Chapter 46: Her Story

Stacy’s heart skipped a beat. She finally got the apology that should’ve come years ago, but her heart felt sour. Pained, even. She glared at the man. She’d hated him all her life. He should be the evil man who wouldn’t recognize her as his daughter and let the whole gang bully her and her so-called mother. He was supposed to be the jerk she stood out shouting ‘he’s not related to me’, not the other way round.

‘He’s not related to me. I’m definitely not related to this jerk. We’re not related. Kill him. That’s what I’ve always wanted. To kill him. Kill him,’ she chanted repeatedly in her mind. Her body, however, was honest as she stood there glaring at him. His shirt was fisted hard in one of her hands.

“Sammy..” Chad’s voice rang out softly as he inched forward in careful steps. “Don’t do things you’d regret. Take deep breaths. Put the knife down,” he coaxed carefully.

The woman stood at the side, laughing maniacally like she’d finally lost it. “Is that it? You want out? You want to end it? After all the years I’ve gone through planning your demise, you’re telling me that you’ve known my plan all this while?” She screamed as she laughed and laughed and laughed.

“I was fifteen! Coming home to my family on the day of my birthday. Wearing a pink princess dress, hopping with light steps, eager to spend the day stuffing my face with a cake, dancing to music all day with my loved ones,” she slumped down on the floor, tears rolling down as she narrated her past.

Hank closed his eyes, his expression pained.

“Guess what I found,” she continued, suddenly energized, gesturing with her hands. Slowly, she stood up, dragging herself towards Hank, stopping only a few feet away from him. She pointed a finger to Hank. “My grandpa was sitting right there, on his favorite chair,” she smiled as she pictured the man. “He held his usual newspaper in hand, but his eyes were closed, like how he usually fell asleep while reading.”

She spun around, facing the men behind her, as if she was performing on stage. “I removed the newspaper from his hands. Guess what? Surprise!” She started laughing again. “A knife this big,” she gestured with her hands, “was lodged in his chest, directly at his heart.”

The audience were deathly quiet as they watched her. “I panicked. I screamed. I ran further into the house,” she paused, turning around to face audiences at the other side. “Do you know what I saw?” She asked with a smile.

Suddenly, she spun around to face the other side of the dungeon where Reaper guards lay on the ground unconscious. She opened her arms to gesture at the scene in front of her. “This! Was what I saw.”

“Members of my family laid there. I was shocked to the core. ‘What’s this?’ I’d thought. I took small steps forward, calling out, ‘mom? Dad? Mad! Gale! Theo! Answer me. This isn’t fun. I’m not a fan of surprises and you know it. Come on!’ I thought they were planning a jumpscare to surprise me,” Mariana continued on as she acted the stage play of her heart-wrenchingly real past.

The next moment, she spun around to face Hank. Her hand was stretched out straight in front of her as her index finger pointed directly at him. “It’s because of you! Your family did this. Turned my life upside down,” a tear rolled down her cheek, “I was so happy.” Her smile was bitter. “The judge at the audition praised me, said that I was good. There’s a high chance I would get the role. I was going to be a famous actress.”

She rushed forward to grab Hank by the collar. Stacy let go of the man as she staggered to the side, still processing everything that was happening.

“You! There’s a special place for you in hell! You and your whole bloodline,” she shrieked as she shook the man hard. Her eyes were wide as she stared him down. She let go of his collar and pressed her hand down on each side of his shoulders. “Don’t think that you’re so great for playing along with me for years,” she said through gritted teeth. Hank met her eyes. “I don’t,” he replied steadily.

A smirk formed on her face. “If you’re so mighty, then try to not have flaws. You just have to make my work easier by falling in love and giving birth to a daughter,” she said through an overly wide smile.

She turned to Stacy. “Have you ever wondered why you were born?”

“Oh, no. Should’ve said ‘have you ever despite your own existence?’” Her smug smile grew wider as she sensed their distress.

“Shut up,” Hank spat. She seemed very satisfied with his reaction.

“What? You’re playing good dad now? After having her wander outside for years? Who knows what she’d gone through? It was a syndicate she was sold to! I was surprised she even came back alive.” Her voice was so cheerful, it drove literal blades into the young girl’s heart. The woman whom she cared so much for was actually enjoying her misery while acting like she cared for years.

Mariana reached into her hood and pulled out a gun. She pointed it at Hank, right in between his brows. Hank was calm as he faced her. “Anything to say before I send you off?”

He closed his eyes instead, looking at peace. “Do it,” he urged calmly. The air was tense as everyone watched the unpredictable woman intensely. She stood there in her position, a minute too long for someone who claimed to hate the person in front of her. “What’s wrong?” Hank pushed. He opened his eyes slowly to look at the woman.

She held his gaze. “Stupid,” she mumbled as she pointed her gun to the side in one swift motion and pulled the trigger.

BANG!