Captured (A Modern Medusa Story)

CHAPTER 44: AVERISTA♥️

'He kept making me forget that there's no love in the end.

He reminded me of the snakes he so adored. Such gorgeous creatures, but in the end, it was nothing but a body with a poison tongue. He almost made me forget that he could harm. He knew how to slide over my buttons in ways that almost went unnoticed.

I'm glad I figured it out sooner, though. Despite of my regret of having a daughter with him, there was no amendment I could make apart from trying to save myself. Surrendering.

He was the real reptile. One that everyone should fear. He revealed the true nature of betrayal to me. What it's like to be taken advantage of and left back to rot.

I'll be here waiting for you to meet me again if you ever get out of the man's wrath. Once he betrays you too (He will, eventually).

Just in case I'm not there anymore as you read this . . . Remember that no matter where I go, I can't stop thinking about you and all the ways I can make a better life for you. So please let Miss Halima take care of you like I did. She's your mother too, Phoebe, just like I am. And she knows where you can find me.'

I paused reading the braille diary.

Was Helene talking about the same Phoebe I knew? Or was this simply too much of a coincidence? Maybe hopping into someone's journal after breaking my best friend's heart wasn't such a splendid idea. I should've gone to bed and ignored my existence for a bit until the guilt worn off. But this? This was my cue to put my leather jacket back on and get out of the house.

I didn't care to hide. I was too disoriented to give two shits about who saw me or who didn't. If I ran into McQuinn, then so be it. I strode past the bothersome guards who, by now, should've gotten used to see my face sneaking around with their boss' daughter, but well, I guess they needed some time to wrap their heads around it.

My feet didn't stop until I stood before Phoebe's door.

My phone rang.

Phoebe. Just at the perfect moment.

I picked up.

Something lingered in Phoebe's voice . . . A sort of desperation mixed with something deadly. Poison.

And I wanted it all, much to my confusion. Only Phoebe could make me feel like a victorious warrior and a lamb of sacrifice at the same time.

I wondered if her mother had the same effect on people, too.
Was Helene really her mother, or was the journal simply a mere coincidence?

My mother worked there. It made too much sense if Phoebe was Helene's daughter. That meant McQuinn's wife was the woman my mother was acquainted with. But . . . What exactly happened to Helene? Where was she right now?

Why was I personally bothered by a woman I neither knew nor met? Had Phoebe ever cared enough to search for her mother? Was Helene even alive?

The door was pulled open to reveal the girl of my dreams. Her cherubim face adorned with cherry lips, sapphire orbs, and golden waves. It felt like seeing her for the first time, her features taking my breath away.

"Wildflowers?" She moved forward a bit, and my head shifted from my daydream into reality.

I looked her up and down.

"Phoebe?" I stared, confused at the red liquid soiling her dress, legs, shoes, and hands. "There's blood all over you."

She held the door of her bedroom open and I hoped she didn't mind me coming over uninvited. Good thing she called me right when I arrived. Like an orchestrated divine arrangement. But why the hell did she have blood on her?