I stormed past the reception desk, my heels clicking sharply on the linoleum.
I found the lab director’s office. I burst in.
He looked up, startled, adjusting his glasses. "Mrs. Smith? Do you have an appointment?"
"Who paid for it?" I demanded, slamming the crumpled DNA test onto his desk.
"Excuse me?"
"The test!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "The one that says Alexus wasn't Anthony's son! Who paid for it? Who ordered it?"
Dr. Thorne sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Patient confidentiality—"
"I am the mother!" I screamed. "And my son is dead! And my husband thinks he wasn't the father because of this piece of paper! Tell me the truth!"
I reached into my purse. My hands were shaking. I pulled out a small velvet box. Inside was a diamond necklace—my grandmother’s heirloom. The only thing of value I had left that Anthony hadn't taken.
"Here," I said, shoving the box across the desk. "Take it. Sell it. It's worth more than your salary for a year. Just tell me who paid you to lie."
Dr. Thorne looked at the necklace. Greed flickered in his eyes for a moment, then guilt. He looked at me, at the desperation etched into my face.
He sighed again, heavier this time. He opened a drawer and pulled out a file.
He slid a receipt across the desk.
PAYER: ALICIA GREY.
SERVICE: EXPEDITED PATERNITY TEST (MODIFIED).
My breath hitched.
"Alicia?" I whispered.
"She came in months ago," Dr. Thorne said, not meeting my eyes. "She said it was a surprise for Mr. Smith. She wanted the results to show... certain discrepancies. She paid double for the modification."
He pulled out another paper. The real results showed that Anthony is indeed the father. Of course, I only have Anthony in my life, and my best friend ruined it.
Alicia had lied. She had falsified a medical document to make Anthony hate his own child. To make him believe that saving Leo with Alexus’s organ was justice, not murder.
I grabbed the real results and ran. I drove home in a daze. The world outside was gray and blurry.
When I arrived at the mansion, the house was quiet. Anthony’s car was in the driveway.
I walked into his study. He wasn't there. I went to his desk. My hands were trembling so hard I could barely hold the paper.
I placed the real DNA test right in the center of his blotter. Where he couldn't miss it.
Then I went upstairs.
I pulled a suitcase from the closet. I started throwing clothes into it. Anything. Everything. I just needed to leave. I couldn't breathe in this house anymore. I couldn't look at Anthony without seeing the monster he had become.
"What are you doing?"
Anthony’s voice boomed from the doorway.
"I'm leaving," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "I can't do this anymore, Anthony. Read the paper on your desk. Then you'll understand."
"I don't need to read anything!" he roared.
He crossed the room in two strides and grabbed the suitcase. He hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a sickening thud, spilling clothes everywhere.
"Didn't I say?" he hissed, grabbing my shoulders. "You will not leave me! You belong to me!"
"Let me go!" I screamed, struggling against his grip. "You don't want me! You hate me!"
"I don't hate you," he said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "I need you to suffer. I need you here to remind me why I did what I did."
"You're insane!"
"Maybe," he laughed. "But you're coming with me."
He dragged me out of the room. Down the stairs. Into the kitchen.
He forced me into a chair.
"Drink this," he ordered, shoving a glass of water and two white pills into my hand.
"What is it?" I asked, shrinking back.
"Medicine," he said. "To help you relax. To help you..."
"No," I said, pushing his hand away.
He grabbed my jaw, forcing my mouth open. He shoved the pills down my throat and poured the water in until I choked and swallowed.
"There," he said, stroking my hair. "Good girl. Now we can be happy."
My vision started to blur. My limbs felt heavy.
"We're going on a trip," he murmured. "Just you and me. And Alicia and Leo. A family vacation."
I slumped forward onto the table.
Through the haze, I heard him talking on the phone.
"Yes, Doctor. She took the pills. Do whatever you have to do to make her forget. Electroshock, therapy, I don't care. She can't leave me. She has to stay here and suffer for what she did."
The next morning was a blur of bright sunlight and nausea.
I woke up in a cabin. The floor was swaying.
We were on a yacht.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Alicia chirped. She was wearing a bikini, looking fresh and vibrant. Leo was playing with a toy boat on the deck.
Anthony was at the helm, steering the boat through the sparkling blue water.
I stumbled out onto the deck. My head was pounding. The pills were still in my system, making everything feel unreal.
"We're going to an island. Just for the day. To celebrate,” Anthony said.
"Celebrate what?" I asked, leaning against the railing for support.
"Our new life," Alicia said, handing me a glass of juice. "We’ll be a happy family.”
I looked at the water. It was deep and dark blue.
The day passed in a surreal nightmare. Anthony and Alicia laughed and drank champagne. They acted like I wasn't there, like I was a ghost haunting their perfect vacation.
But Anthony made sure to torment me.
"Remember this song?" he asked, turning up the radio. It was our wedding song. "Oh, wait. You probably don't. You were too busy cheating on me to remember our wedding."
He laughed. Alicia giggled.
I sat in the corner, staring at the horizon. I felt sick.
Then the sky turned dark.
It happened so fast. One minute, the sun was shining. The next, black clouds rolled in, swallowing the light. The wind picked up, whipping the waves into a frenzy.
"Anthony!" Alicia screamed. "The storm! You said it would be clear!"
"The forecast changed!" Anthony shouted, wrestling with the wheel. "Get below deck!"
The yacht lurched violently. A massive wave crashed over the bow, soaking us instantly.
"Amber!" Anthony yelled. "Help Alicia with Leo!"
I didn't move. I couldn't. I was frozen in terror.
Another wave hit. The boat groaned, metal twisting.
"We're taking on water!" Anthony screamed.
The yacht tilted. I slid across the deck, slamming into the railing.
"Help!" I cried. "I can't swim!"
The boat was sinking. Fast.
Anthony grabbed Alicia and Leo. He threw them toward a life raft that had automatically inflated.
"Get in!" he roared.
They scrambled in.
The yacht groaned again and began to slip under the waves.
I was in the water. It was freezing. Saltwater filled my mouth, my nose. I thrashed, panic seizing my chest.
"Anthony!" I screamed, my head bobbing above the surface. "Help me!"
I saw the raft. It was bobbing in the rough water a few yards away. Anthony was pulling Alicia in.
"There's no room!" he shouted over the roar of the wind. "Only three can fit! It's the weight limit!"
"Please!" I begged, reaching out a hand. "Don't leave me here! I'll die!"
"Just wait!" Anthony yelled. "Wait for the other rescuers! They'll see you!"
He started paddling the raft away from the sinking yacht. Away from me.
I watched them go.
My strength was fading. The cold was seeping into my bones, numbing my limbs.
I grabbed onto a piece of floating debris—a cushion from the deck chairs. I clung to it, gasping for air.
The waves crashed over me, pulling me down. Darkness swallowed the sky.
I closed my eyes.
So this is it?
This is how he leaves me?
This is how he truly kills me without touching me?
