Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1264

Bella had never imagined that, even at the edge of the abyss, Debbie would dare to be this brazen. The old hag genuinely believed Bella didn't have the stomach to butcher her. She was actively humiliating her.

"You're calling me a mistress, you filthy hypocrite?" Bella shrieked, her sanity snapping. "You ruined my life! You threw me to the wolves, and you still dare to mock me? You're asking for death!"

Before the words had even fully left her mouth, Bella snatched the fruit knife off the floor.

Adrenaline and pure, unfiltered rage hijacked her body. She lunged forward, violently grabbing Debbie's wrist.

Debbie's face was still plastered with that arrogant, mocking grin. "You think you're going to kill me? You're having a psychotic break, but you still don't have the spine to do it!"

To prove her point, Debbie forcefully shoved her hand forward, slapping it flat against the table again, daring her to act. She was absolutely certain Bella wouldn't go through with something so grotesque.

"You think I won't?!" Bella screamed, her voice tearing at the seams. "Do you have any idea what those loan sharks do to people?!"

Flashbacks of the terrifying threats from The Blood-Debt Vultures hijacked Bella's mind. The graphic violence they promised her played on an endless loop in her head.

With her left hand pinning Debbie's wrist to the glass, Bella raised the knife high into the air.

"Go on, do it! Stop talking and do it!" Debbie yelled back.

And then, the sound of Debbie's taunts abruptly morphed into a blood-curdling shriek.

"AHHHH!"

A cold sweat broke out across Bella's forehead as her vision went completely red. She didn't even register the downward swing of her arm. She only felt the sudden, sickening spray of warm liquid across her cheeks and the thick, metallic stench of copper invading her lungs.

Bella slowly raised her hands, her eyes wide and unblinking. The blood looked impossibly bright. Her mind was a chaotic knot of terror and disbelief.

In a panic, she dropped the knife. It clattered loudly against the hardwood.

She had never imagined that a simple fruit knife could slice through bone and cartilage so easily. She had no idea how much raw force she had just channeled into that singular strike.

Blood was smeared across her face. Debbie was thrashing and screaming on the rug.

Bella's mind went completely blank. As a drop of blood fell from the tip of the knife to the floor, her survival instincts kicked in. She turned on her heel and bolted for the door.

She ripped the suite door open, frantic to escape—only to come face-to-face with Lucas, whose eyes were blown wide with shock.