Chapter 219: The Past [25]

[Music: So Far by Ólafur Arnalds]

"Yes, and from now on I just want my baby sister’s happiness."

"Annabeth..." I murmured softly.

"What you said in the car about not everything going your way sometimes made me realize the error in my ways. I thought about it a lot, and you were right. I’m sorry for being blinded and hurting you—"

I hugged her before she could say anything else, relief washing over me like a tide wave.

"T-Thank you."

She stroked my back gently "Everything’s gonna be different now, I promise. In the meantime... Let’s not forget our traditional fun. I think this is what we need right now, something for us to bond over."

"Yeah," I agreed as I pulled away. "I’d really love that."

"Great! So let’s get going."

"Um... but first. I need to get this place in order."

"Oh, let Mary do it. I get she’s stuck on kitten duties, but oh well."

"Really, I didn’t plan for this, so just give me some time, okay?"

I still needed to find that bracelet.

"Alright then, Clara’s coming with, so I’ll just pass the time with her." She walked to the door. "Don’t be late!"

"I won’t," I said, amused.

I was glad we were able to resolve this. I just hoped that from now on things would get better.

I had a feeling it would.

After more hours of searching, I still couldn’t find the bracelet, and it was already running late by the time I drove out from the manor.

I didn’t take the driver because I wanted to drive myself. Besides, it was much faster this way than waiting on him.

I stopped at the red light when I heard my phone buzz, and I checked to see a text from Annabeth.

Annie: Clara ditched me so I’m stuck. Ya coming yet?

Me: Yeah, I’m on my way.

I put my phone down and drove out when the lights turned green.

An hour later, I arrived at the estate, one of the lands Father owned. I pulled up around the corner and got out.

It’s dark already. So much for trying to be on time.

I dialed Annabeth’s number, but the line wasn’t going through. Please tell me she wasn’t still riding? Then how did she send me the text if she was?

This place always had a shitty network, especially out in the woods.

And why did Clara ditch her to begin with?

I walked into the stable, and the smell of hay, leather, and horse shit hit my nose like a hurricane.

There were no stable hands in sight either, almost like the whole place was deserted.

"Annabeth!" I called.

She’s not here.

Already getting annoyed, I fished out my phone and quickly dialed Clara’s number.

She picked.

"Why on earth would you ditch Annabeth?"

"What are you talking about?" Clara asked, confused.

"Really?"

"For real, what are you talking about, Ana?"

"The equestrian...? Ring a bell? You came to keep her company because I won’t be there on time. How could you leave her?"

"Ana, I didn’t come, and I haven’t seen Annabeth for the last few days."

I blinked. "What are you—"

The call ended before I had the chance to finish, and when I checked, there was no service bar.

Cock!

The hairs at the back of my head stood up in alert, and I whipped to Annabeth, who pointed a gun at me.

"Silly Stasia. You were always so naive. I can’t believe you fell for that."

"W-What are you doing?" I asked with widened eyes. "Why are you pointing that gun at me, and where did you even get that?"

Her eyes flicked toward the wood chipper a few feet away. She walked toward it, and without lowering her gun, she reached for the controls and started the machine.

"Gotta be discreet, so that no one will hear."

"Annabeth—"

"Did you really think I was gonna give up on Zade that easily?"

Her words struck me like a blow to the face. Suddenly, the memory of her coming to my room and talking to me as if everything was alright felt like nothing more than a mirage.

Now, all I could see was the abhorrence she had been hiding beneath. My own sister was pointing a gun at me. Never in my life did I imagine something like this would happen.

The tears slipped down my face before I could stop them. I was weakened to the core. And to think our special day to unwind was actually her plan for this.

How could she?

"I did do some thinking, Ana. The only way this is gonna work is if you’re out of the picture."

"You are gonna kill me?" I could barely believe the words I uttered. My brow furrowed as I tried to make some sense. "I’m your sister! You can’t be—"

"I’m fucking serious!" She roared. "Do you have any idea how hard it had been for me? What it was like to act as if I cared for a sister that wasn’t my blood!"

"Wha-What?"

"Yes, Ana. My mother was Father’s whore."

"N-No, that can’t—"

"I was five when Father brought me to the Morri estate. You were just a baby."

"Y-You’re lying!"

"The moment I saw you, I hated you, because Father didn’t have the guts to marry my mother and make her Mrs. Morri. He kept her a secret, and it was only after your mother died did he finally accept me as his daughter."

I shook my head. "N-No."

"As I watched you grow, I knew you were still gonna take everything from me. You were his legitimate daughter, and I was the outsider. I had to become perfect. I had to make you feel unwanted, so I became the perfect daughter!"

I closed my eyes as I sobbed.

"And Jacob...? He was such a good fuck, I made him obsessed with me so that he wouldn’t ever consider the feelings you had for him."

I opened my eyes, as devastation weighed on me, making everything spin.

"But Zade? He was different. He was the one thing I wanted that had nothing to do with you. If I could bring him to the family, then Father would love me more." She laughed. "Then you would once again be shoved aside, with your pretty dresses and your pretty dances. But you screwed everything!"

My bottom lip trembled as tears blurred my vision. "D-Did you ever... even for a single moment... see me as your sister?"

"Maybe I did..." She nodded, eyes filled with resentment. "But it has always been you. Why does it have to be you? And now?" A bitter laugh escaped her. "Now you’re gonna take the one thing I truly wanted from me? Not a chance."

My heart stopped for a moment when her finger curled around the trigger.

But a bucket rattled when a rodent scurried by. I seized that moment of distraction and hurled my phone at her. The sudden action startled her, and the gun went off just as it slipped from her grip.

I rushed for it, but she stopped me, pulling my hair, and I screamed. I tugged on hers too until it became a battle of tug-of-war.

My mind instantly drifted to when we were little, and we got in a quarrel, pulling on our hairs just like this.

Jacob swooped in and broke it off; we didn’t talk to each other for the whole day, but we eventually made up.

I was shoved to the ground, and when I looked at Annabeth, I realized this was different. We weren’t fighting over dolls, and we weren’t gonna kiss and make up.

I lost my sister the moment she tried to kill me.

I screamed in rage and lunged at her. Her nails scratched my face, but I fought with everything I had, shoving her with all my strength.

She stumbled backward and crashed against the wood chipper. Her hand instinctively reached for the controls as she tried to steady herself.

Then her hair caught.

"ANA!" she screamed, her voice filled with terror as she was suddenly dragged toward the machine.

I moved in panic mode, stretching my hand, but it happened so fast.

A sickening crunch tore through the air as blood splattered across my face, a warm and metallic taste in my mouth.

The machine came to an abrupt halt, a chilling silence taking over.

I didn’t breathe. I didn’t move.

Her skull was completely crushed, the rest of her body twitching. Then, nothing.

A scream tore from my throat as I backed away and tripped over. I snappily grabbed my phone and ran out of the stable.

I reached my car, yanked the door open, and climbed inside. My hands trembled as I started the engine and sped away.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. No matter how hard I tried to push it away, the scene kept replaying... the sound, the blood, her scream.

My chest tightened, and the panic climbed so high until it felt like I was suffocating.

I didn’t even register grabbing my phone and dialing Zade’s number. It was only when the call connected that I realized what I was doing.

"Zade..." I sobbed.

"Anastasia?"

"I-I... I..."

"Talk to me baby. What happened?"

"I-I killed her." The words came out in a broken whisper. "I killed my sister. I-I—"

The blasting horn made me turn toward the oncoming truck... the headlight hit me, white and blinding.