5:28 pm
Chapter 5
I returned to the house like it was any ordinary day–as if I hadn’t just set in motion something irreversible. As if I hadn’t given the order to make Patty vanish without a trace. At that very moment, Elias and Sabrina were likely tearing their hair out, losing their minds in panic and confusion.
But I moved through the kitchen calmly.
I tied my hair into a loose knot, scrubbed my hands under warm water, and began cooking. The sharp aroma of garlic and chili filled the room as I stirred the pot, putting on my best impressior of a dutiful housewife.
But inside? I was aflame. Boiling.
Elias wanted to ruin me? Sabrina thought she could take everything and still stand tall?
Fine. I would show them what ruin really looked like.
Then the phone on the counter vibrated.
A single message lit up the screen.
It’s done.
A grin tugged at my lips. I set the spoon down, wiped my hands on a towel, and kept cooking like nothing had changed.
And right on cue-
The front door flew open with a violent bang.
Sabrina burst inside, disheveled and furious, her eyes bloodshot and wild with rage. Elias followed her, fists clenched, his chest heaving with fury.
I barely turned my head. I simply stirred the pot with slow, deliberate movements.
Then–a sharp jolt.
Sabrina’s hand yanked at my hair with vicious force, my neck snapping back from the pull. A hiss escaped me as her nails scraped against my scalp.
“Where is she?!” she bellowed, her voice hoarse.
I didn’t even flinch.
Instead, I sighed. “What the hell are you screaming about?”
“You took her!” Sabrina shrieked, shaking me again. “Where is Patty?! What did you do with my daughter?!”
I chuckled, low and dry. “If I had really done that, do you think I’d be standing here sautéing onions?” I gestured lazily toward the stove. “If I had your precious girl, I’d be on a plane, halfway across the world.”
Sabrina’s grip only tightened. “Liar! I know it was you!”
Elias stepped forward now, his eyes locked on mine, full of accusation. “Cut the act, Veronica. We’re not idiots. Just tell us what
you did.”
I tilted my head with mock confusion. “Then prove it.”
Chapter 4
5:28 pm
Sabrina’s face contorted with fury. “I don’t need evidence! I know it in my bones–it was you!”
She lunged.
We collided with the kitchen counter, arms flailing, nails clawing skin. It wasn’t a fight–it was a culmination of everything: years of deception, all the betrayals, and every word unsaid. It poured out in one violent burst.
Then–disaster.
The pot tipped.
The boiling water spilled, cascading down our bodies.
A shriek tore through the room–hers louder than mine–as the liquid scorched our skin. My body erked back in shock, pain flooding through every nerve, blinding and instant.
Sabrina collapsed, howling in agony.
And Elias?
He ran–not to me, but to her.
‘Sabrina!” His voice cracked as he knelt, frantically inspecting her burns. His hands hovered protectively over her skin, his face twisted in pure concern. “Talk to me, baby. Where does it hurt? I’ve got you.”
lay sprawled on the cold tiles, skin burning, tears in my eyes.
But he didn’t even glance my way.
Not once.
As if I were invisible.
As if I didn’t exist.
And somehow, that hurt more than the searing pain on my arms and legs.
A dry, bitter laugh escaped me.
I hope both of you rot,” I rasped.
Neither of them noticed.
Neither of them cared.
Later, I dragged my broken body to the hospital. Step by agonizing step, each one more painful han the last. The sting from the burns was unbearable, but the ache in my chest weighed even heavier.
No one came with me. No one offered an arm. No one helped me inside.
The sliding glass doors opened and closed behind me with a hiss. I stumbled to the front desk, clutching the edge for balance.
The nurse glanced up briefly, brow furrowed with mild concern. Just mild.
‘Please fill these out,” she said, sliding papers toward me.
Paperwork. While my skin screamed and peeled.
I wanted to laugh in her face. But instead, I took the pen, my hands trembling so badly the letters blurred on the page.
5:28 pm
I returned the clipboard and took a seat, the cold plastic chair digging into my back. Minutes passed–maybe hours. I couldn’t tell anymore. The pain dulled everything.
Eventually, a doctor called my name.
I followed him, slow and wordless, into an antiseptic room. He examined the burns without small talk. They treated my injuries in silence while I stared at the ceiling.
I didn’t cry.
I didn’t speak.
I endured.
They later wheeled me into a recovery room. I lay there, IV attached, the white sheets scratchy against my skin, my mind dull and quiet.
That’s when I saw him.
Elias.
But he wasn’t looking for me.
He wasn’t checking on me.
He stood down the corridor, inside another room. Sabrina’s room.
I watched through the half–open door as he sat beside her bed. He cradled her hand in both of nis, gently stroking her skin. His forehead rested near hers, their heads close, whispering.
His entire posture leaned toward her.
His world revolved around her.
And me?
was a ghost.
Not the wife he refused to divorce.
Not the woman who bore burns just like the one he doted on.
was nothing.
A hollow kind of sadness filled me then–not sadness for what I lost, but for how long I had stayed hoping things would be different.
I clenched my fists beneath the blanket, feeling my nails dig deep into my palms.
So he didn’t want to let me go?
Fine.
I’d disappear on my own terms.
That night, Elias returned home. He expected to find me waiting like always–bruised maybe, bitter perhaps, but present.
But the house was empty.
His staff tried calling. My phone rang. No answer.
Security checked every room. They searched the bedroom, the living room, even the backyard.
They found my clothes still hanging in the closet. My makeup still arranged neatly. My books. untouched on the shelf. A cup on the counter half–full, like I’d only just stepped away.
25.03
5:28 pm
aa
But I wasn’t there.
I was gone.
No notes. No explanation. No forwarding address. Not a clue.
Elias grew agitated. He shouted for updates, demanded I be found. He sent his men to di through security footage, to check my social media, my bank transactions.
Nothing
It was as if I had never existed.
had vanished–no trail, no waming, no goodbye.
And finally, he would know what it felt like to lose control.
Just as I once had.
5:28 pm
