Chapter 4
1311 Words
Rick stared at Catriona across the kitchen table, his jaw tightening as her words settled into his thoughts like poison he willingly drank.
“You’re right,” he said, voice low, controlled, but with a heavy shadow behind it.
He had been thinking of getting rid of Samantha for a long time — long before Catriona ever dared suggest it out loud. Samantha, his wife of three years, had become nothing but an obstacle. He no longer saw her as the woman he was supposed to protect, cherish, or build a future with. She was a barrier. A weight. A problem to be removed.
Catriona was his freedom. His thrill. His escape from a marriage he never wanted in the first place.
If killing Samantha meant he could live openly with the woman he desired, then so be it. Rick felt no guilt — only impatience.
“We should do it right away,” Catriona pressed, her voice firm yet strangely calm. There was no tremor of hesitation. That alone should have unsettled Rick, but instead he found it… reassuring. They were aligned. They wanted the same thing.
But not far away, just outside the kitchen door, a pale, trembling Samantha pressed a hand over her mouth, trying to stop her breathing from giving her away.
She had woken up thirsty in the middle of the night and had gone downstairs to drink water. She didn’t expect to hear voices — hushed but intense — from the kitchen. Curiosity brought her closer. And curiosity shattered her world.
“…even if it meant killing Samantha…”
“…she has to go…”
“…right away…”
Each word had stabbed deep into her chest. At first she thought she must have misheard. Rick could be cold, distant, heartless — but murder? Her? His wife?
He wouldn’t…
But as she listened, the truth became undeniable.
Her hands began to tremble violently. She felt her stomach twist as dread crawled up her spine. She wasn’t safe. She wasn’t wanted. She wasn’t even human to them anymore. She was just… an inconvenience.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She took a step back, instinct screaming at her to run.
But that single step ruined everything.
Her heel hit the small decorative table near the doorway. The porcelain vase sitting atop it wobbled — then fell.
CRASH!
The vase shattered on the floor, the sound echoing across the entire house.
Samantha gasped, her eyes widening in terror.
“Who’s there?!” Rick roared from inside the kitchen.
Panic shot through both Rick and Catriona as they shot to their feet.
Someone heard them. Someone was listening.
They exchanged horrified glances. If it was Samantha, everything was over.
Samantha didn’t wait for them to check. The moment the vase shattered, she dashed toward the front door, her bare feet hitting the cold floor, her nightdress flowing behind her. Her mind screamed only one thing:
Run. Run. RUN!
She fumbled with the lock for a second, but adrenaline pushed her through. She burst outside, the sharp gravel biting her feet as she sprinted toward her car.
Her entire body was shaking as she got inside and slammed the door shut. Her sob caught in her throat, but she forced herself to move, turning the key with trembling hands.
“Come on… come on…” she whispered frantically.
The engine roared to life.
She backed out just as Rick and Catriona rushed out the front door.
“Samantha!” Rick shouted, but she didn’t look back.
She sped down the road barefoot, wearing nothing but her flimsy nightdress. She didn’t even grab her phone. In her panic, she left one slipper behind on the ground.
Rick reached the front steps and froze.
“F*ck! It was Samantha!” he yelled, holding up the single slipper he found abandoned on the pavement.
Catriona’s face paled. “What do we do now?!”
Their plan was ruined. If Samantha spoke — they were finished. Rick’s family would destroy him. His grandfather, especially, would be furious. He had arranged Rick and Samantha’s marriage as a business alliance. Rick had promised to take care of Samantha. And Rick’s grandfather was not a man to disobey lightly.
“I don’t know!” Rick snapped.
Catriona flinched. He rarely raised his voice at her. But this wasn’t the moment to get hurt or offended. This wasn’t about emotions. This was life or death — for them.
“You have to chase her!” Catriona insisted, grabbing his arm.
They rushed to Rick’s car.
The moment the engine started, Rick sped off into the night, tires screeching.
But Samantha was nowhere in sight.
“Damn it!” he cursed, gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. “Where did she go?!”
“Faster, Rick! Faster!” Catriona barked, panic rising in her voice.
Rick’s jaw clenched. “I KNOW! Shut up!”
Catriona fell silent instantly, stunned. Rick had never spoken to her like that before. Never. Not even during their worst arguments.
But she forced herself to breathe steadily. They were in deep trouble. She couldn’t let her emotions cloud her thinking. Samantha couldn’t be allowed to escape.
Catriona placed a hand gently on Rick’s arm, forcing her voice softer.
“Rick…”
He glanced at her briefly and saw it — that calculating calm in her eyes. When Catriona looked like that, she was thinking ahead. Planning.
“What is it?” he asked through clenched teeth.
Catriona inhaled slowly.
“Why don’t we kill her now?” she said with a smirk. “It’s the only way.”
Rick was momentarily stunned by how casually she said it… but he agreed. Samantha had become a threat. A threat needed to be removed.
“You’re right,” Rick said coldly. “It’s now or never.”
A chilling, twisted satisfaction washed over both of them.
Rick slowed his car, pulling out his phone. Catriona was already dialing a number. A familiar number. A dangerous number.
When the call connected, her tone shifted to something sharp, commanding.
“You know what to do,” she said.
Samantha, meanwhile, kept driving, her sobs shaking her body as she clung desperately to the wheel. Her vision blurred from tears. Her breaths came out uneven, ragged.
She had no idea where she was going. She just needed to escape. Her entire world had collapsed within a span of minutes.
He really wanted to kill me…
My own husband…
Her chest tightened painfully.
Her thoughts were spinning so fast she couldn’t keep up. Everything she believed about Rick — even the little hope she once had — shattered. She’d known he didn’t love her. She knew he was cold. But she never imagined he wanted her dead.
She wiped her tears, but more came.
She pressed harder on the gas pedal.
Just keep going. Don’t stop.
Her hands were numb. Her heart was pounding erratically. The road ahead seemed to blur, but she forced herself to focus.
Then—
A pair of bright headlights suddenly appeared ahead.
Too close.
Too fast.
Coming straight toward her.
“What—?”
Her reflexes were delayed by panic and tears.
She turned the wheel sharply — but she had been driving recklessly, shaken, unstable.
The other car swerved at the same time.
Both were going too fast.
Both were too close.
BOOM!!!
The two cars collided violently, the sound echoing across the empty stretch of road.
Samantha’s head slammed against the driver’s side window as glass exploded around her. Her car spun, metal screeching, before slamming against the roadside barrier.
Her body sagged against the seat as darkness clouded her vision.
The last thing she felt was warm blood trickling down her face.
Her last thought…
Thalia… please be safe…
And then everything went silent.
Everything went dark.
- Writer
