Lorie gasped, her eyes wide with shock, mouth open but silent. Her hands instinctively went to the wound, blood soaking her fingers.
Lorie’s wide, tear-filled eyes stared up at the masked man, her lips parted in shock. The pain in her stomach throbbed like fire, but her brain still hadn’t fully caught up. She was bleeding, dying. But it all felt surreal, like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.
The man stabbed her again.
A sharp, brutal thrust. Lorie’s body jerked, and her knees finally buckled. She collapsed onto the cold floor, her blood spreading beneath her like ink. Her vision flickered, everything around her dissolving into a blur of shadows and pain.
The man crouched beside her, calm and collected. He reached up and peeled off his mask.
Lorie’s blurred vision focused just enough to see his face. The complete lack of remorse in his eyes chilled her to the core.
"I had no personal grudge," he said, his voice disturbingly calm. "But I couldn’t let you live." He looked down at her with quiet detachnt. "You beca a liability to Miss Granet. She gave the order. She didn’t want you alive."
The words struck harder than the blade.
gan.
Lorie’s heart cracked as the truth hit her full force. The woman she had thought would help her escape had handed her a death sentence.
She had trusted gan, plotted with her. And in the end, gan had discarded her like garbage.
A hollow, bitter smile pulled at Lorie’s bloodied lips. Deep, searing with regret twisted her gut.
’Mom was right,’ she thought, her mind drifting. ’If only I’d listened. If I had let go of my hatred for Anne, if I had stopped competing, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.’
She had wasted so much of her life chasing envy, feeding resentnt, and now it had led her to this—alone, betrayed, broken.
Her dreams of freedom, of redemption, of a better future died with her, never realized. Her life ended in unfulfillnt.
With a final, shallow breath, Lorie’s eyes lost their light. Her body stilled, and the silence swallowed her whole.
The man rose to his feet slowly. He took a cloth from his pocket and calmly wiped his fingerprints off the bloodied knife, his face expressionless. There was no hesitation in his movents.
He went toward Robert’s lifeless body sprawled across the kitchen floor. He stared at him for a mont, then let out a quiet, scornful laugh.
"My old rival," he muttered with mockery. "Who would’ve thought you’d be finished off by the very woman you kept on a leash?"
He crouched beside the corpse, pried open Robert’s stiff fingers, and carefully placed the knife in his hand, curling the bloodied fingers around it.
"Let the world think it ended like this," he whispered. "Fitting, really."
He slipped out of the house like a shadow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning...
Anne fluttered her eyes open, still heavy with sleep. The first thing she saw was Augustine, slumped beside her, his head resting on the edge of the bed, one hand wrapped tightly around hers.
The sight made her heart swell. Even in sleep, he hadn’t let go. Softly, she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.
Augustine stirred at her touch, his eyes blinking open. He sat up quickly, the fog of sleep fading.
"You are up. How are you feeling?"
"I’m okay," she murmured. "What about Audrey? Has she regained consciousness?"
He let out a sigh, brushing a hand through his hair. "Not yet. But her vitals are stable. She is out of danger. The doctors say she should wake up soon."
Relief washed over Anne, but it didn’t wipe away the guilt etched into her expression. "I feel terrible. I should’ve stopped her. She is in this situation because of ."
"Anne...You have to stop blaming yourself. Last night, you collapsed from the stress. That’s not safe for you or our baby. The ones responsible won’t walk away from this. I swear to you, no one is escaping justice."
Anne nodded slowly, though fury burned quietly in her eyes.
"Lorie and Patricia have tornted for so long. I stayed silent when they mocked , bullied , and treated like dirt. But I never thought they would go so far this ti—they tried to kill ."
Her voice shook as the mory of Audrey collapsing flashed before her. "I want them to suffer. Every single mont."
"They will," he said with conviction. "It’s already in motion. I’ve sent people after them. I should get an update any ti now. But for now," he softened, "you need to rest. Let call the doctor."
He reached over and pressed the call button beside her bed.
A few minutes later, the doctor stepped into the room and offered a warm smile.
"Good to see you awake," he greeted, walking over to her side. "Any dizziness? Nausea?"
Anne shook her head gently. "No... just a bit weak."
He nodded thoughtfully and began checking her pulse, then moved on to her blood pressure.
"Vitals are good," he said after a mont. "Everything is looking normal. You just need plenty of rest. No stress."
Turning to Augustine, he added, "She is stable now. You can take her ho today. Just make sure she stays relaxed."
"Thank you, doctor. I’ll make sure of it."
As the doctor turned to leave, Anne spoke softly. "Doctor... my friend, Audrey—how is she? Can I see her?"
He paused and glanced back at her. "She is still asleep, but she is stable. Once she wakes up, you can visit her."
With that, he gave them a nod and exited the room.
Augustine leaned closer and gently took Anne’s hand again. "You must be starving. I’ll get you sothing to eat."
He lifted her hand to his lips, kissed it tenderly, then quietly stepped out of the room.
Left alone, Anne decided to freshen up. She moved slowly and went into the bathroom.
After a few minutes, she stepped out, only to hear the door click open.
She smiled slightly, assuming Augustine had returned. But the smile vanished the mont she saw who stepped in.
Denis.
Anne froze, her entire body stiffening, a cold chill running down her spine.
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