Please Me Daddy (Gracie) novel Chapter 228

Grace

The old reports described her in clinical, detached language, but the details were horrifying. It was said that she watched her classmates beg for their lives before she killed them, observing their fear with curiosity rather than emotion, and remorse.

Her obsession with Apollo had never been normal. It was never love. It was possession.

I wanted to speak, to say something, but for a brief second, no words came out.

Sarah noticed.

Her smile widened slightly, satisfaction flickering across her face as if she had finally regained control of the room.

“What now?” she asked mockingly. “Surprised?”

She tilted her head, her voice almost playful. “Were you expecting a tragic story? Maybe something about Apollo mistreating me? Maybe you wanted to believe he pushed me into this?”

She let out a soft laugh.

“If that’s what you were expecting, don’t. Apollo treated me very well. So well that, at some point, I almost forgot who I was and what I had done in the past.”

I had never thought Apollo treated her badly. That thought had never crossed my mind. Apollo was not that kind of man. When he loved someone, he loved completely. He gave everything, his loyalty, his protection, and his devotion.

He must have treated her like she was his entire world once.

So why?

Why would she betray the one man who loved her without restraint?

As if she could hear the question echoing inside my head, Sarah stepped closer until she was standing directly in front of me. She leaned down slightly, invading my space, and brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

Her touch made my skin crawl.

“You can give a person all the love and attention in the world,” she said softly, “but you can’t change who they are. That’s what happened, Grace. Apollo couldn’t change me.”

Her voice lost its softness and turned hollow. “I was still the girl who killed animals because I was curious about how they would die. I was still the girl who murdered her classmates just to see the fear in their eyes.”

She straightened slightly, her smile returning, colder than before.

“I am someone who cannot change.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“I have to see Apollo suffer. I have to see the Reeds and the Jones suffer,” she continued. “They destroyed my comfortable life. They took everything from my family. And before my parents died, I promised them that if they ever tell, I would make sure the people responsible paid for it.”

Her gaze locked onto mine.

“And I always keep my promises.”

“(

“”

“You see, after they died,” Sarah continued calmly, “my estranged uncle, Austin, took me in. Poor man thought he was saving a

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Goodbye, Grace

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broken girl. I used him instead. I needed access, and proximity, and he gave me both.”

She leaned back slightly and ran a hand through her hair, her expression almost bored now that her secrets were laid bare.

“I used him to get close to Apollo,” she said plainly. “Manipulated situations when I could. Adjusted stories. Placed myself exactly where I needed to be. It wasn’t difficult.”

Her lips curved faintly.

“Well, that’s all, Grace. That’s the past. At first, I had many chances to kill Apollo,” she admitted, her tone almost thoughtful. ” More than you could imagine. But I didn’t. Because I fell for him.”

The words sounded wrong coming from her mouth.

“And you’re right, I liked watching him sink into depression because of me. I liked knowing that even in my death, I still controlled his emotions. But then you just had to appear and ruin everything.

“Honestly, I didn’t have to kill that child,” she said with a careless shrug. “But breaking your spirit felt more important at the time. So I killed Hannah.”

The world around me seemed to narrow. My heartbeat roared in my ears.

She smiled wider. “Do you even know what she said when she saw me?”

“She recognized me immediately, and the first thing she did was beg me not to touch you. She wasn’t afraid for herself. She was afraid for you.”

My hands began to shake.

“She tried so hard to protect you, it was almost admirable. Watching her struggle, watching her fight for her life…” She let out a small laugh. “It was entertaining. The poison I used was extremely painful. It worked slowly. She felt everything.”

She laughed.

That was it.

Something inside me snapped.

A sharp, blinding rage swallowed every ounce of restraint I had been holding onto, and before I could stop myself, I lunged forward with a broken shout, throwing myself at her. But it was exactly what she wanted.

The moment I moved, her hand came up smoothly, the gun already aimed straight at me,

“Goodbye, Grace,” she said. “I really did like you. You’re just like me in a way. You’re an intelligent person but you just had to be Apollo woman and the heiress of the Jones family

Her finger tightened on the trigger. Time slowed, but I had prepared for this.

In one swift motion, I pulled the pepper spray hidden inside my sleeve and aimed directly at her face, pressing down hati betore she could fully react.

A sharp hiss cut through the air.

Sarah screamed, staggering back as the spray hit her eyes, her grip faltering as she reflexively pulled the trigger.

The gunshot exploded in the room.

A burning pain tore across my shoulder as the bullet grazed me, blood soaking through my sleeve, but I didn’t acknowledge it.

I stepped back and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Now, River!”

What are your last words?

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What are your last words?

Grace

“Why do you need pepper spray, Miss Grace?”

Linda’s voice had been careful that day, as she stood across from my desk and watched me examine the small collection of self- defense tools laid out neatly in front of me like harmless office supplies.

I remember lifting one, reading the label, then putting it down before picking up another, testing the weight in my palm as if I were choosing something far more serious than it appeared to be.

There were different brands, different sizes, different strengths.

My eyes stopped on one in particular.

Red Hot Chilli Pepper Spray.

The packaging was bold and crimson, with sharp lettering that almost looked aggressive, and something about it caught my attention immediately. It was ridiculous, and dramatic, but the design made it look dangerous, like it meant what it promised.

It looked painful.

I turned it over slowly in my hand, studying it.

“I’ll take this one,” I said finally, a faint smile touching my lips as I made my choice.

Linda didn’t smile back.

Instead, she looked at me with worry in her eyes. “Miss… please tell me what’s going on,” she said softly. “You’ve been acting strange lately. Why are you buying pepper spray? Is something going to happen to you?”

I looked at her then, holding her gaze steadily.

“I’m buying it for the future,” I replied.

“For the future?” she repeated, frowning.

I nodded calmly. “For self–defense. Anything can happen, Linda, and I have to be prepared. I can’t let an enemy catch me off guard, and if I want to survive, I have to be faster than them. I have to do something they won’t expect.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t push further.

That was the end of the conversation.

End of flashback. ****

“Now, River!” I screamed.

In one swift motion, I pulled the red pepper spray from my coat pocket and pressed down hard, aiming directly at Sarah’s face.

A sharp hiss filled the air as the red mist exploded forward.

Sarah let out a blood–curdling, scream as the spray hit her eyes. “Ahhh! My eyes! My fucking eyes!” She staggered back, her grip. on the gun loosening as she thrashed wildly in pain.

The gun went off.

The sound was deafening.

For a split second, I felt something hot tear through my shoulder, and the force knocked me slightly off balance.

What are your last words?

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River moved instantly, shoving me aside as the bullet pierced through me instead of my chest.

“Grace!” he snapped, his voice sharp and urgent. “Are you okay?”

Pain shot through my arm, but I clenched my teeth and ignored it, locking eyes with him.

He understood immediately.

He turned toward the men standing behind Sarah, who were frozen in shock at the sudden turn of events.

Sarah was still screaming, clutching her face. “Get her! What the fuck are you standing there for? Get her!” she shrieked blindly.

The men rushed forward.

River tilted his head slightly, and the lazy expression he usually wore vanished completely, replaced by something dark and terrifying.

“The audacity,” he muttered coldly, “to even think about touching her. I don’t remember the last time I was this pissed. So go ahead. Play with me.”

The men didn’t understand what he meant, until he moved. In one fluid motion, River grabbed the chair they had brought for us and swung it with brutal force.

The metal legs crashed into two men at once, the impact echoing through the room as both of them cried out in pain.

One collapsed instantly, unconscious before he even hit the ground. The other stumbled back, groaning, clutching his head as blood trickled down his temple.

River let the broken chair fall from his hands and looked down at them without a single flicker of emotion. His face was blank, as if hurting them required no more effort than breathing.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would tear right out of my chest as I stared at them, taking in the chaos around me. River had already shown just how dangerous he could be, and how ruthless when he needed to be, and something deep in my gut told me these men were nothing compared to him. That gave me a flicker of hope, though it didn’t erase the tension twisting my stomach.

Behind him, Sarah was still screaming, blinded and furious. And despite the burning pain in my shoulder, I stood straight, because this wasn’t over yet.

I slipped off my heels, letting them thud softly against the cold floor, before stepping closer. I controlled my breathing, counting each inhale and exhale in my head.

I could handle Sarah. I just needed the gun.

One careful step, then another, my eyes locked on the weapon lying near her. All I needed was to take it, and then this would be over. I took another measured step closer, my chest tight but my mind focused. I was nearly there when I felt her gaze snap toward me. My heart froze. Her eyes, still red from the pepper spray, locked on mine. Then she smiled. A wide confident smile that made my stomach drop.

“You’re smart, but not that smart,” she said, raising the gun slowly.

Time seemed to stretch as I closed my eyes, preparing for the inevitable shot. My body tensed, bracing for death. The bang echoed in my ears, but it wasn’t me who fell

I opened my eyes, heart hammering, and my gaze shot to River. He was clutching his chest, blood seeping through his fingers, pooling on the floor beneath him. My eyes widened, disbelief and horror rooting me to the spot.

“River!” I shouted, my voice breaking, my legs threatening to give out.

He looked up at me through the haze of pain, his lips curving into a faint, tired smile. “It’s okay…” He whispered, his voice ragged, and then he collapsed, his body hitting the floor with a sickening thud, more blood spreading beneath him, his chest

What are your last words?

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rising and falling weakly.

I wanted to run to him, but before I could move, a cold hand grabbed mine, stopping me.

“Not so fast, Grace!” Sarah hissed, her voice sharp, dragging me back into the nightmare.

I spun to face her, my chest heaving, my mind screaming, but my eyes stayed fixed on River, lying there motionless, and I felt the panic rising, the helpless rage building. My fingers curled into fists as I tried to steady myself, knowing that I couldn’t let fear control me.

“Let me go!” I could feel my hand being held tight, my wrist trapped in Sarah’s iron grip. My legs kicked and I thrashed, desperation giving me strength, but no matter how much I struggled, Sarah’s hold didn’t loosen, her fingers felt like steel around me, her laughter slicing through the chaos.

“Hahaha! I love the way people act when you take away the ones they care about right in front of them,” she mocked, her voice low and venomous, her eyes glinting with delight. “Grace, don’t be sad. I know you’re probably tired of watching me destroy everyone you hold dear, but now, I’ll kill you too. Then you won’t have to suffer watching anyone else die.”

Her words froze me for just a moment, but my fury flared hotter than ever. I refused to let her see the terror she wanted to feed on. I refused to let her win.

She raised the gun to my head, her finger twitching on the trigger, and her voice was calm as she said, “It may sound cliché, but … what are your last words?”

I stared at her, every ounce of defiance in me solidified. My lips curved into a small smile.

“Go to hell,”

Her brows furrowed, confusion flashing across her face. “What?” she hissed.

I smiled wider, not breaking eye contact, and spat the words. “Go to hell, Eloise!”

Before I could react to the shock in her eyes, the sound of metal clicking echoed behind her, freezing the room for a split second. A deep, dangerous voice cut through the chaos.

“You must have a death wish touching my woman.”

I glanced at Apollo, standing behind her, a gun in his hand. The air itself seemed to tense with imminent danger, and I could feel the entire room shrink down to the three of us.

Sarah froze in panic.

My chest heaved, my blood still thrumming from fear and adrenaline, but in that moment, I knew that Sarah’s reign of terror was over. And for the first time since this nightmare began, I could breathe again.

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