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I shiver as she continues.
“You know, your husband was a prick. The bastard didn’t give a damn about my sister, or her baby.”
She hurls his phone across the room. It smacks a wall before clattering on the floor.
“And he didn’t give a damn about you or your baby either. He was about to cheat on you…with yours truly. Me!”
As I back away from her, I wonder if I should tell her that was my plan all along? My attorney client friend, Gershon Loeb, got back to me and found two loopholes in my prenup. In my favor.
The first: While I’d get nothing if I asked for a divorce, Gersh discovered I could get a hefty settlement and joint custody of Isa if Ned initiated one. Throughout my challenging pregnancy, I knew Ned was fed up with me, losing interest in me. Even repulsed by me. And then Marley came along. It was obvious he was attracted to her—I’m not a horse with blinders—and he’d be tempted. The night of the gala, I fed her right to him. Like a rat to a snake.
But there was no guarantee either of them would fall into my trap. And I knew how Ned was trapped in our marriage by his parents’ will. And how much he wanted the rest of his trust fund. I had one other option…
Marley tightens her grip on the gun, keeping it pointed at me. “Oh, I should also mention that Ned was going to kill you.”
As calmly as I can, I listen carefully to this new piece of information without interruptions. And without raising a brow.
“I found some arsenic hidden in your medicine cabinet. Lucky for you, I stole it.” She smirks. “And lucky for me, I got to end his sorry life.”
What’s lucky for me is that she spared me from ending his life. I was the one who purchased the arsenic online. I did some research. My plan was to put a large dose in his coffee after he came back from his retreat. With his arrhythmia, he would have gone into instant cardiac arrest and died within minutes. Without an autopsy, it would be declared a heart attack, given his family history. I’d get away with murder…
And be a free woman. Free to marry someone else. The man I love. The man we belong with.
Plus, according to Gersh, with Ned gone, I’d get everything.
She did me a favor. For a split second, I think about telling her, but what’s the point? It’s after the fact and will accomplish nothing. If anything, get her more worked up.
She sniggers. “But don’t worry, Ava, he never touched me. And I never wanted him. Honestly, his dick was nothing to write home about.”
Right now, I could care less about that. The only thing I care about is keeping her talking so I can figure out a way to escape with Isa.
She moistens her lips. “Ned deserved to die. If the narcissistic prick had paid for my sister to have had decent medical treatment, she and her baby would have survived instead of dying in that rat hole at the hands of your shyster father.” She pauses. “And my mother would have never been taken away from me.”
“How did you kill him?” I ask, more to buy myself time than out of curiosity.
“The arsenic was only part of it. I don’t have time to go into details, though I should mention your housekeeper is never coming back either.”
“You killed Rosita too?” I gasp. This startling revelation is more devastating than Ned’s demise. The poor hardworking woman didn’t deserve to die.
“You’re next, if you don’t hand me my baby.”
Oh, God! She’s a bona fide psychopath! A cold lump of fear forms in my throat. My voice rises above it. “She’s not your baby! She’s mine!”
“No, Ava, she’s mine! Call it compensation, if you will. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.” She narrows her violet eyes at me. She looks violent and volatile. “Do you think it was an accident we met in Starbucks?”
I stare at her blankly.
“It was all part of my plan. Now, hand Mia over or I’ll have no choice but to kill you. And that will be such a shame because I kind of liked you.”
“No!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
Then suddenly, a deafening explosion rips through my ears. It seems to go on forever.
Rattling the house.
Rattling my bones.
My baby’s cries grow louder. I have the urgent need to protect her and wrap my arms around her quivering little body, holding her close to me.
