All Chapters of The Anonymous Warning: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

An hour later, Scott walked in, lugging a bag of lemons."It smells amazing! What's Mom cooking now?""Your mom's out meeting friends," I said. "Susan's making chicken soup for me."At Susan's name, Scott's face went tight. He wouldn't even glance at the kitchen."Oh... her," he muttered.I grabbed his arm, steering him toward the kitchen. "Susan's so sweet. Whoever marries her? Total jackpot, right?"Scott froze mid-step, but I didn't let go.Inside, Susan's eyes flicked to him, bright for half a second before she slammed the wall back up, pretending she hadn't noticed. She acted like Scott wasn't even there."Lacey, come taste this," Susan called. "Tell me if the seasoning's off."She reached for the ladle but fumbled, burning herself—and the whole pot tipped.Hot soup came hurtling toward me."Lacey, move!" Susan screamed.I clutched my belly, frozen in place. My brain screamed run, but my legs? Totally useless.Before I could even blink, Scott lunged in front of me.T

"I haven't touched the car since I drove it home from work a few days ago," Scott said.I grilled Margaret and Joseph next, but they both denied messing with it.Still uneasy, I pulled the car's dashcam and started reviewing the footage. Sure enough, there was Joseph, passing by the car several times last night.When I called him out, he frowned, popping a sunflower seed into his mouth. "I was just taking a walk in the yard," he said, voice tight. "What, walking by is suspicious now? Why don't you ask Margaret? She took your car keys yesterday, said it was dirty and needed a wash."His comment hit like a dart. Margaret was the only one who'd actually handled the car.I found her in the kitchen and confronted her.She rolled her eyes. "Are you serious? Don't you dare accuse me of something like that."Margaret never liked me. She thought I wasn't good enough for Scott—her perfect, handsome, Ivy League son. Honestly, I was used to it. But after we got married and I struggled to ge

The man gritted his teeth, muscles jerking from the shock, but he didn't back down. Even slowed, he kept trying to grab me.I cranked the current higher.He cursed, probably not expecting me to fight back, and raised his knife to go for my hand.I swung the baton hard, the buzzing sound loud enough to rattle me.The tip smashed into his wrist. He yelped, the knife clattering to the ground.The sharp stench of burnt skin hit me, mixing with the zap of the stun baton.The guy realized fast he couldn't take me down and bolted.I didn't waste a second—I called the cops, my hands shaking.When they showed up, I was still clutching the baton like a lifeline, too freaked out to let go. One of the officers had to back up quick when I nearly fried him by accident.They reassured me, coaxing the story out of me bit by bit. They pulled nearby surveillance footage and assigned two officers to take me home.Sitting in the back of the squad car, I finally started to feel... okay. Not great

"No matter what we tried, you just wouldn't die," Scott said, his voice icy. "My dad got sick of waiting and went hands-on. Too bad you called the cops and ruined that plan.""But hey," he added, "it's just you and me now. No witnesses, no escape."Why did he want me dead? The question screamed in my head, but my throat locked up.Scott tilted his head like he'd read my mind, his expression shifting into something almost...pitying. "Since we've been together this long, I'll do you a favor. Let you die knowing why." He leaned in close, his breath brushing my ear."After you got pregnant, I took out a few fat insurance policies on you. My business is toast—shop's gone, debts up to my ears. And you? You've been freeloading long enough. Time to earn your keep."His words dripped with venom, and it hit me like a slap."If you die," he said, his voice a snake-like hiss, "I get millions."Millions. That's all I was to him. A payout. My whole life was just some twisted plan to cash in.