"I ran after Eric, only to see him passed out on the ground."

  "Huh? What?" Angelica was confused by the sudden development.

  "Paul used the chloroform on him," Rudy stated.

  "Oh!"

  "Not going to lie, I was scared when I saw Eric on the ground because there was no way I could have taken Paul one on one, especially when he had the napkin drenched with chloroform."

  "What did you do then?" Angelica asked curiously.

  "My brain had stopped working. It might sound like I was a pussy, but you just freeze in moments like that. I didn't know what to do. But I knew one thing for sure, and that was 'if' I didn't fight back, many bad things would happen. Paul could literally kill Eric and me and do… who knows what he might have done to mom…"

  "So I grabbed the knife from the kitchen and dashed at him with all my remaining strength. Paul tried to make me smell the napkin, but I had held my breath. There were only two possible outcomes, and neither of us knew which one."

  Rudy shrugged his shoulders and uttered, "The next thing I knew, my hands and clothes were dyed with blood."

  "……"

  "I stabbed him countless times until his body stopped moving. I stabbed him until his body ran out of blood, and it turned pale. I was so angry at that moment because… I just couldn't fathom what would have happened that night." Rudy exhaled sharply and added, "And I can't let that happen again."

  "Then what happened? Did the police come? How did you handle them? Were you punished?" Angelica asked too many questions at once.

  "No." Rudy shook his head and said, "The house next to ours was being reconstructed. So I dragged Paul's body there and buried it. No one learned about this, and no one had any idea as to where Paul went."

  "Oh…"

  "I also burned my blood-stained clothes using kerosene on the spot where I had killed paul. That also took care of the blood from the ground," he added. "I honestly didn't know anything about Paul. Lucy never talked about him, and Joe never mentioned him in any of his talks. It was like he never existed or severed any importance in their lives."

  "Did you tell anyone about this?"

  Rudy nodded and said, "I had to tell Eric since he was present there. He told me to confess everything to the police, but I was too scared. I had a bright future waiting for me, so I didn't want to ruin it."

  "So… he kept it a secret….?"

  "Yes," Rudy sneered. "Paul was branded missing, and his body was never found. The police thought it was something to do with the people Paul used to hang out with. But he was a bad influence, that's for sure."

  "I genuinely don't know how I should feel about it," Angelica muttered. "I am not saying that you did the wrong thing, but it wasn't the right thing to do either. But yeah, you were simply trying to defend your mom and Eric. And I am sure if you hadn't done what you did… terrible things would have happened…"

  "I honestly don't regret that decision in my life. And if I ever get to choose again, I am sure as hell that I would still choose to kill him," Rudy asserted in a solemn voice.

  Angelica glanced at Rudy and asked, "Are you truly going to kill him?"

  "I am," Rudy nodded.

  "But technically, he hasn't done anything wrong yet. You would be killing an innocent, you know?"

  It wasn't as though Angelica was asking Rudy to forgive Paul; that was far from what she wanted. But she wanted Rudy to do something other than killing.

  Rudy furrowed his brows at Angelica and asked, "Are you telling me to wait for that bastard to make a move on mom and then kill him?"

  "No!" Angelica shook her head and said, "I just want you to choose something other than killing."

  "……"

  "You have superpowers. Maybe you can do something that would stop him from doing what he is going to do…" Angelica got confused by her own words.

  "I don't know…. Angelica…" Rudy sighed. "After seeing him again made me remember everything. Joe is such a good man, and Lucy is also innocent… Well, not really, but she is a good kid."

  "So how in the fuck did that Paul turned out to be an absolute fucking piece of shit?" Rudy asked himself.

  "……" Angelica could easily feel the tension in the atmosphere. She could tell how angry Rudy was even though he was trying his best to keep himself calm.

  Rudy knew that if he let his rage consume him, he might end up hurting the very people he was trying to protect.

  "But why was your mom home that night?" Angelica wondered. "Shouldn't be at her night shift job or something?"

  "Yes, but she had mistaken the date that night. But that was highly unlikely because mom would never make such a blunder," Rudy muttered.

  "So…?"

  "Someone must have altered her schedule because I did get a call from her workplace later that night saying mom didn't show up."

  "If you hadn't forgotten your assignments that night, you wouldn't have come back home and caught Paul…"

  "No. Even then, I wouldn't have caught Paul. If Eric hadn't asked for water, I wouldn't have opened the refrigerator and noticed something was strange…"

  At that time, the only thing in Rudy's mind was to ace the exam and get a scholarship for his higher studies.

  However, after murdering Paul, Rudy fell into severe mental breakdowns, which affected his performance in exams.

  Still, he managed to score the second-best in the school.

  "In my previous life, all this happened sometime later. But since I have already meddled with the events, I am not sure how long it will take for Paul to do something for mom. And who knows, maybe he will try a different approach this time?" Rudy wondered.

  "But… since Paul tried to do such a cowardly act and even went through all the trouble to memorize your mother's shift times and all. Doesn't that mean he was planning to do that a long time ago?"

  Angelica was correct, and Rudy had already realized that was the case even though there was no clear proof. But it was too strange to be a coincidence.

  "So doesn't that mean he must have also planned on what he would have done once he…. He…" Angelica averted her gaze and said in a low voice, "Once he had done things… to you mother…"

  "You are just making me realize and regret my decision to kill him." Rudy frowned his face and said, "I have decided what I am going to do with Paul this time."

  "Are you…" Angelica raised her brows and asked, "Are you going to use your superpowers to kill him?"

  "No, Angelica…" Rudy shook his head and smirked as he said, "Death is permanent, but suffering is eternal. I am not going to let that piece of shit die so easily."

  "Then… what are you going to do?" Angelica asked curiously.

  "I am going to use the most important and the strongest power that could ever exist in the world. I don't know if I have it, but I sure know what I am going to do if I happen to have it…"

  After a brief silence, Rudy smirked with a vicious smile on his face and uttered, "Mind control. The absolute power to control everything and everyone."

  I can conquer and dominate the entire world using that power. I don't know the cost of using it, but I will make it worth it," he asserted in a solemn voice.

  ===

  Thanks, @smoke65a, for the gift!