Ninety-Nine Letters, A Thousand Lies

Burri

re by the wall. I couldn' t make out his face, but the click of the shut

ystem like a suffocating shroud. My limbs were leaden. My thoughts, sluggish. I tried to pull away from

ouldn't be this cruel. This monstrous. He would come. He would stop it. He would save me. M

To Jonna. To rescue. I fumbled for my pockets. Empty. They had

the crushing despair. This was primal. The raw fear of being utter

ll, ornate music box on a nearby table. Old-fashioned. Out

The lid creaked open. Inside, nestled on velvet, was a discreet, old-mod

fear, dialed Cooper's number. My breath hi

n, a slurred, angry voice

er. Drunk.

ve to help me! I'm at the party. In a private room. There's

d to be in the study. Being a good girl. And I'm at the party. With Kennedy.

lawing at my throat. "I'm not in the study! They bro

ion? Is it Kennedy again? Why are you always so obsessed with her, Aubrey?" His voice took on a cruel edge. "And who care

comprehend the danger. His mind was t

us! I don't know who this woman is, but she's drugged

who tried to steal Kennedy's inheritance? You think I'm going to believe you, Au

tears finally came. Hot and bitter. "

end of the line. A muffled curse. The

e hoarse. No answer. Only the fain

utterly chilling. "Oh, Aubrey. Still

nn

d. "Kennedy! What

"You were becoming a nuisance. A complication. And I don't tolerate

ce trembling with horror. "You dr

nscious, drugged woman. A scandal for the tabloids. A perfect excuse for Cooper to finally cut you

ation clinging to my words. "When he's sober

ecause of it. Because I push him. Because I'm ambitious. Unlike you. Always so righteous. So boring." Her voice harde

old dread wrapped around my heart.

with a chilling glee. "A car crash. A fall. A drowning. It r

and muffled, suddenly cut through. "Kenned

thing! Just... just a wrong number!" She laughed. A forced, nerv

oing to kill me. She was going to make it look like an acci

pproaching. The shadowy figure from the corner.

an cold. T

stance. They pulled me towards the door. Then, they grabbe

it. The night air, cold and damp, hit me like a shock. A black van waited.

t the hard seat. The unconscious woman l

ey. You always have. He didn't just want to control

e'll save me. How naive. He wasn't coming. He was

t turn. Then, the smell of salt w

he pier. The dark, swirling water below. I could hear the slap

as it.

fe. But my body was failing. My mind, numb with terror

ky blackness. The unconscious woman, a dead weight, was

. My grandmother' s hand. Jonna' s laugh. The feel of soft rain on my fac

lazing. Cutting through the darknes

ice. Deep. A

r. A sleek black SUV. It skidded to a hal

licker of impossible

f the men yell

Olsen family's security chief. Ms. Th

rom the brink. The unconscious woman was swiftl

cled arm. "You're safe now, Aubrey," a deep voice murmured

andfather. My real fam

longer of despair but of raw relief, stre

rown me were quickly subdu

lid anchor in the raging storm. He was taller than Cooper. Bro

of here," he said. His

My voice

I managed to croa

me. "Just a strong sedative. W

ac and his team moved with quiet efficiency. They retrieved my few packed belongings.

It felt like a stage. My final act. I left my wedding ring on Cooper' s nig

s. The woman who had loved Cooper Mcknight. T

leaving the country. Leaving behind the shattered pieces of my old life.

al reunion. Guillermo Olsen, a man of immense power, looked at me with te

ng. Isaac, always present, became my shadow. My confidant. My protector

by a fierce, unyielding determination. Cooper and Kennedy had tried to er

. The true heiress. And I would dismantle their lives. Piece by painful pie