Her Obsession (by Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 138

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I turn back around slowly, deliberately, letting them see the smile that doesn’t quite reach my eyes. Miguel and Lucia flinch as if that curve of my lips is a blade.

“I think you misunderstood,” I say softly, almost sweetly. “You’re not going to be paid a single cent.”

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The words land hard, heavy and final. Miguel’s outrage is immediate, his face flushes an ugly red as he thrashes against the chair, trying to tear free from the zip ties biting into his wrists. “You can’t do this- you said- you promised-”

“Oh, I can,” I cut him off, my laughter slipping out sharp and wicked. “And I did.”

Lucia’s voice trembles when she finds it, brittle and venomous all at once. “You lying little-”

Her insult dies beneath the shrill pitch of a scream as Matteo shoves her hard against the wall, “I want my million dollars!” she screams, her polished nails scraping at the sleeve of her silk blazer as if money might spill out if she claws hard enough. “We had a deal!”

I laugh harder, genuinely this time, because the sound of her greed feels like justice being unwrapped. “A deal?” I echo. “You think what you did to that boy was a deal? You sold him like a piece of furniture. You should have never been given the privilege of being parents. And I promise you, no one will ever suffer under your roof again.”

Lucia’s lip quivers. She’s starting to realize I’m not bluffing.

Her voice breaks, desperate now. “You said you wouldn’t hurt us. You told Diego…”

“I did,” I whisper, my laughter softening but still dangerous. I take a slow step toward them, my boots echoing against the hardwood. “And I meant it. When I make a promise to that boy, I’ll keep it until my very last breath.”

I pause, just long enough for them to see the promise in my eyes, the one that isn’t kind, but true.

“So no,” I say, tilting my head. “I won’t hurt you.”

A beat passes. Then my voice drops lower.

“But lucky for me…” I glance to Liam and Matteo, “…I have two people here who didn’t make that promise..”

The air shifts. The tension turns alive, electric, almost humming.

Liam

Sage is a real sick fuck…I mean she’s growing on me, sure, and she makes Conner happy which is a plus because that guy can be grumpy as shit sometimes. But Sage definetly has a few screws loose. I thought she was joking when she handed me a knife and asked me to cut her father’s balls off. Apparently she was not joking. Then she threatened to tell Naomi about all the women I’ve been with over the years, because of cause while she was stalking Conner she had some free time to stalk me as well. Naomi is also very scary, and I really like her and don’t want to be chained and whipped for my past, so that is the reason that I did what Sage wanted. I cut off her father’s balls and then shoved them down his throat for her. I was really regretting picking this hostage to hold down until she then asked Matteo very nicely actually, with not a single threat, to cut out her mothers uterus. And Matteo being the loyal freak he is, did it. He acted like it was some sort of bioligy lesson and was “ooh–ing” and “ah–ing” at some really fucked up shit. Anyways, now they’re dead, and I’ll probably have nightmares for the rest of my life about it. Sage tried telling me it was sympolic and maybe by doing this if they’re reencarnated that they’ll be too scared to use those organs in their next life. I think she really is just sick in the head. But she’s alright. I guess we’re really friends now.

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12:34 Wed, Oct 22

Look, He’s Happy.

Sage

A

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The front door closes behind me with a soft click, muffling the chaos inside. For a moment, I just breathe in deep lungfulls of fresh air. Naomi’s already in the backseat with Diego perched beside her, surrounded by a storm of new toys; plastic dinosaurs, cars with flashing lights, buttons that squeak and sing nonsense tunes. He’s laughing, his tiny hands darting from one thing to another, pressing every button at least twice. The sound of it makes my chest ache in the best and worst way.

I slide in beside them, and the second he spots me, he beams. “Sissy! Look!” He holds up a green dinosaur proudly, and before I can respond, the thing roars, a sound followed by a puff of mist that curls from its mouth like smoke.

His eyes go wide. “It breathes?”

I can’t help it, I laugh. A real one this time, soft and broken at the edges. “Yeah, buddy. That’s pretty cool. You got yourself a real fire- breather there.”

He nods seriously, clutching the toy to his chest. “He’s gonna protect me.”

“I bet he will,” I whisper, brushing a bit of dirt from his cheek. He’s too busy examining the toy again to notice the way my throat tightens.

Connor turns from the driver’s seat, resting an arm on the backrest to glance at me. “Liam and Matteo coming?”

I force my voice to stay even, light. “Nah,” I say, settling back in the seat and buckling Diego in beside me. “They’re gonna be running a little late. Just helping Diego’s parents…” I glance out the window toward the house, where the faintest flicker of movement passes behind the curtains. “…not be so sad about him coming with us.”

Connor studies me for a beat longer than I like. His eyes are sharp, but he doesn’t push. He wouldn’t when Diego’s in the car.

“Right,” he finally says, starting the engine. “City Hall first?”

I nod, looking out the window as the tires crunch over gravel. “Yeah. We should have enough time to file the paperwork before the airport.”

Naomi hums quietly, running her hand through Diego’s hair, untangling it gently as he hums along to a toy’s tinny melody. The moment feels fragile, like if I breathe too hard, it’ll all disappear. Out the window, the house gets smaller, darker, swallowed by the trees. I don’t feel the pull to look back, we’re only going forward from here on.

Diego giggles, holding the dinosaur up again so it puffs another burst of mist into the air. “Look, Sissy! He’s happy!”

“Yeah,” I whisper, more to myself than him. “He really is.”

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