Perfect Storm: A Murder Mystery

Chapter 26. Do Us Part

She scanned her room, her gaze landing on the gleaming bottle sitting on her dresser. It was the potion Marie had given her earlier that day. Perhaps it could serve her purpose. "Okay, do you see that potion?" Ann asked, pointing towards the bottle.

John's eyes shifted to her dresser, then back to her. "Suppose I do. What about it?"

"It's the potion of Prevention," Ann explained. "I asked Marie to give it to me so that we can decide when we want to have our first child." She gently cupped his face. "John, I love you, and I want us to make all our decisions together."

A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips. "You seem sincere."

"Because I am. And you can be sincere, too."

He nodded, his expression softening. Then, with a swift motion, he reached under his suit and revealed a short hunting knife. The sharp blade glinted in the light, reflecting his obsession. "Do you trust me now?"

Fear gripped Ann, but she summoned all her inner strength to remain calm. Locking her eyes with his, she replied, "I do."

His hand tightened around her throat, the sharp tip of the knife pressing against her vein. Doubt crept into Ann's mind. Is it foolish to let him go this far?

"You won't kill me," she whispered.

"How do you know?"

"Because all this time, you've done everything to be with me. You killed my uncle, hoping it would shatter me and make me incapable of looking at any other man besides you." She moistened her dry lips. "But I'm not broken. In fact, I'm impressed." It was a lie, a lie she had to tell him.

Disbelief etched across his face. "Impressed?"

"You heard me right," Ann continued, her voice unwavering. "I'm amazed by your desire to be with me." She delicately placed her hand on the knife handle, guiding it aside. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Admit what you've done, and I'll be yours for as long as we're breathing."

He let out a sigh, his grip loosening slightly. "I can't risk being arrested. They would tear us apart."

"They wouldn't dare," Ann countered. "Theo is too preoccupied with you. But I could simply whisper a word to his boss, and he would never be able to be a guardian again. I could destroy him."

"And you would do that for me?" he asked, his voice filled with hope.

"I already have," Ann replied, mustering her best mischievous look. "This morning, I noticed Theo lurking near my house. His accusation at the ceremony is a feeble attempt to bring you down, but he will never succeed." She dropped her pillow and moved closer, her lips almost touching his. "Come on, just say it. Tell me what you did to be with me."

"A lot," he whispered, his grip tightening around her waist. His hand began to untie her corsage, and Ann didn't resist.

"You did what?" she whispered back, her heart pounding. With a swift motion, she reached for the knife he had dropped onto the bed cover, concealing it beneath the pillow.

"I killed them," John confessed.

Them?

His hand trailed along her bare back. "First, it was your mother. I couldn't bear the thought of you telling her I was obsessed with you. You were going to dismiss me, remember?"

Ann's breath caught in her throat. John wasn't just present when her mother tragically fell from the cliff – he was the cause of that devastating event. It was a truth she had never questioned, always believing that John was the hero who had come to save her during the most challenging moment of her life.