Chapter 9
Later that night, I received another video. My heart raced as I opened it, knowing exactly what it would be. The footage started shaky but soon focused on Naomi. She was tied to a chair, her face pale and streaked with tears. The men I had hired loomed over her, their shadows casting eerie shapes on the walls.
“Please!” Naomi cried, her voice breaking. “Not my baby! Don’t hurt my baby!”
Her words hit me harder than I expected, not because I felt sympathy for her, but because it dragged me back to that night. I had pleaded too–pleaded with every ounce of strength ! had left, begged them not to hurt me, begged them to let me go. But no one listened. And when I finally realized I was going to lose my baby, I remember sobbing, begging for mercy that never came.
I had clutched my stomach, screaming for them to stop, whispering apologies to the child I wouldn’t get to meet. I would never forget the sound of their laughter as they ignored my cries, as they broke me.
Naomi’s cries now were eerily similar, and for a moment, I felt the same sharp pain I had felt back then. But unlike me, she deserved it. She deserved every single second of it.
Her sobbing voice pulled me back to the present. “Not my baby, please!” Naomi wailed, her entire body trembling as she tried to break free from the ropes. Her desperation mirrored mine, but this time, I was in control.
Her desperation didn’t faze me. I clenched my jaw, my fingers tightening around my phone as I hit the call button to reach the men.
When they answered, I could hear Naomi’s muffled sobs in the background. “Put the phone to her,” I instructed coldly.
A few moments later, I heard Naomi’s shaky voice. “Who’s doing this? Please! Who’s behind this?!”
Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself. “Hi, Naomi. Remember me?”
There was a pause, and then her voice cracked. “You… You’re behind this? I thought you. were gone! What are you doing? Please, let me go!”
Her pleas didn’t move me. “This is your punishment,” I said firmly. “My revenge. Do you think I’d just disappear after what you did to me? After what you took from me?”
“I–I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she stammered, her voice trembling.
“You had me tortured,” I snapped, my tone icy. “You made sure I lost my child. Your destroyed everything I had. And now, it’s your turn to lose what’s most important to you.”
“No! That’s not true!” Naomi wailed. “I never meant for it to go that far! I just wanted your gone! I thought Oliver would finally be mine if you weren’t in the way!”
I conffed mu arin on the shana tinhtanina “And whaen did that not unu. Manmi? Olivar 1/3 32.18
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were gone! What are you doing? Please, let me go!”
Her pleas didn’t move me. “This is your punishment,” I said firmly. “My revenge. Do your think I’d just disappear after what you did to me? After what you took from me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she stammered, her voice trembling. “You had me tortured,” I snapped, my tone icy. “You made sure I lost my child. You destroyed everything I had. And now, it’s your turn to lose what’s most important to you.” “No! That’s not true!” Naomi wailed. “I never meant for it to go that far! I just wanted you gone! I thought Oliver would finally be mine if you weren’t in the way!”
I scoffed, my grip on the phone tightening. “And where did that get you, Naomi? Oliver hates you now, doesn’t he? You ruined everything for both of us. But this… this is the end for you.”
“Please, Hannah,” she begged, her voice breaking into sobs. “I’m sorry! I’ll do anything! Just let me go!”
I stayed silent for a moment, letting her desperation sink in. Then I spoke, my voice cold and final. “No. Make her lose the baby,” I instructed the men, my words cutting like a blade. Naomi’s screams pierced through the phone as I ended the call. I let out a long breath, leaning back in my chair. For the first time in what felt like forever, the weight on my chest lifted. I could finally breathe.
Hours later, another video arrived. I hesitated for a moment before opening it. The footage showed Naomi being dragged into a hospital. She was screaming, clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her face. Her cries were guttural and raw, filled with anguish.
“She lost the baby,” one of the men in the video muttered to someone off–camera.
I watched as Naomi’s screams echoed in the hospital hallway, her voice filled with despair. The video ended abruptly.
I closed my phone and set it down, staring at the empty wall in front of me. It was over. Naomi had paid for what she did.
Just as I was about to put my phone away, a notification popped up. My brows furrowed as I opened it. It was a news article. The headline read: “Businessman Oliver Miller in Critical Condition After Drunk Driving Accident.”
Curious, I clicked on the link. A video played, showing a wrecked car being pulled from the side of the road. Emergency workers surrounded it, carefully extracting Oliver from the vehicle. His face was pale and bloodied, his body limp as they placed him on a stretcher.
One of the e paramedics leaned down, trying to calm him. “Stay with us. What’s your name?”
Oliver’s voice was faint but audible through the recording. “H–Hannah,” he murmured, his words slurred. “Hannah…”
I couldn’t help it–I laughed. It wasn’t a loud, triumphant laugh, but a bitter one, filled with years of frustration and heartbreak. Of course, now he called out my name. Now, when it was too late.
Chapter 9
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Curious, I clicked on the link. A video played, showing a wrecked car being pulled from the side of the road. Emergency workers surrounded it, carefully extracting Oliver from the vehicle. His face was pale and bloodied, his body limp as they placed him on a stretcher. One of the paramedics leaned down, trying to calm him. “Stay with us. What’s your name?” Oliver’s voice was faint but audible through the recording. “H–Hannah,” he murmured, his words slurred. “Hannah…”
I couldn’t help it–I laughed. It wasn’t a loud, triumphant laugh, but a bitter one, filled with years of frustration and heartbreak. Of course, now he called out my name. Now, when it was too late.
But as the laugh faded, memories I didn’t want to face crept into my mind. I thought of all the times Oliver had called my name before, during the moments I thought he loved me. I remembered the nights I’d be lying sick in bed, feverish and weak, and Oliver would bring me soup or stroke my hair.
“Hannah,” he’d whisper gently, sitting by my side. “I’m here. You’re going to be okay. Just
rest.”
And I’d believe him. I thought it was love. I thought those moments proved he cared. But now I knew the truth. Even then, it was all about control–making sure I stayed attached, dependent on him. Every act of kindness was just enough to keep me from walking away, enough to keep me holding on.
I was a fool for thinking it was love. I was a fool for letting those moments convince me that he was the one, that he’d ever truly cared about me.
Now, hearing his broken voice calling my name again, I didn’t feel longing or pain. All I felt was the bitter satisfaction of knowing he was finally realizing what he had lost. But it was far too late for Oliver. Far too late for any of it.
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Chapter 10
