Chapter 180
Chapter 180
The insult came out in broken gasps, but Annie’s expression remained unreadable. She watched as his head lolled to the side, his body trembling in its final moments. His defiance, though weak, made her lips curl in disgust.
“Loser?” she repeated, her voice low and deadly. “I think you’ve got that backwards.”
She didn’t hesitate, but raised the dagger one last time, her grip sure and unwavering. In one swift, calculated movement, she plunged it into his chest right through his heart. His body jerked once and lay still. The room was silent except for the sound of her breathing.
Annie stepped back, wiping the sweat from her brow as she took in the grim scene. Blood was everywhere: on the couch, the floor, and even splattered on her clothes; yet she was bothered by none of it.
Night turned into a marathon of cleaning for her. She dragged his lifeless body out into the backyard to a shallow grave.
She finally left the house, and the weight of her actions finally settled over her, but she did not feel any remorse. Jim was gone, and with him, whatever leverage he had once enjoyed over her. For now, she was free to reclaim her life, to rise above even the Blacks.
ΔΑΛΛΑ
Annie’s phone buzzed as her phone signal came back.
It had been hours since she’d last been connected. It wasn’t until now that she realized how dependent she was upon the internet, keeping her connected with everything in her life. She took an abrupt breath inward and unlocked her phone, began to scroll. Her pulse rapidly quickened on–her notifications poured in.
Her fingers moved faster and faster, her heart sinking with each passing second. The internet was ablaze, but not in her favor. Comments riddled her posts, dripping with venom. People were cursing her out, calling her a liar, fraud, and worse.
She muttered under her breath, “What the hell is this?” in a shaking voice. She kept scrolling down the page until a video caught her eye. Her breath hitched.
Emma.
She tapped the video, and Emma’s face filled her screen. The press conference from the night before played out in vivid detail. Annie’s jaw clenched, and her hand tightened on the phone as Emma’s calm yet powerful voice echoed through the speakers.
Annie’s heart pounded inside her chest as her brain wracked her mind to register what she was saying. A string of swearwords left Annie, echoing off in the little car. The fist of her free hand was still clenching and relaxing, shaking with her anger. Emma wasn’t anything like the girl she grew up with, sitting there listening–innocent–faced and timidy, head lowered,
she’d no matter how much
agony
get.
This Emma was fiery, bold, and unapologetically strong; her voice carried authority while her eyes burnt with conviction.
Annie’s blood boiled when Emma talked of the three fools that she has sent to her five years ago.
Her thoughts went haywire. Those men were her only connection. Or, actually, not directly traceable to her–at least, something that easily gave her out–but then police were something, and too professional by their own kind. She knew they would dig, and they would keep on digging until something came out of it.
With time against her, she felt defeated in those moments.”
17:43 Sat, Feb 1 BO
Chapter 180
Then again, neither was she here to lose.
Every next possible move ran through Annie’s mind. Public speech?
No, that was out of the question. She had faked her own kidnapping. She couldn’t go out in public for now.
180%
“Perhaps.” she thought aloud, her voice laced with desperation. Perhaps I can make it look like I have just escaped. just barely.
But even as the words had left her lips, she ruled it out. Too much at stake. The internet was bloodthirsty, and what had happened in daycare poured grease on this fire. Netizens hated her now.
Her cell phone buzzed again, and she glanced over at the screen. Another update–the police had analyzed her kidnapping video in their labs and found glaring discrepancies in stupid, unexpected mistakes she had overlooked.
They had dubbed it a setup.
Her chest constricted; short, sharp gasps of breath escaped her. She began hitting her fists into the steering wheel over and over, each thud finding its echo in her ragged breathing.
“Damn it!” she screamed with her voice cracking with frustration
