Noa and the twins were tied up on the floor. Rope cutting into their wrists. Their small bodies trembling.
Behind them stood three large men-
guns in hand, sticks hanging from their belts.
Then a voice from behind the camera spoke.
“Say your last words, Mrs. Ward.”
Noa lifted her head, eyes glistening with tears. Her voice cracked as she spoke into the lens.
“Elias,” she whispered, “looks like I’m really going to die this time. You’re probably at your wedding right now, standing next to Harper, all smiles”
Her lips trembled, but she kept going.
“This time, he even took the twins. So I guess there’ll be no more interruptions to your happy little life with Harper and your new heir, Lila.”
1/2
She gave the faintest smile. Heartbreaking and hollow,
“Anyway, Elias… I left something for you in your bedroom. Consider it my wedding gift. I hope you enjoy it. Bye.”
The screen shook.
Then–bang. The video cut off the moment the gun fired.
My stomach turned. My legs gave out, and I dropped to my knees.
No. No, no, no.
How had this happened?
I killed those men. Every last one of them. I had buried them so deep they couldn’t crawl back. And still–they’d returned.
And now Noa Noa and
my twins-
“No!” I screamed it without thinking, the sound tearing out of me, raw and desperate.
The world spun. My lungs felt too tight to breathe. My skin went cold.
Harper rushed to me, concem painted across her perfectly powdered face. She tried to grab my arm, steady me.
1 shoved her off. Hard.
She froze mid–step, lips parting like she couldn’t believe I’d just shoved her.
The guests now buzzed with uneasy murmurs. Whispers spread like wildfire.
I heard someone say softly, “See? I told you that woman was Noa. I’d never forget her face.”
“What the hell is going on with Harper and Elias?” Another whispered, sharp and incredulous. “Is this some kind of sick joke? Uncle lets his wife rot so he can marry his dead nephew’s bride? It’s twisted as hell.”
“And don’t you think it’s weird?” another voice chimed in. “Where was Noa all those eight months? She disappeared like she’d never existed. And Elias told us she died, remember that?”
“I heard…” a woman’s voice cut through the crowd–just loud enough to carry. “Noa was taken by one of Elias’s rivals. Kept locked away for months. While Elias was playing house with Harper, Noa was being abused. Humiliated.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Because every word was true.
Hearing it now–out loud, from someone else’s mouth–was like being punched in the chest. I hadn’t just made mistakes.
I’d been blind. Willfully blind. And selfish.
I’d told myself I was protecting Harper. That my job was to keep her safe.
But in doing that–I had abandoned Noa.
“If you ask me,” a man muttered, “Harper’s nothing but a homewrecker. Sleeping with her uncle–in–law while Noa was still alive? She probably knew Noa was alive. She didn’t even flinch when Noa showed up at the baby shower.”
“Well,” someone else added, “this has officially gone off the rails.”
I turned, and found Harper standing pale as a corpse. She was staring at me like she expected me to rescue her again. To speak for her, maybe, defend her like I always did.
But I just looked at her. And then I looked away.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. The weight of it all–of what I’d allowed and ignored–was crushing.
I needed to get out.
This wedding… it felt sick now. Rotting from the inside out.
