A/N: Hi. This is the last chapter of Ruthless Beauty. Thank you for making it this far despite the setbacks and slow updates. A lot has changed from the original plot I was planning to write before. This novel may or may not have helped me improve my writing but I'm grateful for the experience. Anyway, enjoy :)
Chapter 20
My first instinct was to run. Run as fast as I can or scream as loud as I can to get anyone's attention and alert them that she is here. She's back. She looked magnificent yet scary, sitting casually at our kitchen countertop while sipping her wine as if she has not done all those horrible things.
"Won't you join me here, Anna? It is impolite and rude to just stare at me all night long. We have plenty to talk about."
My knees are wobbling and the muscles in my stomach are knotted intensely. I'm really scared right now but I dare not show it on my face. It remained blank and passive as I stared at her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Checking up on you, of course."
"I don't understand. Weeks ago, you were locked up—"
"Oh, please. You're a smart girl, Savannah." She glanced at me slyly through her thick lashes. Her red lips moved slowly in a mischievous smile. "I'm sure you've already figured it all out, you just chose to ignore it."
I licked my lower lip, trying to regain composure. If I lose my shit here, I wouldn't be able to get what I want. I'm screaming on the inside and my hands are trembling. Pinisil-pisil ko ang mga daliri sa likod upang kalmahin ang sarili. I refuse to believe what I'm seeing right now is real...
"Is your husband still sleeping?" she casted a dangerous glance upstairs and it took all my willpower not to run into her and smash the bottle against her head. Nanatili akong nakatayo. "Hmm, that's too bad. Gusto ko pa naman sana siyang kausapin. I guess that leaves the two of us." She smiled and tilted her head a bit.
Iniwas ko ang tingin. How can someone as beautiful and seductive as her be so terrifying? Hindi ko na makontrol ang panginginig ko. Even her voice makes me shiver in cold fear. I've seen what she's done before and I know she is capable of more.
Ikinuyom ko ang mga kamao ko. I'm so angry at her. Just staring at her makes me want to bathe in blood but I'm over that. Instead, I wanted to manage the situation calmly and confirm theories that are already swirling inside of my head.
"You're not Valerie..." it wasn't even a question. It was a statement.
"Took you this long to figure it out? I'm disappointed." She pulled out a stick of cigarette from her purse and for an instant, I almost had a heart attack thinking it was a dagger that she'd shoot straight at me from where she is sitting or a gun to bury a bullet in my head.
The flick of the lighter echoed inside the kitchen as she lit her cigarette and took a deep drag of it, releasing rose-scented smoke and watching me warily through the thin haze of smoke.
"Where is she, then?" nanginginig ang boses kong tanong sa kaniya. "Where's Valerie?"
"Why are you asking me? You already killed her."
"What?!"
She smirked and patted the ashes out of her stick before taking another drag. "Oh, honey. Don't act so innocent. You're just as evil as I am..."
"No, I'm not..." I couldn't find the conviction in my voice as I shook my head weakly. Gusto kong masuka sa sinasabi niya pero hindi ko magawa. I'm so twisted up inside.
"You did. You killed her the moment you took her away from her kids. Poor little children. Without their mama, they're just going to shiver up and die thinking that their own mother abandoned them. And it's all because of... you!"
Binalot ng nakakakilabot na halakhak ni Valerie ang buong kusina. Mas tumindi pa ang panginginig ko at ang pamumuo ng mga luha sa mata habang naririndi ako sa boses niya. I wanted it to stop but I just couldn't. All I could do is stare helplessly at her.
"You killed her, Savannah! You killed my sister!"
"Stop! Shut up!"
Ipinikit ko ang mga mata at sinubukang pigilan ang pag-agos ng mga luha. She's just trying to get into your head, Anna. You're stronger than this. She's been trying to get into the heads of everyone for years and you should know better than that. Sick mind games is her forte. She wouldn't be able to fool us for years if she isn't a master of doing so.
I heard her low chuckle when she saw me sobbing silently. "That's right. Go on and cry, little girl. Your mommy is not here to protect you anymore."
Nag-angat ako ng tingin sa kaniya. "It's you... isn't it?"
"Mm-hmm." She casually said. "Anastasia, was it? Such a wonderful woman. In other circumstances, we could've been friends. She would've been someone I look up to." A flash of sadness twinkled in her eyes but it was gone in an instant. She shrugged. "Too bad she happened to be the wife of my next target."
Suminghot ako at nagsimula nang makaramdam ng pagkahilo. I wanted to sit down but my legs are so numb and my brain is still in a mess right now. I can't process everything she's saying to me all at once.
"For your consolation, I didn't mean to kill your grandparents, darling. They just happened to be there on the day that Anastasia died. It would be so fun fooling around with them after your mother is gone but.." she shook her head and took a drag of her cigarette. "You're lucky that puma is still alive."
"What did you do to him?!" galit kong sigaw sa kaniya.
"Nothing... just a little sedative to put him into temporary sleep. I don't like to be disturbed when I'm having a heart-to-heart talk with someone. Bad manners, eh?"
"What do you want, now?" pagod kong tanong. "You've killed my family, stolen a lot of money from us, and even tried to kill me... ano pang gusto mo?"
Lumawak ang ngiti niya sa narinig mula sa akin. Humalumbaba siya at tinitigan ako na may nakakalokong ngiti. "I'm so glad we're finally talking business right now."
"If I give you all my money... will you go away and disappear?"
"That's no fun, Anna." She chuckled again. "I want more than your money."
"What do you... mean?"
"Well, I need a new personality now that my dumb sister is dead. Business goes on, you know? I needed someone to take over her job while we move to another place and find another victim."
Hindi makapaniwala akong nakatitig sa kaniya. Why is she so twisted? Can someone be so cruel like her actually exists?
"Valerie is stupid to fall in love with your father. I already warned her, but she didn't listen to me. Look what happened to her? By now, the staff and nurses would find her dead body inside the room and would declare it as suicide, as that institution always does. Her kids are nowhere to be found, possibly begging for food in the streets. If she had just followed my orders, none of this would've happen. We may have the possibility of getting our happily ever after together. Right, princess?"
At this point, all I could think of is my survival. My eyes discreetly roamed around the kitchen. There are possible weapons I could use to attack her and buy me some time. But grabbing the metal rod of the lamp post or reaching for sharp objects in the cupboard behind her would take too much time. By then, she would've attacked me first. I can't let that happen. Blake and everyone is still sleeping and unaware of her presence. She would, undoutedly, kill each and everyone before she leaves the mansion and take as much money and valuable things as she can. Who knows if she has some backup waiting for her outside the doors? The risks are just too high.
I stared at her face for a long time. The resemblance is uncanny. Both sisters shared the same sharp, angled jaw and cat-slit eyes. They both have plump lips and high cheekbones that most men would go crazy for. The only distinction between the two of them is a short, hairline scar on her lower left cheek that is almost expertly hidden by makeup. I wonder how many times she switched with her sisters and mingled with us? Kinikilabutan na ako nang maisip iyon.
I don't want my hands to get tainted with her blood or anyone else's. But I'm so desperate right now and I know I am running out of time. If I don't do something, all of us are at risk of a grave danger.
"What I'm trying to say, sweetheart, is I need a new name, passport, and personality—all of which yours are very appealing to me. You could either work with me and do everything I say, or we could do this the hard way. I have to lock up my sister in the basement for half a year just so she would listen to me. Being in a prison is not new to her."
"You're sick if you think I'd held you with your evil plans..." I murmured through gritted teeth.
"Are you saying you wouldn't want to negotiate with me?"
"Negotiate with what? Targeting rich, old men and selling my body for money? I would never do that!"
Her eyes darkened in silent anger. "Then I guess we have to do this the hard way..."
I swallowed hard, preparing myself for anything she's going to do with me. My eyes never left her as she smiled creepily until I heard some heavy footsteps.
"Anna...?"
Shit. Shit!
Hindi ko mailipat ang mga mata sa hagdanan sa takot na baka may gawin si Valerie sa ilang segundong kalayaan. And I don't need to turn my head to confirm that it's Blake who's coming down. What is he doing here? Nanigas ako lalo sa kinatatayuan ko.
"What are you doing here, baby?" he asked, crossing the living room to head towards the kitchen.
I shut my eyes tightly and wanted to scream out loud. Not another step, Blake! Go back, please! I pleaded inside of my head that something would stop him from coming to the kitchen. Valerie's amused, watching the two of us with a wicked smile on her face. I'm sure by now she's planning something. She's just waiting for one bad move... just one... and she'll attack.
"Anong nangyari kay Barin? Bakit tulog na tulog 'to?" inosente niyang tanong habang marahang niyuyugyog ang alaga. He glanced up at me and was terrified at the pained expression on my face. "Anna...?"
"Blake—"
It was the moment she was waiting for. The moment I opened my mouth to warn him to go away, she deftly pulled a silencer from her purse and expertly aimed it at my husband. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
"Blake!" I screamed when his body collapsed on the carpeted floor and his blood immediately stained the surface. Tumakbo ako patungo sa kaniya habang kinakapos ang hininga. He's clutching his pierced skin with his eyes shut as his body shook from the recent trauma. I heard her chuckling again. "You monster!" I sobbed as I held Blake firmly in my arms. His left side was shot and God knows if one of his internal organs was punctured by the bullet. The blood wouldn't stop flowing...
"It will be easier for you to work with me if you don't have a husband trailing after you, Anna, don't you think?" she said in a merry tone.
Kinakain na ng takot at pangamba ang isipan ko hanggang sa tuluyan na itong nablangko. The next thing I know, I was filled with rage as I stood and faced her. She cocked a brow at me, waiting for my move as I struggle to breathe and trembled all over. When she teased me again by pointing the gun at Blake's weak body, I grabbed the first thing that caught my eye and from then on, it was all black.
I could hear the shatters of the ceramic breaking into pieces, the scream of one of the housekeepers, the weak whimper of my pet, and even felt the pain of the bullet lodged through my left leg. Even so, before losing in touch of the reality, I made sure that if I'm going down, so is she.
If my hands are going to be tainted with blood for the first time, it better be hers.
That night painted a gruesome history of the mansion that my father once built for my fairy-tale life.
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#HanmariamRBIIChapter20