Chapter 1 Chapter 1 She Died, He Died with Her

"Finally got you two bastards..."

Delia Fleming stood there, eyes like daggers, watching the man and woman tied up in the middle of the room.

Thunder cracked outside the shattered window, lightning briefly lighting up her disfigured face. Scars ran down her body like some awful map of hatred. Her features, once beautiful, now only showed a twisted rage.

She grabbed a bucket of ice-cold water and dumped it mercilessly over the unconscious pair.

Isabelle Fleming woke up first, lashes fluttering before her eyes snapped wide open. The second she saw Delia's ruined face, her pupils shrank.

"Delia?! You disgusting bitch, how is it you?!"

"Untie me right now, or I'll have someone take you out!"

Her screaming stirred Nathan Wallace awake beside her. The moment he caught Delia's face, panic kicked in.

"You tied us up, you psycho?"

"You both deserve to rot!" Delia spat, voice trembling. "Take a good look at me now!"

She stepped closer, her scarred face fully visible under the dim attic light-every inch of twisted flesh telling a story of pain and betrayal.

Isabelle's lips trembled. Nathan's face drained of color as sweat poured down his temples.

Even after all they'd done to her, guiltless as they were, they couldn't hide the fear when facing the monster they'd created.

"If it wasn't for you two, I wouldn't have ended up like this!"

"You deceived me, tricked me into handing everything over-and then left me to die like trash!"

She waved the knife in her hand like a woman on the brink, grief and hate contorting her already broken features.

Isabelle's face flushed with fury, gritting her teeth as she shouted, "Serves you right, you parentless whore. Who gave you the right to inherit the Fleming estate? You and your deadbeat parents should've been long gone!"

"And marrying Curtis? What a joke. Didn't you still get dumped in the end?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? Curtis runs the Stockton family now. You're not even close to being good enough for him anymore."

There was venom in her voice, but behind it, a deep, ugly jealousy.

Delia's face darkened. "What happened between Curtis and me is none of your damn business."

"If I hadn't been so blind, I never would've fallen for someone like Nathan!"

Nathan sneered at her face but quickly masked it with a fake tenderness. "Delia, you really think this is all on me? You know I loved you. Just let me go-we can talk about this. I forgive you, alright?"

"Love me?" Delia let out a sharp laugh that echoed off the attic walls.

"If you ever loved me, Nathan, how the hell were you screwing around with Isabelle behind my back?"

Seeing his plea wasn't working, Nathan snapped, desperate. "Because you wouldn't divorce Curtis quick enough! I loved you, but you clung to your precious title as Mrs. Stockton!"

He scowled, frustrated. "You think being VP at the Fleming Corp was enough for me? You really believed I was satisfied with that?"

Delia let out a cold, bitter chuckle.

So that's all it had ever been-a means to an end. She actually let this man into her family's legacy, gave him everything, and all the while he was digging her grave.

Isabelle's face twisted with hate. "Damn right! Nathan and I? We were real. You clinging to him is what got in our way!"

"And the company? You gave it up yourself. Don't try and pin that on us."

"What, you think we had to work hard to fool you? You believed every single lie we fed you like it was gospel!"

Isabelle screamed it all out like poison she'd been dying to spit, then suddenly froze.

Delia pressed the blade to her throat, her eyes filled with a mix of grief and madness.

"Yeah... it was all my fault. I was blind. You two ripped me apart, and now, I'm gonna make sure you pay for every damn second I suffered."

Cold steel grazed Isabelle's face. A deep gash opened, blood dripping, her scream tearing through the attic.

"My face-!"

Delia squeezed her eyes shut, her voice low and shaking. "You made me give up my marriage, my inheritance... and you tried to burn me alive..."

"It's fine. The gift I've got for you two? This is just the beginning."

Delia gave a chilling smirk. Her scarred face twisted into something out of a nightmare.

Ignoring Isabelle's pained shout, she moved toward the corner and dragged over a gasoline can.

"You're insane! You've totally lost it!" The second Nathan smelled the petrol, he started thrashing wildly, fully realizing what Delia was about to do.

That pampered face of his turned twisted and ugly in panic.

"Yeah, you're not wrong. I am insane."

Delia nodded with a smile, then dumped the gasoline all over the floor.

The sharp, biting odor spread quickly, and Isabelle finally started to panic.

"Stop it, Delia! The fire-That wasn't my idea! It was all Nathan's!"

"It had nothing to do with me!" Nathan snapped. "You were the one stirring things up nonstop. Like I had a choice?"

"You lit the damn fire! You had your eyes on the Fleming fortune from the start!"

"Bullshit!" Nathan roared back. "You couldn't stand that she married Curtis! You were jealous!"

"You used to mock Curtis for being a cripple. Now he's a big shot and you're ready to hop in his bed. Pathetic!"

"I didn't!" Isabelle screamed back, hysterical. "If Delia hadn't been around, I would've been the one to marry Curtis!"

As Delia stood there watching them tear each other apart, she couldn't help it-she laughed. It was the ugliest joke she'd ever seen.

They were partners in crime. Until there was something more to gain.

Then they'd gladly sell each other out.

"...It's all your fault! Go to hell!"

In that moment of Delia's daze, Nathan suddenly broke free from the ropes and tackled her to the ground.

Delia fought back with all her strength. Just as he was about to snatch the weapon from her-

Shhk!

That sound of a knife sinking into flesh was loud, almost too real.

Nathan froze.

He looked down at the knife in his gut, stunned.

"You... you..." He stumbled, then crashed to the floor.

Isabelle stood frozen for a second, then let out a scream that pierced the air. "AHHHH!!"

Delia stood motionless, staring at the rapidly spreading blood on the floor.

So red. Just like pig's blood. That thick, metallic scent was overwhelming.

In that moment, Delia felt something she'd longed for-revenge. And it felt good.

CRACK! BOOM!

Right then, the old, crumbling building gave way. A wave of weightlessness overtook her.

The last thing Delia saw was Isabelle's eyes-huge with pure terror.

The downpour outside swallowed the heavy crash of falling debris.

Pain exploded through every inch of her body. She knew she wouldn't survive.

Looking back on everything, Delia asked herself: What had she really done with her life?

She gave everything up for two trash excuses for humans.

And just like that, a flash of Curtis Stockton came to her.

The man who had truly loved her. The one she kept pushing away.

"Curtis..." she whispered, as tears slid down her soot-streaked face.

If only she hadn't been so blind. If only she hadn't let Isabelle get in her head-maybe she'd still be with him.

But she hadn't. And now it was too late.

She hoped, after she was gone, Curtis would find happiness. Someone who saw him for who he truly was.

"If there's a next life..." Her voice grew faint, blood bubbling from her lips. "Cough... cough..."

Curtis, I'll love you properly next time.

I won't give up on you again.

*****

The rain poured down harder.

When Curtis finally arrived at the remote villa, it was already too late.

He dropped to his knees in the rain, cradling Delia's lifeless body.

Water and blood soaked through his pricey suit. But he didn't notice.

He gently touched the scars on her face, love and heartbreak gleaming in his eyes.

Too late.

"Delia, wait for me. I'm coming."

Then he reached down, picked up the fallen knife.

Without hesitation, he drove it straight into his own chest.

And collapsed, still holding her, as everything faded to red...