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“I knew it, I knew you would be happy to see me.”
Anger builds inside me.
“What the hell is this Claire! What the F**K have you given to my wife?!” so much for keeping my cool. I kick a chair and it flies across the room banging into a filing cabinet.
Claire jumps and her expression changes to confusion.
“Your wife? Don’t be ridiculous, she’s not your wife.” Claire laughs nervously.
“What have you given her Claire?”
“You weren’t supposed to marry her Damien! You were supposed to marry me!”
She’s breaking now, starting to sweat and shake. Putting her head in her hands she screams.
“And You’re supposed to be dead Claire!”
“It’s all my stupid brother’s fault. He couldn’t finish the job, so I had to do it for him.”
“Did Pete know you were still alive?”
“No. I just kept him riled up over the years. Making sure he was aware of your happy life, and success and how it wasn’t fair on our family. Strategically placed photos and news articles. Post and deliveries, you can imagine, I’m sure. I can get quite creative when I put my mind to it.” She winks at me which ignites the fire building inside me even more.
“I wanted you to feel the pain I had. Make you realise what you had lost. I enjoyed watching you suffer over the years. My plan all along was to come back to you. I just needed you to be ready, to have learnt your lesson. I have watched you throughout your adult life. Always alone, never had a relationship. I know it’s because you missed and loved me too much. You couldn’t be with anyone else. I was getting ready to return to you. I was coming back to you when you needed me the most when your father died. But then she turned up and brainwashed you. And now she’s trapped you with a baby!” Claire stands as she shouts, evil spilling from her every pore. “You need to see what she is Damien! I have come back for you. I forgive you! We are meant to be together!”
“ENOUGH!” I storm over to her and put my face in hers. “What have you given her Claire?”
“I have simply taken care of our problem. You just need to get over the shock and then you will see everything has worked out perfectly.”
“Get it into your head right now. I love my wife. I do not love you. We will never be together. I despise you!”
“It’s not true!” Claire screams as she lunges towards me. I grab her by the throat and throw her up against the wall.
“Tell me what you gave her.” I squeeze her neck and cut off her air supply. Panic fills her eyes. She realises I am not messing about. Her lips move as if she is trying to speak. I release my grip slightly so she can answer me.
“Ricin.” She splutters.
I immediately throw her to the floor and call the hospital. The Doctor answers on first ring.
“Ricin?”
“I thought as much. There’s no antidote as such unfortunately, but we’ve given her plenty of fluids which is the best thing, it will eventually flush out of her system. We got to her in time Mr King. But the next 48 hours will be crucial for your child.”
I end the call and stare at the evil woman sat on the floor holding her neck.
“Does anyone else know you are still alive? Family? Friends?”
“No.” she whispers still holding her throat. “I was going to surprise them… Say I’d lost my memory but now it had returned, or something like that.” She coughs.
“Good, nobody will notice you have gone missing, and nobody can be charged for killing someone who is already dead.” Claire looks at me with complete shock. Did she really think this would end how she wanted?
“Get rid of her!” I say to the guys as I walk out of the door. I need to get back to my wife.
The next 48 eight hours are long, mentally and emotionally draining. Bella is in and out of consciousness, but when she wakes, I’m positive and attentive. I fill her with as much hope and love as I can in those minutes, then when she sleeps, I break with worry and panic. I’m furious with myself for letting that woman get near my Bella. I know from experience that blaming myself does not help but I cannot understand why I didn’t see this earlier. When Bella was receiving the parcels, I should have known that it was a woman’s doing. But when you attend someone’s funeral, see their coffin being laid into the ground, albeit from a distance, behind a tree, as I was not welcome, you do wholeheartedly believe they are dead. My mind is in overdrive. I haven’t slept a wink.
After the 48 hours are up, we wait for the doctor arrive. I hold Bella’s hand as we pray for good news on how Bella and our baby are. These next few moments will change our life one way or another. I’m sat on the bed beside Bella, she snuggles in to me further. Her breath hitches as she tries to hold back her tears. I put my arm around her and squeeze. Kissing the top of her head I say “Everything is fine. I love you.”
The doctor walks through the door with charts in his hands.
