LOVE, LIES AND REVENGE

CHAPTER 1

Sarah stood frozen in shock as the police officers held her back, warning her not to approach.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, it's not safe," an officer said, his eyes filled with pity.

"But that's my husband in there!" Sarah exclaimed, her voice trembling with desperation.

The wailing sirens and flashing lights swirled around Sarah, creating a disorienting discord that made her head spin. The chaos was suffocating, and the flashing lights seemed to pierce through her skull, intensifying the nausea that had been building since the phone call she received that her husband had just been in a car crash.

Sarah stumbles back a bit after hearing the warnings of the officer. The sound of shattering glass and crunching metal still echoed in her mind.

As the fog of shock began to clear, fragments of memory started to resurface. Henry's voice, once a warm comfort, now echoed in her memory as a haunting whisper.

“I can’t believe this is happening. Henry…what did you..” Sarah sobbed, her words barely audible with tears running down her cheek.

Sonia stood helplessly, her eyes fixed on her best friend, who was stunned into silence by the sudden and tragic loss of her husband. Her hand instinctively rose to her chest, her fingers fluttering like a wounded bird as she gasped for breath.

“Henry Morgan was also one of my best friends,” she thought. After all, she and Sarah had been basically inseparable since she moved in next door to Sarah when she was still a teenager, and Henry had been a part of Sarah’s life for as long as she could remember.

The chief officer gazed at Sarah with a look of deep sympathy and concern. “Let me get you both home,” he said, his voice soft with compassion. “This isn't a scene you should be exposed to."

Sonia's hand instinctively found Sarah's, a silent offer of support as they walked towards the chief officer who had his hand on his opened back door, with a gesture for them to get in.

As the chief officer drove them home, the car was shrouded in an uncomfortable silence, the only sound was the soft hum of the engine, and Sarah’s brain, like a broken record, stuck on the name her husband told her was coming after him, playing it over and over again. That name was “Wilde."

***************

The officer got them home and was about to take his leave but would not do so without offering words of comfort and support.

Sarah stared at the chief officer at her front door as he tried to show sympathy for her loss, but couldn’t tell what the man was saying. She was lost in thought, not knowing if to disclose her last conversation with her husband Henry.

“The Wilde family”, her brain kept replaying non-stop as she wondered what business her husband, Henry, had with them.

She was uncertain about Henry's entanglement with the Wildes, and her confusion escalated further on whether to disclose details of their last exchange to the Chief of police standing in front of her, fearing she might inadvertently reveal more than she knew.

However, what Sarah feared the most was the fact that the Wilde family was a billionaire family. She dreaded that the wealth and influence would render her accusations far-fetched, leaving her voice silenced and her concerns dismissed.

The officer finally leaves and Sarah and her best friend Sonia held each other like lifelines, their arms entwined as they struggled to stay afloat in a sea of sorrow.

The hug, a silent scream, a physical expression of anguish and helplessness they both felt in the face of the tragedy.

“Why would…why would this happen to me, Sonia?” Sarah said, barely able to speak through all the tears pouring out of her eyes, and the saliva filled in her mouth.

“I’ve always done everything the right way in my life,” she continued, her voice getting cracked and louder. “I always try to do the right thing!” “I've been so good, so kind, so generous with everything and everyone!” She gets to the peak of her voice, collapsing on the couch in front of her.

“I know, Bambi, … I know,” Sonia says as she sobs, trying to show support and calling her by the nickname she had given to Sarah because Sarah loved the movie Bambi. “You're the most…”

“Then why do these things keep happening to me!” Sarah cuts Sonia short as she crumbles into Sonia’s chest.

“I’m here for you Bambi, I’m here for you,” Sonia says, her shirt starts to fill with Sarah’s tears while she strokes her hair.

***************

The funeral service was held with a closed casket, the chapel filled to capacity as friends and loved ones gathered for a short but powerful service. The air was thick with emotions as one of Henry’s close friends gave the eulogy, their voice cracking with grief.

Henry Morgan was a loved individual and basically the whole neighborhood of Sarah and Henry Morgan were at the funeral to grieve and show their support to Sarah.

It was Sarah’s turn to say a few words, and she was barely able to get the words out of her mouth. Henry was her world, they never had kids because they both agreed to get to a certain point in their careers before they started trying. She still couldn't believe that Henry was gone.

Sarah begins her speech, her voice shaky as she intends to keep her speech short because she might not be able to make it through a long speech.

As Sarah stood at the podium saying her few words, her gaze swept across the sea of somber faces before her, but her attention was suddenly drawn to a figure standing away from the crowd.

A woman in a bright red jacket, her face obscured by a wide-brimmed hat, lingered at the outskirts of the gathering, seemingly out of place among the mourners.

She decided not to pay attention to the mystery lady in the red and continue with her short speech.

The time to say the final goodbye had arrived. The casket was lowered into the grave, and the pallbearers shoveled dirt onto it, slowly covering it until the grave was filled. A bouquet of flowers was placed on top, and the headstone stood at the foot, marking the final resting place.

Watching all of this happen was the hardest thing Sarah has had to experience.

***************

This sad day had finally come to an end. Sarah stayed back for a while and Sonia was right beside her all through.

“I'm taking them down,” Sarah said boldly, looking with a fiery spark of determination in her eyes.

Sonia with a look of confusion and surprise as to how Sarah's voice had changed completely, and the aura she was giving was entirely different from minutes ago.

“What are you talking about?” Sonia asked, hoping her best friend had not lost it.

“Sonia, I have done everything the right way throughout my life,” Sarah said confidently. “And I am now beginning to regret them because it never got me anywhere. I kept losing everything and everyone around me, and this is the line!”

Sonia was lost for words as she tried to comprehend what her best friend was trying to say. “What are you getting at?” She asked.

“The Wildes have taken my husband from me, and now I will take everything from them.” Sarah speaks with a straight look on her face.

“I will dismantle their business, ruin their reputation, and destroy their lives. This is not a threat, it's a plan. I will execute it with precision, patience, and no mercy. They have shown me no quarter, and I will show them none. This is not about anger, it's about justice. And I will be the one to deliver it” she continues.

“I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE."