Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday

Without another word, Grace pulled a dagger from the harness secured around her thigh under the long skirt she was wearing. It was the very same kind that Daniel and the others had used to end her life in her previous life.

The metallic glint of the sharp blade under the light finally made the reality of what was about to happen sink in for everyone in the room.

She took her time, savoring each moment as she closed the ramaining few steps between them. With her every step, she witnessed as Daniel's bravado faded only to get replaced with raw fear.

"You don't have to do this, Ms. Blackwood. Not to all of us," one of the other five men stammered. "We were just following orders. It was Daniel! He made us do everything!"

Grace's eyes snapped toward the man, cold and merciless. "You enjoyed it, didn't you? Laughing as you stabbed me again and again. I remember every single one of your faces."

She watched as horror covered his face, not because he knew what she was talking about, but because he couldn't understand why she was speaking as if he had ever tried to harm her physically.

Her accusations were confusing them, but she felt no obligation to explain anything to anyone.

Maven stepped forward, coming to stand by her side. "We are ready, boss."

Grace nodded while her grip on the dagger tightened. This was the moment she had been waiting for. The satisfaction of seeing Daniel's fear, the panic in the eyes of the five who had participated in her murder, it was everything she had imagined.

"Kevin, Seth, Aleena, Maven," she said quietly, "deal with the rest."

She watched as her team sprang into action immediately. They headed in the direction of the men of outer circle who had been silently witnessing everything.

"I know that you all have been forced to betray me by Daniel and his supporters. And while I want to understand you, I still can't forget the plain fact that almost all of you had been helping someone to plot against me and the Blackwood House." Grace spoke while addressing the outer circle.

She could smell their fear in the air and it made her feel very satisfied. She kept her tone neutral as she continued, "But don't worry, I'm not going to kill you all. I have planned another punishment for your betrayal."

Kevin, Maven, Aleena, and Seth opened the four wooden boxes that were sitting on a table, all four boxes containing blue pills in them. They picked up the boxes and moved toward the four long lines of people.

"I will let you all leave the Blackwood House after two weeks, free from your crimes of backstabbing. But for that freedom, you all will need to eat these pills to suffer from pain for these two weeks. A little pain for your freedom, or..." she didn't finish her sentence, she didn't need to.

She watched as every single person among those in the outer circle hurriedly picked up the pills and gulped them down, eager to suffer pain if it meant their lives would be saved.

They were so foolish to believe that they would be saved. Though she would keep her word and let them leave two weeks later, the upcoming disaster wouldn't promise the same.

It was much better to leave them to fend for themselves during the coming disaster than to give them an easy death now. She wanted them to suffer, and for that, she was going to grant them their freedom.

Feeling satisfied, she once again returned her attention to Daniel, who was now visibly shaking. "You took everything from me," she said softly, almost as if speaking to herself. "But now, I take it all back."

With one swift, practiced motion, she plunged the dagger into his chest, watching as his eyes widened in shock and his mouth opened in a silent scream. He indeed wasn't expecting her to actually kill him, probabaly expecting to get away just like the others did. But there was no mercy in Grace's heart, nor any forgiveness for those who betrayed her.

She watched with satisfaction as his life drained from his eyes. When it was finally over, she stepped back. Despite what she had just done, her breathing was steady and her heart finally felt at peace.

Daniel was dead.

Instead of screams from those who just witnessed the scene, the basement was eerily silent now. No one dared to speak, or even breath loudly.

Her cold eyes darted to the other five who had started trembling after witnessing Daniel's end. She pulled out the dagger from Daniel's chest and moved for her next kill.

"Ms. B-blackwood... p-lease..."

They pleaded, but she heard none of that. None of these five showed even an ounce of mercy or guilt when they killed her, and yet, they had the audacity to expect some from her. She was no saint.

The next scene was both horrifying and impressive as she killed those remaining five in such swift motions that barely anyone caught the moment when the dagger struck them. Before anyone could have even blinked properly, all five of them were dead.

Grace turned her attention to her team, wiping the blood from her hands. "Dispose of the bodies. Make sure there's nothing left to trace back to us. Take care of the rest as well."

Her team nodded their heads in understanding before they moved to carry out her orders.

Not having anything else to do there, she walked toward the stairs but then paused for a moment and glanced back at the scene. The vengeance she had sought for since the moment of her death was finally complete, but she realized that there was no joy in it - only a cold, hollow satisfaction.

Her enemies were dead. But now, the real work began.

She stepped out of the basement, leaving behind the remnants of her past and embracing the future, where she would rebuild the Blackwood house stronger than ever before, without the traitors who had sought to destroy her.