CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO:
—“Sheryl!” Tyler shouted angrily at the phone. “What are you trying to gain by leaking someone else’s identity?! Did you knock your head and finally went mad?! Kai’s just a kid!”Sheryl laughed loudly. Her small head was thrown back in her laughter and she was obviously bathing in the mirth she felt after hearing Tyler’s angry shouts. Diana looked at her from the opposite seat with a smile on her face. Seeing her daughter happy with someone else’s misery made her proud. Just like how she raised her.Diana shook her head and continued sipping the blood-like liquid inside the wine glass. Her eyes went toward the fireplace and acted like she was the only person in the room.“It’s your fault!” Sheryl equally shouted back, not with anger, but with amusement that seemingly riled the other up. “You should have accepted it without a word, but youCHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO (02):—The phone call was cut off. Although it was broken abruptly and rudely, the pregnant woman showed no dissatisfaction and she was even wearing a complacent look on her face, seemingly proud of what she had done.She turned and caught her mother staring at her above the wine glass that was hovering right above her lips. Diana had a small smile on her lips as she watched her daughter. When Diana saw that Sheryl’s attention was on her, her smile widened.Her luscious red lips were especially inviting, added by the moisture that was taken from the wine she was taking. Slowly, she muttered. “How is it?”She was asking about what happened. Sheryl chuckled and responded with pride. “Sooner or later, he will be mine!”The pitch in her voice was high, showing an obvious hint of her excitement.Sheryl thought that her mother would also ride her excitement and compliment her on what she’s done, but then, she said something unwelco
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO (03):—Her preparation was hasty and before they knew it, she was already at their front door with her things in big bags and suitcases. It looked like she was moving her entire wardrobe. Althea was the one who opened the door for her, and when Sheryl saw her face, her smiling lips turned upside-down.Huh.She was expecting Tyler to open the door apparently.“He’s at work,” Althea stated before Sheryl can throw tantrums in disguise of hormones. Her orbs wandered on the baggage that Sheryl brought before sighing in her heart.The time has come.Before this, Althe
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-TWO (04):—“Sheryl, it’s late.”“But I’m scared!” Sheryl refuses to back down. Her voice was slightly muffled but they could hear the begging in it. The two looked at each other. She continued. “It’s a foreign house, you expect me to adjust quickly? I—you should have agreed about moving into my house…”Tyler silently cursed inside his head, he wanted to shut her up but his attention got shifted to the sudden disappearance of the weight on his lap. He looked at Althea in alarm, his eyes questioning.‘Go.’ She mouthed.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE: — “Althea, you’re a bad mother!” Being stressed for the past few days and having the situation was keeping her on her toes, getting yelled at in a phone call is not something Althea appreciates. Her head throbbed right away. She groaned internally and made her self-control run in order to not suddenly yell at the person on the other line. “What is it now, Charlotte?” “You—why do you sound so… Bad? Am I using the right word?” Charlotte paused. “Ah! Why do you sound so tired? What happened?” The concern in her friend’s mouth was not fake. Althea’s irritation slowly subsided and she sighed. “Sleeping with a snake under the same roof is exhausting, Charlotte.” “Huh?” She sounded confused. “You bought a snake as a pet? Did you know that they will eventually prepare themselves to eat their owners?!” Althea sighed again but an inevitable laugh escaped from her lips. “Forget about it.” Althea paused and asked curiously. “Why did you call, by the way? An
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE (02):–Two days later.As expected, Sheryl offered another drink for Althea. Althea glanced at it and can’t help but shiver on the inside. To think that she drank things offered by her, Althea let her guard down too much!“Thank you,” Althea said and held the cup in her hand. She didn’t bring it to her lips, and Sheryl didn’t find that odd. She ignored her and drank her own drink.If you are wondering if Sheryl is also drinking the same liquid as her, well, you’re wrong. Althea took the liberty to inspect the teapot that Sheryl’s used last night when she was out, distracted by Tyler.She carefully searched her room and saw a teapot that had the same structure as an assassin’s teapot. It solved the questions she had in her mind and finally understood why Sheryl ‘also’ drinks with the ‘same’ liquid that they gave her!In fact, the tea is not the same!How cunning!Moments passed when Althea suddenly stood up, earning her attention. Sheryl asked with a f
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE (03):—Tyler parked his car in the parking lot of the hospital where Sheryl was in and immediately hopped out. He has taken no step yet when the sounds of the clicking cameras and the flickering of the flashes bombarded him. A bunch of people was waiting for him, ambushing him in the parking lot.Tyler glanced at the news media and showed a dissatisfied face, but it didn’t stop them from throwing dozens of questions to his face. They never cared when they saw the impatience on his face and blocked his way with mics pointed at his face. The cameras were clearly on a roll and the flashes were still glaring brightly now and then.“How’s Sheryl Carter—”“Did she give birth properly to your son—”“What was the reaction of your wife when she knew that—”Immediately, his guards went out of their vans and rushed to get in between the prying media and their boss. They made a quick human barricade that was seemingly trustable because of their sturdy builds and
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THREE (04):—Two months earlier, the night after they know about Prikroidrazine.They immediately went home and acted as if nothing happened. Tyler as usual entertained Sheryl while althea silently retreated to their room and thought about something. When Tyler was finally out of the hands of Sheryl, he saw his wife sitting on their bed with a thoughtful expression. He can’t help but probe what was in her mind. And the answer she gave him was completely out of his expectation.She said seriously. “Let’s make a baby.”Tyler was choking. “W-what?“I know it’s sudden, but we have to somehow make her move.”“Who?” He asked foolishly. His mind was still hanging after he dropped it after her request.Althea shifted her position to face him properly “Sheryl.”Tyler was in the middle of processing everything and he answered mindlessly. “Oh, oh… It’s for the plan… Sure…”Althea smiled seeing this. She was mildly amused and she felt silly. Tyler looked like a malfunc
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR:—“This… This is fucked up.” There are times that one can’t believe what they are seeing. When they see an apparition in the corner of their eyes, when they see someone who is supposedly dead in front of their eyes, or when they see something hideous or things that no one can bear to stomach.Child trafficking, for an instance.Or human torture.Or it could be the supposedly perfect family that the public sees in the media but they were nothing but a bunch of murderers.What’s worst than being a murderer?They torture for pleasure. They torture for greed.Althea’s eyes sank the moment documents were laid on the table. Every word seems to burn their eyes and crave something into their souls. A surge of anger made its way into her heart that it was unbearable. She can hear them.The victims of the hands of the same perpetrator. Monsters! “They deserve a painful death, more than others!” Eddie was practically growling at the documents like a fierce li
---I did what I was ordered to, and when I finally got to the bottom of it…What the fuck?“I knew things would be interesting if I keep him by my side.” Startled, I looked at my sister who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was looking at the photo with interest in her eyes. She looked at me. “Erase every record the police had or anything within Victoria’s reach, we can’t have her figuring out everything before I can have my fun of them destroying each other.”“Hmmm,” I glanced at her. “Isn’t she your friend?”“Friend?” She smiled, appearing innocent. “I don’t have anything like that. Father banned that word to us, brother.”“... If that’s what you say.”“Good!” She turned and stretched her body. “Ahh, I can’t wait to see Sheryl get destroyed by the man she loves. Or maybe, it would be mutual destruct
—“Is that your fiance?” I asked as soon as I sneaked at her back, wanting to scare her.“Stop doing that!” She yelled at me. I laughed at her, telling her sorry. She clicked her tongue before nodding. “He is. Handsome, right?”“Hmm?” I pretended to think about it. “Not really.”She scoffed. “Really.”She turned her back on me and continued her work, facing the paper works that were piled on her table. She was 15.I stood behind her, looking at the man on her table.From the day I knew that all along, she was the leader, I decided to stay and look after her. When I told her about my decision, the pause she had was short but eye-catching. Before I could register the pause and understand the meaning behind it, she answered my words with a smile.‘I will be glad to have you under me.’ Her smile was pretty chilling, more bone-numbing than our father’s s
—I am older than her by 5 years, and I remember her looking at me from behind. Normally, one should feel happy to know that someone was looking at their back, admiring them, but that’s not the case with me.Every time I look back, turn to look at her over my shoulder, every time I caught her eyes, I can’t help but shudder:She feels the same as our father.We were only half-siblings. We have the same father, but that’s not the case with mothers.My mother died when I was four, then our father brought another woman into the house after that. That woman was Charlotte’s mother. She was warm and kind. I remember her talking to me a few times.‘Charles, even though you don’t have my blood, please think of me as your mother too.’ She said one time when I tried avoiding her in fear that she wanted me dead. That was what most people who wanted to seize my father’s power would do if they were in her position
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (10)“He is so cute…!”Days had passed since the birth of her son. Althea was peeking at him with a glass wall between them. She still has IVs in her hand, and she hasn’t recovered most of her energy yet, but she seems like she was overflowing with one.She had her palms against the glass, Althea feels like looking from where she was is not enough, she wanted to slip through the wall and hold him. But it was still not safe, so she held the urge in.A bracelet on her son, the letters were a little bit incomprehensible, but she can read them. It was the name of her son:Alexander Kai GrahamAlthea felt giddy, she can’t wait to hold him in her arms soon.“He’s your son?”“Yes,” Althea responded without thought. When she realized what she had
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (09)—Blood was trickling down.Plop, plop, plop.Bead-shaped blood fell from her private area continuously. It seems like someone pressed the pause button of the world; Althea felt everyone in the supermarket stopped moving.‘No.’ She thought to herself as she watched the blood slowly forming into a puddle beneath her feet. She can feel the hot liquid trailing down her legs. ‘This can’t be!’This day is supposedly like the normal days she had. Strolling around and buying things she thinks she wants. But in the middle of it, she just suddenly felt it come down.She’s only six months pregnant.“Oh my god!” A lady came to her, holding her shoulders in worry. Her eyes were on the blood, aghast. “You are bleeding!”
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (08)—She didn't think of it anymore and immediately set an appointment for the abortion.The next day, she went to the center and waited in line.Althea was all covered up, afraid that someone might recognize her in this hospital. She was pale, she had to deal with the morning sickness alone, and she had no idea what to do the whole time because, in her previous pregnancy, her mother was there.Now she was alone, dealing with everything she doesn’t want to.Althea wants to sob and to get everything over with. She can’t believe she committed a grievous sin to her friend. If only she didn’t get tempted with the money, things would not escalate like this.‘It’s all his fault,’ she galed at the entrance of the hospital where few people were going in and out. ‘He fooled me!’
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (07)—“A brothel?” Althea asked as soon as she entered the place. Her eyes wandered around and she felt overwhelmed by the red hue of the place. The lights, the atmosphere, the people. Everything here was new to her. She doesn’t know what to feel.“First time here?” The lady in heels asked. She gestured to someone far away by her hand and the other nodded before leaving their sight. “Don’t be nervous, you will only be entertaining guests… Why you don’t want to? It’s money, you know.”Selling myself. If it was her in the past, she would strongly disagree and storms off from here. But now, she has nothing but emptiness, she abandoned her pride and morals. She doesn’t have any desire to live anyway. This much won’t hurt her.“Anything’s fine,” Althea said, her
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (06)“What happened to you?” Altheaopened her eyes and saw a fuzzy scene. There were heads in front of her peeking at her from above. Althea could not recognize the features of the faces, but she knew they were medical workers because of their uniforms. It was the uniforms that the nurses and the doctors wear that she sees every time she goes to the hospital for check-ups and visits to her father.“You have been stabilized…” She heard muffled voices as if she was submerged in an ocean, waters entering her ear canals. She tried to move, but her body was too heavy like lead. She gave up and remained still, still unable to do anything, not even talk.“The man who found you and sent you here already paid for the medical bills…”‘What are they talking about?’ Althea had no clue. ‘It seems important.
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (05)“Do you like it?” The man asked Althea who was silent with her head bowed. “Do you like it?”“...” She had no response.His eyebrows twitched. He dislikes being ignored despite ignoring people.He bends down and held her chin to look at him forcefully. “Hey, little mouse, I am asking you a question. Do you like it?”“...” She still had no response.With eyebrows raised, he stood up and stretched his arms. “Sigh! After all, we did to repaint the wall, that blood only amounted to that much. It wasn’t even able to cover one-fourth of the wall. So regrettable! Now, the little fierce rat is not fierce anymore…”He glanced down, his cold eyes looking at the woman who was sitting on the cold ground motionlessly. “She can’t even appreciate our