They had always found excuses for the way they treated Addison, dressing up their cruelty as something justified. But in truth, they simply needed a scapegoat, a target for their own bitterness and dissatisfaction with life.
There will always be people who bully the weak and cower before the strong, and Addison became their victim. They tormented her mercilessly, yet when Zion slaughtered their family members before their very eyes, not one of them dared to even lift their head.
Zion also knew he wasn't entirely blameless for what happened to Addison. That was why the nightmares never stopped. Each time he dreamed of her being tortured in the dungeon, another version of himself would appear, one that seethed with hatred for her.
And every time, he would ask himself why. Why had he hated Addison? She wasn't the enemy. The vampires were the very ones who killed his father.
