His Lethal Love by Monika Singh (short story to read txt) 📗

Chapter 3

Present

Camille 

“Sad and depressed, I forced myself to move towards my home. Everything was gone. I once again lost to Scott Martinez. I was to die a tragic death at his hands, and he was on his way to accomplishing it. I would soon give up and beg for mercy at his feet. It was impossible to believe I was falling in love with him. All he wanted was my life. He had already snatched all I had owned once in my life. In his eyes, I could see a thirst for revenge. No matter what, he would never leave me alone. It was my dream to leave the country with my siblings, but I didn’t have enough money. 

 

“Cami!” My attention was immediately drawn to Natalie who was running toward me. A wave of panic swept through me when I saw her tearful eyes and stained face, as though she had been crying for hours. 

 

“Nati...” I walked toward her and grabbed her shoulder to stabilize her as she was trembling uncontrollably. “What happened?”

 

“Clarence...” she swallowed, tears still streaming down her cheeks. 

 

“What happened to Clarence?”

 

“He…he has overdosed drugs.”

 

And I froze, watching her with my rounded eyes. It took me a while to understand what she had said. “What do you mean by overdose?” I exclaimed, suddenly panic hit me hard. 

 

“He is in the ICU.” she broke into tears. “He has been using it for a year and I’ve tried to tell you but he threatened that if I tell you then he would reveal my truth.”

 

“What’s your truth?” I asked even though my mind had stopped working. 

 

“I’m three months pregnant,” she whispered in her wobbly voice, peeking at me through her wet eyelashes. 

 

My jaw flexed, and my hands clenched into fists. “Natalie!”

 

“I’m sorry, sis…” she flinched. 

 

“You know what it means? You’re well aware of our family condition but still…” I gritted out, charging at her. 

 

“I…I’m sorry…” she stuttered, lowering her gaze. “It just happened.” She gulped. “You won’t kill my baby, will you?” she said and my eyes popped out. 

 

“Why are you saying this, Natalie.”

 

“You…you killed him, didn’t you,” she whispered monotonously. 

 

 “I…I…” I breathed, suddenly my feet quivered with anxiety. “Let’s go and see Clarence.”

 

In less than half an hour, we arrived at the hospital and found my brother in the ICU. He was in critical condition. The doctor informed me his brain had been damaged and he required immediate treatment. Initially, I told him to begin treatment right away, but the lack of money made it difficult. A thousand dollars were needed to save my brother’s life. My brother would die if I couldn’t arrange money. 

 

“What do we do now, Cami?” Natalie asked. I could see the same fear on her face as I had on mine. We couldn’t lose our baby brother. 

 

“I don’t know,” I mumbled emptily. 

 

“We require money!” she said impatiently. “You told us that father left us a secret fund, didn’t you?”

 

“It was a lie!” I snapped. “It was a pure lie. I don’t have a penny, I even lost my job because of that Scott Martinez.”

 

“We’re here because of your fault. You caused us to beg for money and a job at every single place. You killed his twin brother and made him a monster. Now he wants to kill us alive.” Natalie choked. “It’s all your mistake, Cami. You’ll be responsible if anything happens to Clarence.”

 

“Natie…” I whispered, hurt by her words. “Do you even know what you are saying?”

 

“We would have been better without you, Cami. I hated to have a sister like you. You’re a cruel and heartless bitch…” 

 

Before she could complete herself I slapped her hard enough to bring her into her senses. “Please, stop it…” my voice was thick and filled with pain. “I will not let anything happen to Clarence even if I have to put my life on the line.”

 

********

 

As I stood outside Scott’s studio for six hours, I pleaded with the guard, “Please let me in.”.

 

“You need to make an appointment, ma’am,” he said. 

 

“My time is limited so please, let me in.”

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

 

“If you tell him my name he’ll recognize me.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Guard scoffed, eying me from head to toe, displeasure sweeping over him. “Are you sure you are where you should be?” 

 

From behind me, a male voice said, “What is happening?” I looked behind me to see the man. “Camille.” Archie blurted out when he recognized me.

 

After seeing him, I felt relieved. He was the only one who could help me at that time.

 

“Are you alright?” he asked, checking me over. 

 

“I’m not fine,” I said with a sigh. “I want to meet Scott immediately.”

 

“He won’t meet you, Cami,” he said with a look of disappointment in his eyes.

 

“Please…” I pleaded.

 

Taking a few moments to think, he nodded. “I can try though.” 

 

“I would appreciate it.” I forced a smile. 

 

He nodded at the guards and they quickly let us inside. Archie led me into a room and gestured to the couch. “Wait for a moment, I’ll be right back.” 

 

The dark hardwood floor, the concrete walls, and the expensive furniture intrigued me as I settled into the couch and examined the room. My eyes caught the picture, so I got up and walked toward it. I shivered when I saw him. Samuel Martinez was the twin brother of Scott Martinez. He had the same electric-blue eyes, pale complexion, and chiseled face. I clutched the frame in my hand, feeling burning rage inside me. He had destroyed my world. 

 

When the door swung open I was startled. “Cami, what are you doing?” Archie asked as he eyed the frame in my hands. “Scott wants to see you in the studio.” Putting the frame on the table back I gave him a nod and headed towards the door. “You’d better not go there,” he said quietly and I paused, but didn’t turn to him. “He’s got something nasty planned for you.”

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