Chapter 104
Derek POV
I paused with my hand on the doorknob. "It might be too late by then. I'm going to find her," I answered.
Luke sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming with you." He said.
I gave him a weak smile as I turned the doorknob to open the door.
Everything fell out of my hands as I stared in shock at the man in front of my door.
He looked middle-aged breathless, with his clothes covered in dirt. You would almost confuse him for someone living on the street. He looked familiar, like someone I'd met or seen somewhere.
What shocked me the most was the body he carried. I immediately recognized it as Clara's hair hanging out of her face. She was covered in dirt, as if someone had buried her while her body was lifeless.
Luke didn't dare move, either.
It took me a moment to snap back to reality.
"I didn't know where else to bring her." The man finally spoke.
Clara's POV
Several hours later
I blinked again for confirmation. My eyes must have been playing a trick on me.
You can say I was more surprised by his involvement than when I found out Madison's mother was holding me hostage.
It was my stepfather, Kevin
What was he doing here? I've always considered him a drunk, but I never expected this. Was he part of this plan?
He crossed his arms as he stood in front of me.
"Why?" I managed to mutter as tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Turns out I'm not the only one who wants you dead." Amelia snared.
This whole time, fairytales have been worried about stepmothers; they should have kept a close watch on stepfathers.
Amelia pointed her gun at my temple.
I closed my eyes. At least I'll die knowing who my enemies are.
"You should wait," Kevin repeated.
I opened my eyes. Amelia was no longer pointing her gun at me. Did this mean I was saved?
"Are you going to make it that easy? Are you just going to shoot her in the head? One bullet, and it's done." Kevin continued. Nope, he was still evil.
"I just want to get rid of this girl. She has caused me far too much trouble." Amelia argued.
"Exactly, for more than twenty-five years, she has been on your mind. Don't you think she should suffer? I'd kill her slowly if I were you," Kevin suggested.
Right now, I would prefer a bullet to get this over and done with.
Amelia remained quiet as she stared into space. That meant she was considering it. "You'll be doing me a favour as well. I've tolerated how annoying she is for far too long. I'll owe you one. You'll see your big rival crumple to her knees." Kevin continued. "Besides, if they find her body with a gun wound, they will investigate. They will know that someone did this and track this back to you." He added.
"So, what are you suggesting?" she asked, turning towards him.
"Well, I suggest we give her some drugs. Lots of them. She will suffer a lot. In time, we can make it look like she died from an overdose. People will believe it because they know how depressed she is. We can dump her body in some bad neighbourhood and make it look like she died from a bad batch." He explained. With each second, he managed to lower my expectations of him.
"I like the sound of that," Amelia smiled. "Guess what? Emerson has just what we need." She pointed towards Moustache. "We were planning on experimenting," she added.
"Good," Kevin answered.
Mustache, Emerson approached me, holding an injection. He bent to my level and reached for my arm. This time, I couldn't do much to resist. My body was too weak. I turned my head away as the pain of the needle penetrating my deltoid spread across my arm.
Amelia smiled before walking away with Moustache towards the far end where Scar was standing.
"Now, back to how much I owe you guys." I heard Amelia say. She pulled out several stacks of cash from her handbag.
I was left alone with Kevin. At least they couldn't hear. It hadn't even been a minute since the injection, and I already felt something was wrong.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked. He had already said he found me annoying, but that wasn't a good enough reason to want someone dead. I wanted to hear it from his mouth.
"It's going to hurt kiddo a lot. But you'll see that it's what's best for everyone." He answered.
He then smiled before walking away to the rest of them.
As the hours passed, I felt worse. My whole body was in pain. I shivered uncontrollably. My vision had worsened. Everything now appeared blurry. I couldn't sleep, no matter how desperately I tried.
I heard footsteps approaching me again.
"You know what? I changed my mind. This isn't working fast enough. Give her another dose." Amelia demanded.
"It's too soon. If you give her another dose now, she'll die," Kevin interjected.
"I want her buried before sunrise. Neither of her parents will ever find her again. That's the least they deserve," she added.
Everything else was a blur. I couldn't move or open my eyes. All I remember are flashes of yelling, a moving car, and sand thrown over me. I couldn't breathe; I was suffocating. Until I felt a hand pull me up from the ground.
,
