HEART BOUND

THE TRUTH

(Season 1)

CHAPTER 31

Liora's gaze drifted back to the person beside her, a silent accusation lingering in the space between them, her eyes searching for answers, for something to hold onto, her world reduced to a single burning need, escape from there some way or the other.

"Okay I will tell you a story......." Liora watched her took a deep breath and sat down cross her.

"You know a long time ago I was the most beautiful girl in school, every guy in school wanted to be with me but I had my eyes only on one person. Ruben Brown! He was handsome, popular and smart... He also wanted me too. We started dating and we became the most popular couples in school. "Mrs brown had a warm smile on as she remembered her young self.

" After college we decided to get married and start a family together but then she showed up. The distraction!! Hannah Valor..... The barbie swimming in pools of wealth..... The first time I saw her I knew she was up to no good." she said with pure hatred.

"Ruben's company was going bankrupt and he needed but I couldn't help. So he had to pretend to be in love with Hannah and then eventually they got married...... But he promised to only love me and by the time he gets his hands on her wealth he will leave. I waited and waited and waited for years........he did not leave he, he would always come up with an excuse and I believed him because I loved him. I got pregnant and I was happy because I thought that would make him come back to me..... he said he needed more time, but I was tired of waiting so I made myself known to Hannah.......

I gave birth and that same day Hannah got the news she was pregnant, Ruben was so happy can you imagine that????.......but I waited patiently because Ruben promised me that he would end every thing once Hannah give birth. She gave birth and it was time for us to leave but then Hannah was so cunning...... She transferred all her wealth to her daughter. After years of waiting for years I could not just leave without a penny...... So I made a plan and just like that Hannah die in a sudden car crash....... One obstacle out of the way and the only one was you. I waited another for a few more years but when it was finally time for me to get what was rightfully mine you decided to ruin everything by running away. How selfish is that!!!!, but it's okay because you, my money baby is right here "Liora's face went white, the words hitting her like a slap, she felt like she'd been punched in the gut, air whooshing out of her lungs, her mind reeling. This was really the truth story of her parents? But she still couldn't believe this woman right here actually killed her mother.

"No, no, no, no, no," she whispered, shaking her head, denying the truth, tears springing to her eyes, her voice cracking.

"Liar, you're a liar," she screamed, her body shaking with sobs, the pain crushing, suffocating, her heart shattered, her world shattered. This can't be true.... This is all a lie because her father told her that her mother die while giving birth to her. Was that a lie too?

Mrs brown's laughter came like a distant echo in Liora's mind, as she struggled with the ropes restraining her, her body wracked with sobs, she felt like she was drowning in her own grief, the pain so intense it was physical, like a knife twisting in her chest, she thought she'd explode from the pressure, her mother's face swam in her mind, the memories of her smile, her laugh, her warmth she doesn't remember, now tinged with pain, with loss, with rage, she wanted to scream, to shatter, to make them all pay. How could they be this heartless?

"Believe what you want sweetie, but the money is Mine..... ALL OF IT!" Her step mother's words hung in the air like a poisonous cloud. Liora slowly masked her face in a mask of stone, her tears dried up, replaced by a burning fury, she stared at Mrs brown, her gaze cold, hard. The once calm and sweet girl was now burning with hatred and fury.

"You're going to pay for this," she whispered, her voice low, menacing, her words dripping with venom, Mrs brown sneered, but Liora saw the flicker of unease in her eyes, Mrs knew she was broken broken, and she had unleashed a monster.

Liora's her eyes blazed with a mix of anger and fear, as she glared at her captors, her mind seething with disgust.

"How could they do this?" she thought, her anger boiling over, "What kind of monsters are they?" her fear creeping in, "Will I ever get out of here?"but she can't let them win, she killed her mother for this..... She would never let a monster like Mrs brown get her hands on her mother's wealth.. Never.

Her anger surged again, burning away some of the fear, as she yanked futilely at the ropes, her teeth gled with frustration, she spat at the feet of her step mother, her voice venomous.

"You'll never get a penny from that wealth, you scumbags, what you deserve is to rote in hell " her defiance a shield against the terror lurking in the shadows of her mind .

The man's face twisted in a cruel smile, as he stepped closer, his voice low and menacing.

"Oh, we'll get what we want, and you'll be the one begging for mercy. Don't worry I will not be as mercyful as Mrs brown here" he sneered, his hot breath on her skin making her stomach turn, she felt a cold dread creeping up her spine, but she refused to back down, her eyes flashing with defiance.

"I'd rather die, Zach.... Yes, Zach will come for me and he will make you all pay" she spat with confidence and faith, her voice steady, despite the fear churning inside.

"Really!!!!..... You are right, they will surely come but just imagine what would happen if they find out who you really are.... A MURDER!!!" Liora's eyes went paled. Completely drained of cloure

"You still remember Dave right?....... The one you killed?, if they finds out about that they will leave you just like Ruben did. So you are all alone sweetheart" Her eyes glazed over, transported back to that night, the sounds, the smells, the feel of the knife in her hand, the weight of it, the resistance, the scream, the blood, so much blood, her breath caught, her heart racing, she was back there, reliving it, the fear, the panic, the desperation, her hands shaking, her vision blurring, she whispered.

"I'm not a murderer," but the memories had her, holding her under, drowning her.

Panic clawed at her throat, as she stared at her captor, her mind racing....

"No, no, no, they can't know, they'll leave me, they'll hate me," the fear of exposure, of judgment, of abandonment, it was suffocating, she felt like she was back in that dark place, the shame, the guilt, the self-loathing, creeping back in, her voice barely above a whisper, "Please, don't," she begged, her eyes pleading, her world narrowing to this one moment, this one secret, this one fear.

The man she was yet to know his name, his smile was a cruel s***h, as he leaned in, his voice dripping with malice.

"Oh, looks like our little princess got a secret...... But isn't it fair if your friends know?, I think I will have to let them know, they'll know the truth, the girl who killed a man, the girl who took a life, they'll see the monster you really are," his words cutting deep, striking at the heart of her fear, she felt herself shrinking, her confidence crumbling, her sense of self-worth evaporating, she whispered.

"I'm not a monster," but the doubt was already creeping in, poisoning her, they were torturing her, not physically but they were breaking her bit by bit.

Their laughter was a cold echo filling the room. The man straightened, his eyes glinting with sadistic pleasure, "They'll run, they'll all run, and you'll be left with nothing, no one, just the memories of what you've done," his words hung in the air, a poisonous prophecy, she felt the weight of them settling on her shoulders, her breath shallow, her heart heavy, she thought of her friends, her loved ones, would they really leave her?

TBC