CHAPTER FIVE
1176 Words
I was arrested without explanation. No one told me how or when I supposedly tried to kill someone. They offered no details, just handcuffed me and dragged me out of the room.
Camila and Blake were nowhere to be seen as I was marched past the house. Guests had gathered outside, murmuring and whispering among themselves.
As soon as they laid eyes on me, their expressions shifted from shock to pure contempt. Every ounce of their anger was directed at me.
“What an evil woman. How heartless do you have to be to do that to a pregnant woman?” one woman exclaimed, loud enough for me to hear.
Her words opened the floodgates.
“She’s vile. Deserves nothing but death. She didn’t just poison anyone, she poisoned her pregnant best friend.”
Their accusations left me dizzy with confusion. Poison? What were they talking about?
“No wonder she’s barren. The universe must have known she didn’t deserve to be a mother.”
That one hit harder than anything. My heart trembled. My eyes widened. How did they find out? Who told them I was barren?
Among the crowd, I spotted Tasha speaking angrily with a group of guests in another room.
I don’t know what came over me, but I called out to her. I needed answers. I needed someone to tell me what was happening.
The officers froze as Tasha turned to me, her gaze murderous.
She stomped toward me. Before I could speak, her hand collided with my cheek, and I tasted blood.
“You animal,” she snarled. “I knew you were a monster. If anything happens to my nephew, I swear I’ll make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your pathetic life.”
My face stung from the slap. “I…I don’t know what’s going on,” I stammered.
She hit me again. “Stop pretending! We know you gave Camila acid, claiming it was water. My sister-in-law is in the hospital right now, praying to survive with her baby!”
Then it clicked.
The bottle. The pink mineral water bottle Camila had snatched from me. It wasn’t water. It was acid.
Who would believe that I didn’t know? That I was seconds away from drinking it myself? That she took it from me?
“I hope you rot in hell,” Tasha hissed before walking away.
The officers dragged me to the waiting car as wedding guests showered me with insults. I had no defense, no proof, no one to believe me.
I kept my head down during the ride, trying to piece together what had gone wrong. How had everything gone so terribly, so quickly?
When the car finally stopped, I looked up, expecting the police station.
But we weren’t there.
We were parked outside an abandoned building on the outskirts of town.
“What’s going on?” I asked, fear creeping into my voice.
One of the officers turned to me, a twisted smile on his face. “Mr. Anderson paid us to teach you a lesson before taking you to the station.”
My heart dropped.
“You can’t do this. It’s illegal!” I shouted.
The second man grabbed a fistful of my hair. “Nothing’s illegal when you’ve got enough money. And Blake has plenty.”
I fought to free myself, but the cuffs held me back. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping someone, anyone, might hear me.
No one came.
They dragged me into the building and tossed me like a rag doll. My head slammed against the wall, and the world tilted around me.
Dazed, I looked up just in time to see one of the men pull out a thick whip. He opened the same pink bottle—the acid, and sprinkled it onto the leather.
“Strip,” he ordered, uncuffing my wrists.
Terrified, I bolted.
I didn’t get far. They yanked me back by my hair and punched me in the face.
“I won’t repeat myself. Strip.”
Trembling, I obeyed, leaving only my bra and panties.
“You gave Camila ethylene glycol to kill the baby, didn’t you?”
“No,” I whimpered, shaking my head.
The whip struck my skin, searing me with pain as the acid burned through me.
The questioning continued. I kept denying the accusations, but the pain became unbearable.
Eventually, I gave them what they wanted, a false confession. It didn’t stop them. They kept beating me until my body bled from every corner.
I collapsed, unable to move. Dizziness washed over me and I passed out.
---
When I woke up, I was lying on a cold cell floor. Blood pooled beneath me. I was told I had been unconscious for hours and had been sleeping the entire day.
My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in three days. I was too weak to even stand.
Hours passed before one of Blake’s men came to bail me out.
They took me to a hospital. I thought, finally, I’d be treated.
But I was wrong.
Blake walked in with the doctor, who also happened to be Camila’s older brother.
“Camila’s kidney was damaged by the acid,” Blake said flatly. “You’re donating yours.”
I looked at him, at the man who once claimed to love me, and saw a stranger.
The doctor handed me a consent form. “We’ll treat your wounds once you sign this. You’ll also be freed from prosecution for attempted murder.”
If that was the price to clear my name, I had no choice.
“I have one request,” I whispered.
Blake folded his arms. “What is it?”
“When this is over, let me go. I don’t want anything to do with you ever again.”
He agreed immediately, muttering something about how I was useless and bad luck.
With tears in my eyes, I signed the form. They put me in an induced coma. When I woke up, my kidney was gone, and my wounds had been treated.
I begged one of the nurses to let me make an important phone call, but she refused.
Later, Blake and the doctor returned, laughing.
“Turns out Camila never consumed ethylene glycol,” the doctor said. “She only smelled it, which caused a reaction. She didn’t need your kidney after all. We sold it. Mr. Blake and I split the money for the stress you caused.”
I was gob smacked by their audacity. Especially the doctor. How could a medical professional behave this way? Then again, it was a private hospital, and he was Camila’s brother. Evil ran in their blood.
Feeling bad for me, the nurse eventually let me use her phone when they weren’t around.
The line clicked.
“Hello?”
My brother’s voice.
“It’s Layla,” I sobbed. “I’m ready to do whatever you want. Just please, come get me. Take me home.”
I was leaving Blake, and I would never come back.
- Writer
