Cruxius replied smoothly, paying no attention to the sisters' dramatic conversation.
He already understood their petty family dynamics well enough. His dark gaze instead drifted lazily to the edge—the railing of the hospital rooftop.
The iron grills had corroded into the concrete, fragile and short, leaving a gap just wide enough to let a delicate body fall through.
He could already tell exactly what might've happened here in the timeline he just abandoned.
So, did he want her annoying stepsister dead?
No. Not yet.
Not until he thoroughly used her—like a convenient, painful ladder to climb deep into Thalia's vulnerable heart, breaking her down so she would rely solely on him.
"Out of the wall?" Darithi asked again, just to be absolutely sure. Maybe her master only meant to push the girl onto the hard floor—not off a twenty-six-story roof.
"Of course..." Cruxius murmured, his lips curving into a dark, chillingly handsome smile. "...but be gentle."
