I DO NOT OWN THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES.

Howell House. 1 month later

After settling his debt with Enoch Eldridge, Coriolanus Snow could now turn his attention to his biggest threat: Samuel Howell. The boy was still troubled by Laurel Simmert's death as the months passed, the guilt of what had happened and the foul stench from the crawl space that was vexing the family was eating away at Samuel; and if there was even a possibility that Samuel could go to his parents or the cops, Coryo had to take it as a certainty. Samuel could not be paid off or intimidated, he had to be disposed off. Unlike the other Howells, he was not a resource to be used. Samuel had proven himself to be an insect; a dangerous insect that needed to squashed as soon as possible. Coryo just had to find a way to do it with his songbird or the other Howells catching on.

Coryo began his plan to get rid of Samuel Howell slowly. Surprisingly enough, it was Lucy Grey Baird who would start the snowball effect to Samuel's destruction. It was a Sunday and everyone was busy in the Howell household. Joshua was in the crawl space, laying down lime, (Coryo counted his luck that Joshua rarely went near where Laurel's corpse lay), while Ruth was startjng work in her garden; now that the soil was starting to soften now that spring was in full bloom. Samuel was in the basement playing on his playstation while Esther was in her room, playing with her dolls. Snow was in the kitchen, washing dishes like a subservient avox and hating every damn second of it.

"Coryo!" It was as if one of the angels that was spoken about at church had come to set him free from the humiliation of acting as a servant. He put the dishes down and walked out of the kitchen in time to see Lucy Grey walking into the house, looking seriously happy for the first time in weeks.

"What's happening?" He asked as she ran up and planted a wet kiss on his lips.

"First of all, I made a killin' at Covey Confections. I sold every last treat and I made three hundred dollars." She replied as she proudly handed her capitol boy a wad of cash; kept together by a rubber band.

"I'm so proud of you, Lucy Grey." Coryo said as he put the cash down on the coffee table before wrapping his arms around his precious songbird. He personally didn't like the idea of her working as a street vendor; such work was below a Snow, which Lucy Grey would someday be. It made her happy though and she said it was like the Covey were still with her, so Coryo was willing to bite his tongue on the matter. Plus, he wasn't to refuse a source of income.

"And for the 2nd thing, i saw a flyer in town for this bar called the Mate Creek Tavern. It says their looking for some live entertainment." Lucy Grey said with pure joy as it felt like it had been ages since she had performed in front of a crowd. The applause and cheers were like a drug to her and Coryo could tell that she had gone through some serious withdrawal.

"You should audition, they would be fools not to hire you." Coryo insisted as he caressed her cheek. He knew what singing and performing meant to his songbird. While many capitolites looked down at entertainment as a career, Snow would never refuse her that, because they both knew that singing was all she really had to earn her keep.

"I'm gonna wash up before supper, sugar." Lucy Grey said as she kissed Coryo's cheek as she left the room. As Coryo looked down at the wad of cash she had left behind, he was tempted to chastise her about leaving her money where someone could steal it. Then, Coriolanus Snow had a brilliant and wicked idea as he heard the Howell boy poking around in the fridge for a soda.

He quickly took the money and made a beeling for Samuel's bedroom. Once inside, Snow covertly hid Lucy Grey's money under Samuel's pillow. He then made good his escape before either Lucy Grey or Samuel could spot him. He returned to the kitchen sink and busied himself washing dishes. He could hear Lucy Grey going into the living room as her gentle footsteps became rapid as she must have realized that the money was gone. Coryo could hear her begin to rummage through the living area, looking for the cash. He made himself keep quiet until she raced into the kitchen.

"Coryo!" Lucy Grey exclaimed in panic as he put a concerned look on his face as he moved over to her.

"What's wrong, Lucy Grey?" Coryo asked as if he didnt already know.

"The money...the money I made at Covey Confections, it's gone." She cried out as Coryo took her hands in his.

"Are you sure you didn't put it away somewhere?"

"Yes, I had on the coffee table and when I came back it was gone."

"I was washing dishes in the kitchen, and Joshua and Ruth are outside. The only ones inside are Samuel and Esther." Coryo pretended to reason as his songbird looked sick.

"Esther's so sweet...I can't believe that she would steal from me." Lucy Grey insisted as she tried to calm her breathing.

"Then that leaves Samuel and we know he's harmed you before." Coryo insisted as he fought back a smirk.

"I'll check in his room, you go get Mr and Mrs Howell." Lucy Grey decided as she ran off to the boy's room while Coryo ran out to the truck.

"Mr. Howell, Lucy Grey is missing some money, about three hundred dollars; she thinks one of the kids swiped it." He reported as Joshua got out from under the hood.

"She's got no right accusing my kids of stealing." He declared defensively as he marched into the house with Coryo close behind. When they got into Samuel's room, they saw Lucy Grey lift up the pillow and see the money underneath.

"Looks like she was right to suspect your son." Coryo said with a smirk as he enjoyed seeing the country bumpkin put in his place.

"Son of a bitch!" Joshua growled as he unhooked his belt and made a beeline for basement as the couple followed him. Samuel was still playing video games when Joshua stomped on the playstation.

"Dad, what the Hell?" Samuel asked in outrage as he stood up and faced his old man.

"I didnt raise a gosh damn thief!" Joshua said as he smacked Samuel with the buckle end of the belt.

"I didn't steal nothing!" Smauel asked as he held his left cheek in pain as Joshua had drawn blood.

"You stole my money, three hundred dollars. It was under your pillow on your bed. How could you do that to me, I never did nothin' to you!" Lucy Grey asked as the thievery, combined with the attmepted rape had hurt her deeply.

"She's a liar, Coryo probably put her up to it!" Samuel protested, which earned him another smack with the buckle.

"I saw the money under your pillow and now you gonna exactly what rotten thieves deserve!" Samuel's father vowed as he began bringing the belt down on his son over and over, earning cries of pain as Lucy Grey turned away from the sight and bured her face in Coryo's chest. The young Snow said nothing as he watched Samuek take the belting as he felt glee at his misfortune. If this was all it took to get the boy beaten, he'd probably have Samuel gone by summer.

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