Beautiful Venom

After they return home, Dahlia leaves Kane, unable to tell him goodbye. She walks to a cathedral, where Julian and Grant appear to punish her for failing to obey their orders. She was supposed to tell Kane that she betrayed him and didn’t care about him. Dahlia confronts Grant for abusing Kane, and when Grant scoffs, Dahlia decides to kill him with the scalpel she carries for self-protection. She lunges at him with the blade, but Grant fights back, and she is knocked unconscious.

Dahlia wakes up in Grant’s torture chamber. When Grant appears, Dahlia realizes where she is and fears she’ll never escape.

Kane races home. His butler Samuel informs him that Dahlia is in the dungeon. Helena begs Kane not to intercede, fearing Grant will kill him. Kane accuses Helena of betraying him and Dahlia. He pushes past her and races to the dungeon, where he confronts Grant. Realizing Grant will never back down, Kane shoots and kills him before releasing Dahlia. She loses consciousness.

Dahlia wakes up in Kane’s childhood bedroom, suddenly remembering what happened. She blames herself for Grant’s death, convinced Kane only killed him for her. Kane joins her, and they discuss Grant’s murder. Kane explains that it’s best if Grant is dead.

Finally, Dahlia opens up about Violet. She details her sister’s attack and her own attempts to avenge Violet. She admits that she ran away from him after Grant and Julian threatened her because she didn’t want to hurt him further. Kane is furious that she didn’t tell him all this earlier. They kiss and have sex. Kane reminds Dahlia that he owns her, and she agrees. She considers professing her love but holds back.

Dahlia wakes up, but Kane isn’t beside her. Convinced he abandoned her, Dahlia wonders if she can trust him after all. Then he texts her saying that he’s handling “Grant’s death fallout” (410). Dahlia feels relieved. She gets up and joins Helena, who is relieved that Grant is dead.

Julian arrives, demanding to see Dahlia. Dahlia is wary of him, but he insists that they talk. He remarks that it’s too bad that Grant died before he could tell Dahlia who was behind Violet’s attack. Then he reveals that Violet was one of a group of people who stood by and watched as Preston’s beloved stepmother Susie was stabbed to death. In the wake of her murder, Preston, Jude, and Kane set out to punish and kill everyone who’d failed to save Susie. They attacked Violet and then replaced the DNA under Violet’s fingernails with that of another dead person to avoid implicating themselves. Julian now knows where Violet is and promises to take Dahlia to her. He says he will let both of them live if Dahlia promises to leave Kane and Vencor alone for good.

Kane dumps Grant’s body in the ocean and heads home. Jude texts to say Julian got to Dahlia and told her everything. A panicked Kane decides to threaten Julian’s wife Annalise, for leverage. At the house, he, Jude, and Preston try to stop Julian and Dahlia from leaving but fail.

Later, Dahlia calls Kane to confirm that what Julian told her is true. When Kane doesn’t deny it, Dahlia hangs up.

Six months earlier, Kane, Jude, and Preston tracked down Violet to kidnap her. She was living in a squalid house with her foster sister Dahlia. Kane told his friends they could punish Violet, but they had to spare Dahlia. He was immediately taken by her and didn’t want her harmed.

Dahlia cries the whole way to Rhode Island to find Violet. She is devastated by Kane’s betrayal but sad without him. Finally, she arrives at Violet’s new house. Violet is awake, and Dahlia races into her arms. The sisters embrace through tears. They discuss what happened with Susie, and Violet admits she was in the wrong but didn’t know what to do. When Dahlia starts ranting about Kane, Violet asserts that Dahlia is in love with him.

The sisters spend the following days catching up. Violet is still having nightmares, but Dahlia is glad they’re back together. Then one day, Kane shows up.

Dahlia is initially shocked and upset by Kane’s presence. However, he quickly settles into life at the house with Dahlia and Violet. He and Violet get along, too, which Dahlia appreciates. Meanwhile, Dahlia tries asking Violet more about the attack, Susie, and what she knows of Jude and Marcus. Violet refuses to reveal the details.

One night, Kane opens up to Dahlia about the first time he saw her and his desperation to protect her these past months. He never wanted to hurt Violet either, as he knew how much Dahlia loved her. They kiss and profess their feelings.

The next morning, Kane is missing. Dahlia fears that he has abandoned her until she receives texts from Megan saying that Preston was in a car accident; Jude and Kane were also present. Everyone is worried, but no one knows what has happened yet. Rumors are spreading that Marcus was involved. When Violet hears the news, she urges Dahlia to go in search of Kane.

Dahlia races back to find Kane and drives to Helena’s house. Despairing, she talks to Sora. Kane appears, touched that Dahlia was worried about him. He reveals that he’s okay and that he’s been working to protect her and Violet. He convinced Jude to leave Violet alone so that Dahlia would trust him again. They profess their love and kiss.

Two weeks later, Dahlia muses on her love for Kane while watching another Vipers game. She marvels at all he’s done for her and Violet. Dahlia is grateful to be with him and to have her sister back. Meanwhile, Kane has been navigating conflicts on and off the ice. However, he’s felt freer since Grant’s death and is working on his relationship with Helena, too.

After the game, Dahlia and Kane head out to the arena parking lot. Dahlia worries when she sees Violet and Jude together, but Kane implies that they are, in fact, seeing each other.

A year later, Kane and Dahlia are living together. They continue playing their games and having raucous sex. One day, after they have sex, Kane professes his love again and proposes. Dahlia accepts through tears, and they kiss.