𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝟏: 𝐌𝐫𝐬. 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫 ✔

CHAPTER 42

Evangeline's eyes fluttered open as her senses slowly start coming back to her. She blinked and tried to make sense of her surroundings. But panic surged within her as she realized she was bound to a chair, her mouth gagged, and enveloped by darkness. She frantically wriggled against the ropes, desperation flooding her every move.

Suddenly, a voice pierced through the silence, sending chills down her spine. "Awake, are we?" The familiarity of the voice only heightened her fear as the room was suddenly flooded with light.

Evangeline gasped and recoiled while her heart was pounding in her chest as she took in the sight before her. The walls were adorned with photographs, snapshots of her life from various ages, staring back at her like haunting memories.

Terror seized Evangeline's every breath as she pieced together the horrifying reality of her situation. With trembling hands, she cast a wary glance towards the man who loomed over her.

"Hello, Evangeline..." His voice was unsettlingly calm as he reached out to touch her cheek.

The gag was removed, allowing Evangeline to speak. Her words were both of fear and disbelief. "Jeremy!!?? Is this some kind of a joke??!!" Her heart raced with a glimmer of hope that her brother was there to rescue her.

But Jeremy's expression remained impassive, devoid of any warmth or familiarity. In that chilling moment, Evangeline's worst fears were confirmed as she realized that her own brother was the one who had orchestrated her abduction.

"Ahh... I've missed you so much..." Jeremy's words were tinged with a haunting fervor as he knelt before her.

"Jeremy... What are you doing?" Evangeline's voice wavered with concern and confusion. Her heart pounded in her chest as she hoped for a reassuring answer.

"What am I doing? I'm loving you." His smile was unsettling as he leaned closer, burying his face against her baby bump. Evangeline's body tensed at his touch. A shiver of fear coursed through her veins.

"Jeremy... You're scaring me..." Her voice trembled with uncertainty while her eyes pleaded for understanding.

"No... Don't be scared. I won't hurt you. I've been trying to protect you all these years... Even from myself..." His words were laced with a dark intensity, a shadow of something ominous lurking beneath his façade of affection.

Evangeline's tears flowed silently down her cheeks as she grappled with the weight of Jeremy's words.

"Jerry..." Her voice cracked with emotion, "this... this isn't right. We're family..."

Jeremy's demeanor softened as he watched her cry, gently wiping away her tears and trying to comfort her.

"It's good to see you're handling this calmly, unlike mother," he remarked with a casual grin, though there was an unsettling edge to his tone.

"Mother... May she rest in peace. She didn't take my confession well. I couldn't bear the thought of being separated from you, especially after admitting my feelings," Jeremy confessed, his voice tinged with sadness and bitterness.

"I knew she'd try to take you away from me. After all, I'm not... family. But you already knew that, didn't you, Evangeline?" He sternly asked with emotionless glare.

Jeremy's sudden change in demeanor was jarring, his clapping cutting through the heavy atmosphere like a sharp crack.

"Well!" he exclaimed, attempting to lighten the mood, "Mum's gone now, no need to dwell on the past. After all, I was the one by her side when she took her last breath, heard her final words. My dear mother." His sigh held a hint of melancholy.

But Evangeline's reaction was far from what Jeremy expected. She broke down, her words choked with sorrow and disbelief.

"Oh god! Jeremy... Mum... you actually killed her, didn't you? It wasn't an accident... You... you killed her... You're a monster!" Her cries echoed in the dim room, her accusation piercing through Jeremy's facade.

"Don't judge me," Jeremy hissed, his patience wearing thin, "I did what I had to do. She was planning to tear us apart. I couldn't let that happen. And then, while I was abroad, studying to build a better future for us, you call me to say you're getting married. It broke me, Evangeline." Jeremy's voice trembled with sorrow and anger as he recalled the painful memory. With a heavy sigh, he stood up.

Jeremy's touch on Evangeline's cheeks felt like a cruel mockery of comfort, his laughter ringing hollow in the air.

"And while you were living your happily married life, I was here, taking care of your precious company while devising a plan of my own," he taunted, his smirk sending shivers down Evangeline's spine.

"And guess what?" he continued as his voice dripped with malice, "Zach? He didn't cheat on you. He thought he slept with Monica? No, that was all part of my plan. We orchestrated the whole thing. He just wanted a child. And so I gave him one, after all, your bestfriend was in love with me that she's willing to do anything for me." He paused.

"He seems quite happy now actually. He even handed you your rightful alimony recently." His words cut through Evangeline like a knife, her tears and sobs betraying her overwhelming anguish.

"Why?" Evangeline's voice quivered, her breath hitching as she struggled to comprehend the depths of Jeremy's depravity. Tears mingled with snot streaked down her face, her features contorted with anguish and disbelief.

Jeremy lifted her chin with a cruel grip, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Why?" he echoed, his tone devoid of remorse or empathy.

"Ever since I was a boy," he began, his voice laced with bitterness and longing, "I've always wanted your attention. I begged for it, pleaded for it. But you were always too preoccupied with your own life to notice me. Well, now it's my turn." His words dripped with vindictive satisfaction as he relished in Evangeline's distress.

"Now," he continued, and turned his back on her, "this time, you'll beg for mine." His eyes gleamed with a twisted sense of triumph, reveling in the power he now held over her shattered existence.

Jeremy activated the television, displaying footage of a familiar high-rise building, where Klein was engrossed in paperwork within his office.

"Now, Evangeline, pay attention," Jeremy began, retrieving his phone. "I have the power to have Klein eliminated, but I won't do it alone... unless you intervene."

"Make him suffer as much as possible," he demanded, punching a number into his phone.

After a few rings, Klein's voice emanated from the other end. Jeremy shoved the phone toward Evangeline, who was still bound to the chair.

"Klein..." she managed, attempting to stifle her sobs.

"Yeah, what's up?" Klein responded wearily.

Upon hearing his voice, Evangeline forced a smile and glanced at the live feed of Klein at work.

"I... don't love you anymore," she choked out, her heart heavy with sorrow. "The child... is not yours. I'm sorry, let's end this."

Before Klein could respond, Jeremy abruptly ended the call, smashing his phone and switching off the footage with a satisfied smile.

"Well done," he praised Evangeline, his smirk sending shivers down her spine as he tapped away on his other phone.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on him! Jeremy, look at me, please!" Evangeline pleaded desperately.

Jeremy chuckled at her plea, dropping his phone. "Now you're begging. I just want you for myself, Evangeline. I don't actually want to harm anyone," he spoke softly. "But a little warning to the man who impregnated you? Why not?"

"No, Jeremy! You promised you wouldn't hurt him!" Evangeline cried out, recoiling in pain as she felt a twinge in her stomach.

Jeremy's demeanor shifted to one of concern. "Stop it. You're pregnant," he warned, his mood suddenly changing. For a fleeting moment, Evangeline questioned Jeremy's sanity, but she quickly remembered the truth about the man she once considered a brother—the same man who had taken her mother's life.