Emmett’s POV
I didn’t move. Ruth stayed crumpled on the floor, gasping through her hands, shaking like her body couldn’t contain the truth anymore.
Her words kept echoing in my head. She had planned to kill him. She had meant it. Marcus hurt my sister, he hurt Ruth, he had done things she couldn’t even say out loud.
I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I had never seen her like this, unraveled. And I couldn’t stop hearing what she said. It wasn’t a breakdown, it was confession. She wasn’t asking for help, she had already made a choice. I took one slow step toward her, lowering myself, unsure what I could possibly say. Then I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned around and saw Marcus standing in the hallway. He wasn’t confused or alarmed. He looked at Ruth, then at me. Calm, like he had expected this moment to come. His face didn’t show fear. It showed something worse, recognition. The silence felt heavy, almost rehearsed.
“I figured this would happen eventually,” he said. I stood up fast, blocking the space between him and Ruth. My fists clenched before I even realized it. I could feel my pulse in my throat. My skin burned with the kind of heat that warned me I was about to lose control.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
He didn’t flinch or stall, he just started talking.
“She came to me,” he said. “Your sister. Begged me to help her. I didn’t. I told her it wasn’t my problem. I knew what was happening to her. I just didn’t care.”
My body locked up, I heard a rush of blood in my ears. My hands started shaking. I couldn’t feel the floor under me anymore. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. He looked me dead in the eye, like it was nothing.
“I didn’t lay a hand on her,” he continued, “but I didn’t stop it either. That makes me worse. I know that.”
I looked at Ruth. She hadn’t moved, her arms were wrapped around her ribs. Her face was pale, she was staring at the floor like the world had stopped spinning. I turned back to Marcus, trying to understand what kind of person could admit something like that and still look proud. Then he shifted the focus.
“Ruth’s brother,” he said, like it was a casual transition. “You know how he died, right? You’ve heard her version. But that’s not the whole story.” I didn’t respond, I couldn’t.
“He didn’t fall. He didn’t overdose. He was pushed to the edge. And not by some stranger. Someone close. Someone who knew the weak spots.” He said it so casually, I almost didn’t register it. Then he added one more sentence.
“I was there.”
The room felt colder. My chest felt hollow, I looked at Ruth again. She still wasn’t moving, but I could see the change in her expression. She had heard it, she had already known. That was what had broken her. I turned back to Marcus, but he wasn’t done.
“It started a long time ago,” he said. “Before you even met her. You were just a piece of it. A convenient one.”
Something cracked inside me. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t form one solid thought. This man had sat in my house. He had eaten my food. He had watched me protect Ruth without saying a damn thing. All this time, he had known. He had watched my sister suffer, he had let it happen. He had watched Ruth lose her brother, he had been there.
The pressure in my chest spread through my arms, down to my fists. I couldn’t stop my body from reacting. I took one step forward, then another. My vision blurred. Everything around me narrowed until it was only him. The lies he’d told. The truths he’d buried. The damage he left behind.
“You-” My voice caught. I tried again. “You let her die.” He didn’t deny it, he didn’t even look sorry. That was the worst part.
“You let her scream and did nothing.”
Marcus shrugged, just a little. “She wasn’t mine to save.”
That was it, the rage hit all at once. It wasn’t loud, it didn’t explode. It sank in, settled deep, took control. My body tightened. My fists curled until my nails dug into my palms. My breathing turned short and sharp. I couldn’t hear anything else, couldn’t think beyond what was in front of me.
Everything I believed collapsed. He wasn’t just a man who failed, he was the reason it all happened. He was the reason my sister died. He was the reason Ruth fell apart on my floor. And now he was standing in my house like none of it mattered. Someone had to pay, and it was going to start now.