightly they were so white. For a moment, the church fell silent again. But this time, there was more tension in the atmosphere as they waited for him to speak.

"I suppose you have not heard of the name George Wyatt before," Higgins started. He glanced up only to see Katherine shake her head. A small huff left his lips and then he shook his head. "I figured you would not. All of you in this room were either too young or you have not been born yet. But George Wyatt was my half-brother. He was a great man. When my parents left me, my brother George was the one who took care of me and raised me. He was my hero," he said the last word with so much grit; it appeared that he was very emotional at that moment.

"He didn't have much, my brother George, you see. While he was a student at the university, he worked a few jobs on the side to put food on our table. It was only the two of us. It always had been just the two of us because his parents were also not around. He was my best friend, my older brother, my confidant." Higgins took a deep breath and his eyes became misty. "George was ambitious. He wanted to get out of the rat race, so he worked night and day after he graduated.

"One day, George came home. And he was so excited, his face lit up our tiny apartment. I can still remember the way he bounced as he paced in the small space we had while he told me that his dreams are coming true. You see, he was an architect. And that day, he found a partner who was willing to work with him. That was your grandfather. Theodore Young. They had been friends since university. And they became even closer, best friends, like brothers when they started a company."

"I didn't know Grandpa had a partner," Katherine mulled over the new information.

"Of course, you wouldn't. Theodore made it a point to bury the truth, just like he buried my brother!"

Katherine straightened her spine, feeling the anger in Higgins' words. "What are you talking about?"

"Theodore was the reason George died! And he buried the truth to save himself. So do you see the picture now, little one? You cannot blame Deborah for your parents' deaths because your grandfather had it coming. Retribution will always find you no matter how much you try to hide the truth!"

"No… That's a lie…" Katherine muttered in almost a whisper and shook her head in denial.

Mr. Higgins scrunched his face, looking pained. "Why would I lie? You can ask Theodore yourself. He's awake now, isn't he?"