Chapter 121 The Architect Of Misfortune
Chapter 121 The Architect Of Misfortune
CHAPTER 121
The Architect Of Misfortune
The world was a pitching of jagged glass and pulsing red.
Anna lay crumpled on the floor, the cold marble biting into her skin, but the agony radiating from her skull was a distant second to the icy terror clutching her chest.
Her hand moved instinctively, a frantic, protective shield over her belly.
Please, she whispered into the dark recesses of her mind. Please be okay.
If she's hurt you, there isn't a corner of this earth where she can hide. I will dismantle her piece by piece.
The shadow of Selene loomed over her, blocking out the light of the vast bedroom.
She knelt, her movements fluid and predatory, and gripped Anna’s hair, wrenching her head up.
“I'd love nothing more than to return the favor from a few months ago, Anna,” Selene purred, her eyes dancing with a sick, manic light. “I'd love to leave my handprint on that pretty little face.
But William is so observant, isn't he? I'd hate for him to see my signature on your cheek when I’m busy being your savior.”
With a rough, impatient jerk, Selene shoved Anna’s shirt up.
Anna gasped, a weak protest dying in her throat as Selene peered at her abdomen.
The evil girl clicked her tongue, a sound of genuine, localized disappointment.
“Still tucked in there, is it? I was hoping for a bit more… biological drama. You didn't miscarry.”
“How can you be this cold?” Anna managed, her voice thick and trembling. “It's a child. I've done nothing to you that warrants murdering an innocent life.”
“You took William,” Selene snapped, her composure fracturing for a split second.
The mask of “seductively siren” slipped, revealing the hollowed-out obsession beneath.
“Don't you dare play the victim card with me. You walked into my life and rearranged the furniture. You are the architect of your own misfortune, Anna. I'm just the one handing you the bill.”
“You'll regret this,” Anna hissed, the pain in her head fueling a sudden, crystalline focus. “I will make sure you regret every second of today.”
Selene let out a sharp, mocking bark of laughter.
“Ooh, I'm shivering. Truly. I'm quivering in my boots. What are you going to do, Anna? Throw a tea party at me? Call your little support group for a coordinated sob?”
She leaned in closer, her breath smelling of expensive mints and stagnant malice.
“Do I look like one of those miserable, flea-ridden rats you spent your life unaliving while serving under Lauren and Margaret? Do you think I’m some kitchen maid you can scold? You’re playing in the big leagues now, and you’re clearly out of your depth.”
Anna didn't flinch. She leaned into the pain, her lips back into a chilling, blood-streaked smile.
“You'll understand exactly who I am the next time we meet, Selene, because I'm going to kill you. I promise you that.”
The smile seemed to unnerve Selene more than a scream would have.
Her face contorted. “There won't be a next time for that little bastard in your belly, once it's dead, there'll be nothing connecting you to William.” she hissed. “I'll end it today.”
Panic, raw and primal, surged through Anna.
She tried to cry out, but the pressure in her cranium intensified, a white-hot spike that threatened to steal her consciousness.
Selene's eyes darted around the room, landing on a heavy, sturdy wooden chair near the vanity.
It was a solid oak, a piece of furniture meant to last a century—and heavy enough to crush a ribcage.
She lunged for it, hoisting it over her head with a grunt of exertion. She turned back toward Anna, the chair raised like an executioner’s axe, aimed squarely at Anna's midsection.
The sound of heavy, frantic footsteps thundering down the hallway shattered the moment.
Selene froze. In a blur of desperate motion, she shoved the chair back toward the vanity.
Anna, sensing the shift in the room's energy, let her eyes flutter shut and her body go limp, feigning a total blackout.
Selene scrambled back to Anna’s side.
She dipped her fingers into the sticky pool of blood near Anna’s temple, smearing it over her own palm and sleeve.
"Help! Someone help us!" she shrieked, her voice a pitch-perfect imitation of a traumatized witness. "William! Help!"
The door burst open.
William charged in, his face a mask of frantic worry that instantly hardened into a predatory intensity.
He saw Selene kneeling over Anna’s unmoving form and didn't hesitate.
With a low growl, he shoved Selene aside, his shoulder hitting her with enough force to send her reeling across the floor.
"Anna? Anna, look at me!" He was on his knees, his hands hovering over her with a terrifying gentleness.
"William, oh thank God," Selene sobbed, her hands trembling as she reached out. "Call an ambulance! I found her like this!"
William didn't even look at her. His eyes were locked on the thin trail of blood winding down Anna's forehead.
His jaw was set so tight it looked ready to snap. "What did you do?" he demanded, his voice a low, vibrating chord of pure menace.
"I didn't do anything!" Selene cried, her eyes wide and wet. "I fell in the pool, and she offered to get me clothes. I waited downstairs, William, I really did!
But she was taking so long, and I got worried. I came up to check on her and found her passed out on the floor. I was just trying to wake her up when you walked in!"
William threw her a look that would have withered a forest.
He wordlessly slipped his arms beneath Anna, gathering her small body in a bridal carry.
"Don't touch her," William barked as Selene tried to step closer, his voice cutting through her performance like a serrated blade.
"Stay away from her, Selene. If I find out your version of 'what happened' doesn't align with hers, I will find you. And I promise you, you will pay the difference in full."
He didn't wait for a response. He turned and strode out of the room, leaving Selene standing in the center of the bedroom, fuming and forgotten.
The smell of antiseptic and the low, rhythmic hum of a heart monitor were the first things to register.
Anna blinked, the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital room feeling like needles against her retinas.
"Easy, easy," a familiar voice murmured.
She turned her head slowly.
William was standing by the bed, his silhouette dark against the sterile white of the room.
The tension in his shoulders was palpable, his eyes dark with a worry that hadn't quite subsided.
"Am I... in the hospital?" Anna whispered, her voice rasping.
"Yeah," William said, reaching out to take her hand.
Before the question could even leave her lips, before her hand could reach her belly, he squeezed her fingers.
"The baby is fine, Anna. Perfectly fine. The doctors checked everything. You both got lucky."
Anna sagged into the pillows, a long, shuddering breath escaping her. "Thank God," she breathed, the words barely a ghost of a sound.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice softening.
He reached out, his thumb stroking her cheek before cupping her face with a reverence that made her chest ache. "Talk to me."
Anna managed a faint, weary smile. She leaned into his palm, pressing a lingering kiss to the center of his hand.
"I'm okay, William. Really. Just a headache that feels like a drum circle is happening inside my skull."
"The doctor said it’s a concussion," William said, his eyes searching hers, looking for the lie. "Anna, what happened? One minute you're on the phone with the girls, the next you're at the bottom of a wall."
Anna paused. She knew exactly what had happened. She remembered the grip on her hair, the impact, the sight of that chair.
But she also knew that if she told William now, he would destroy Selene in a way that might be too quick, too clean.
Less painful.
"I was in the bedroom, looking for that sweater dress," Anna said, her voice steady and convincing.
"I think the heat from the terrace finally got to me. I got dizzy, the room started spinning, and I must have slipped on a wet patch from Selene's clothes. I hit the wall on the way down and it was lights out."
William’s brow furrowed. He exhaled a long, heavy breath, his eyes drifting to the door.
"Are you sure? Because finding Selene in there with you... it didn't sit right with me."
"She probably just came up to see what was taking me so long," Anna assured him, her tone light. "I’m sure she was just as shocked as you were. Let it go, William. I’m fine."
William looked at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I'm just glad you're awake. You scared the hell out of me."
"I'm sorry but I'm also hungry," Anna said, a sudden, genuine craving for something—anything—other than the smell of bleach hitting her.
"Can we go home? I want to eat something that didn't come out of a plastic tray."
William chuckled, the sound finally breaking the tension in the room.
"I’ll go talk to the doctor about your discharge papers. I'll call Nikos and have Eleni prepare something for you. Whatever you want."
Anna beamed, reaching up to pull him down by his collar. She pressed a quick, firm kiss to his lips.
"You are the absolute best husband on the planet. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"I aim to please," William grinned, the familiar spark returning to his eyes. He squeezed her hand one last time. "Get some rest for five minutes while I handle the paperwork. I'll be right back."
As the door clicked shut behind him, the warmth in Anna’s expression evaporated. The smile fell away, replaced by a cold, calculating stillness.
So, she thought, her fingers curling into the hospital sheets.
That bitch really tried it. She wanted to kill my child, maybe kill me, and slide right back into my husband’s bed like she was just returning a library book.
Anna let out a soft, jagged laugh that held no humor.
"I have to hand it to you, Selene. It was a solid plan. Very cinematic," she whispered to the empty room.
"But you made one very small, very expensive mistake. You didn't finish the job. You left me breathing, and that is going to be the biggest regret of your very short future."
She leaned her head back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling tiles.
She had almost forgotten Selene existed, a minor nuisance from a previous life.
But Selene had forced her hand. She had crossed the one line Anna would never allow to be bridged.
"I wonder," Anna mused, her voice chillingly calm as a dark, intricate plan began to take root in the fertile soil of her rage.
"I wonder which method will hurt you the most. I think I’ll take my time deciding."