It was clear as daylight.
Drake wanted to break me so badly that I would fall and beg for his mercy.
He knew he had killed my brother, yet he made me withdraw the only case I had against him and Sandra.
As I sat there crumpled against the wall, the images of my brother flashing across my mind, the doctor touched my shoulder.
“Whatever problem you have with Drake, solve it quickly. You cannot stand him.”
Later that day, after seeing his corpse and scheduling a funeral, I drove back home.
The house was quiet and cold, just like my heart.
I staggered to the bedroom door only to hear intimate sounds from it.
Sandra's voice rang out, reeking with bliss.
“Even in my pregnancy you still find me attractive?” she moaned.
I immediately pulled my phone to record.
Drake's sweaty growl made me shiver with rage.
“Don't ruin this moment. I never loved Elena,” he said. “I only kept her close because she somehow made my life easier.”
“How would she feel if she discovers we've been having sex for a long time? The night I drowned Ava, you fucked me so hard I felt proud.”
Her laughter tore a large shred of my heart. I almost collapsed with pain.
“Ava was the only thing she used to hold me down. Good thing you got rid of her.”
“Why not just divorce her already?” Sandra moaned.
“Soon, baby. Once she's thrown into jail, no one will blame me for marrying you. But I need to keep her as an option.”
I immediately sent the clip to my father.
His call came in seconds.
I explained everything that had happened to him. He was furious that I'd kept this from him.
He broke down when he heard my brother was dead.
My brother, in order to support my marriage with Drake, had fallen out with my father.
Now he had been killed by the same man he lost his family for.
I sniffed as more tears poured down.
“Dad, I want Drake so ruined that there's nothing to fall back on. Destroy the very air he breathes!”
Just then, the door burst open. Drake was sweating.
“How long have you been here?”
I wiped at the tears. “Just came up.”
Sandra appeared behind him. A flicker of guilt flashed across his eyes.
“Sandra complained of back pain due to the pregnancy. So I gave her a massage.”
“Sure,” I said.
They expected a reaction from me. An outburst of jealousy.
When they got none, Sandra suddenly began to cry:
“I understand that you're angry, Elena, but please don't blame Drake. He's just been kind to me since my boyfriend left me.
“I can go if you want me to. Please blame me, not him.”
Drake rushed to hold her. His eyes darted to me, fierce and impatient.
“Your presence always ruins things for everyone! How long will you be jealous and unreasonable?”
I stared deep into his eyes.
“You killed my brother, Drake.”
His eyes stopped.
I didn't speak from pain or helplessness. It was something he had never seen before.
My fingers twitched with muscle memory of handling high-end guns.
“He became enemies with our father because of you,” I said. “He pulled every string to make you who you are. Yet you unplugged his life support.”
I wasn't done talking when Sandra walked up to me and slapped me hard.
“Because you're hurt shouldn't make you accuse an innocent man. He has kept your useless brother alive for months even though he's worse than dead vegetables. Well I pulled the plug myself!”
I couldn't hold it.
I struck her so hard she slammed against the wall.
Drake wasted no time.
He kicked me in the stomach, sending me hauling down the stairs. The sharp tiles of each step pierced my skin and broke my bone as I fell.
My world went dark.
He rushed after me, not to pick me up or check my pulse.
He began to stomp down on my belly and chest. Each stomp came with a word:
“Your brother was already worse than dead, Sandra only did him a favor. Yet you hit her!
“What if she loses her pregnancy? Are you doing this because you couldn't raise a child yourself?”
He didn't need to hit me again.
I screamed till my voice cracked.
In just a few days I had lost two of the most precious people in my life.
All for a man who we sacrificed everything for.
“Drake,” I whispered, “you'll pay dearly for this…”
Seeing the sheer damage he had done, he panicked and rushed me to the hospital.
“She can't die like this. If she wants to die, she has to be in prison first. So I don't take the blame.”
He warned the doctors. “Do everything to keep her alive. The police will come for her arrest. They must meet a strong Elena.”
I was in-between death and life as these words droned in my ear. They would be one of a thousand reasons I won't forgive Drake.
Just then Sandra walked in. Our eyes met and I saw a deadly smile on her lips.
She suddenly screamed and fell.
Drake ran to her and without hesitation ordered the doctors to let me go.
He touched her over.
“She looks pale. She needs blood.”
His eyes fell on me. Guilt flickered in them.
But when Sandra moaned again, every guilt vanished.
“Draw blood from Elena. Sandra can't lose the baby.”
This time the doctors stopped.
“Elena is at the point of death, lost so much blood, yet you want the little she has left taken from her?”
“Is she complaining?” Drake fired back. “I know my wife. She'll sacrifice anything to save her cousin.”
I wanted to protest but I had lost control of my body. I lost it long ago, the day I allowed myself to fall in love with a monster.
I laid there, helpless and dying.
The doctor, the same who saw my deep sorrow when I saw my dead brother, came up with another reason.
“They're not a match, sir. We can't do it now.”
Drake looked like he'd die. “Draw out the blood first and check later. Look! Is Elena refusing?”
“She can't even move, sir!”
“If anything happens to Sandra, this entire hospital will be shut down and every single person here jailed.”
The finality in his tone was horrifying.
“Sir, what about your wife? Don't you care about her?”
His gaze shifted to me, cold and resolute. “She has never complained before. She won't now. Take the blood.”
