Chapter 11
“Get out!” Killian shouted, his anger boiling over as he threw open the car door. He grabbed Anastacia by the arm, yanking her out of the car and tossing her roughly onto the ground.
Anastacia cried out, her body hitting the pavement with a painful thud. Killian stood over her, his finger trembling with fury as he pointed at her. “Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to my Penelope like that?! You‘ re just a distraction, a toy for when I’m bored! Do you really think you‘ re worth anything more?!” His voice grew louder with each word. “If I can‘ t find my wife, you will pay for this!”
With those words, he turned and stormed back to the car, intent on finding Penelope at any cost.
Anastacia, struggling to rise, clung
desperately to the car window. “Killian, you can’t do this to me… I’m carrying your
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child… Our child…”
Killian paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face. “Child… Yes, child,” he muttered, his tone distant.
A faint, relieved smile tugged at
Anastacia‘ s pale lips. She had known it all along–she was different from Penelope. She had leverage. She had a trump card.
But just as she thought he might come to her aid, Killian got out of the car. In her dazed state, she thought he might help her, but instead, he pulled a golf club from the back seat.
Her eyes widened, instinctively sensing something was terribly wrong.
Killian‘ s expression twisted into one of disgust. “Penelope‘ s child hasn’t even been born yet, you worthless woman. Why are you carrying my child?”
Anastacia’s heart raced. She tried to
retreat, but before she could react, Killian swung the club, striking her hard in the
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stomach.
A scream of agony tore from her throat, and tears flooded her face. “Mr. Barnes, please! I was wrong… I shouldn’t have talked to your wife like that… I admit my mistake! Please, spare me and the child!”
But Killian seemed beyond reason, lost to a blind rage. He swung the club again, this time hitting her lower abdomen with brutal force.
“Shut up, bitch! Shut up!” he shouted, his voice wild.
Killian couldn’t tell how long the beating lasted. It felt like an eternity. When he finally stopped, he stood over her, breathing heavily. Anastacia lay motionless, blood pooling beneath her.
He let the golf club fall from his hand, the sound of it hitting the ground echoing in the silence. It was then that reality sank in -he had gone too far.
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Ten years later…
I had spent a decade in Canada, building a new life. I became a painter. While I wouldn’t call myself wealthy, I had
earned a measure of fame in the art world.
I casually scrolled through the news on my phone when something caught my eye- Barnes Group of Companies had a new president. My heart skipped a beat. It had been ten years since I left California, severing all ties with my past. I hadn’t kept up with anything from back home. But now, ten years later, I felt a strange urge to look up news about Killian.
The current president of Barnes Group of Companies was none other than Killian’s cousin. From what I could tell, he wasn‘ t particularly talented, yet he had secured. the position. Something didn’t sit right with me. My intuition screamed that something had happened to Killian.
I quickly typed his name into the browser, and my breath caught when I saw an article
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from ten years ago. The headline made my heart race: Killian, president of Barnes Group of Companies, beats his assistant Anastacia to death in the garage and is sentenced to life imprisonment in the second trial!
I froze, unable to process the words.
Clicking on the article, I saw a photo of Killian. He was wearing prison clothes, his head shaved, his eyes vacant and lifeless. A dullness that was so unlike the man I once knew. And the assistant, Anastacia… It was her.
I glanced back at the date–It was the exact day I left.
My breath caught in my throat. I hadn’t known. I had no idea that such a horrific event had occurred while I was leaving everything behind.
Before I could fully grasp what I was seeing, I heard my boyfriend call my name, snapping me out of my daze.
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“Penelope, it’s time to go collect folk songs.”
His voice broke through my daze, and when I looked up, I saw him smiling at me. “What did you see that surprised you so much?”
I took a deep breath, grounding myself as I pushed away the storm of emotions that had threatened to rise. I knew better than to linger on the past. Killian and I had divorced ten years ago; his story no longer had a place in my life.
With a steady exhale, I looked at him, focusing on the present. I picked up my paintbrush, gathered my canvas, and followed my boyfriend‘ s lead, running towards the picturesque scenery outside. The weight of the past lifted as the beauty around us filled me with a sense of peace
