After a long and exhausting day at work, Ella hurried to pick up her twin boys, Leo and Liam, from their new school. The day had been taxing, and her mind was preoccupied with her ongoing plans, but the thought of seeing her sons brought a smile to her face.
As she pulled into the school’s parking lot, she noticed a familiar figure across the parking lot, Ethan, her ex-husband, leaving the premises with his daughter, Grace.
Ella’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly composed herself, not wanting to show any sign of distress and draw attention to herself, She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and walked into the school. Leo and Liam greeted her with their usual excitement, their small hands clutching onto hers as they eagerly recounted their day.
Bidding farewell to their class teacher, Ella steered her sons back to the car, her thoughts only briefly returning to the man she once loved.
At home, Ella busied herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner while listening to the boys chatter about their first day at school. “Mummy, Leo and I talked to the girl we saw at the parking lot this morning. Her name is Grace,” Liam said, his voice bubbling with excitement.
Ella’s heart clenched slightly at the mention of Grace, but she managed a warm smile. “That’s good, boys,” she replied, leaning down to kiss the tops of their heads. She served their dinner, and as they ate, the twins continued to share stories, their laughter filling the room.
Just as the evening was winding down, the doorbell rang. Ella wiped her hands on a towel and went to the door, her face lighting up when she saw Fabian standing there. Without hesitation, she hugged him tightly, then turned to call out to her sons. “Boys, look who’s here-Uncle Fabian!”
Liam and Leo raced to the door, practically launching themselves into Fabian’s arms. He laughed, lifting both boys off the ground, their infectious joy temporarily lifting the weight of Ella’s troubles.
Later, after putting the kids to bed, Ella finding herself alone with her thoughts, the peaceful domestic scene from earlier in the evening was a stark contrast to the turmoil brewing within her. She couldn’t help but think of the revenge she had meticulously planned.
The memory of Tania’s shocked face when she received Ella’s cryptic message made her smirk. “This is just the beginning,” she muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing as her mind raced with thoughts of her next move.
Fabian calls out Ella’s name awhile letter, turning around to face him, she smiled and talked with him for a while till they both crashed for the night.
Meanwhile, across town, Tania sat in the living room, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular. She was lost in thought, her mind replaying Ella’s message over and over again. The words had been vague but laced with a threat that chilled her to the bone. So absorbed was she in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice when Ethan and Grace came home.
Grace, excited to share her day with her mother, ran up to Tania and hugged her tightly. “Mommy, I made new friends today! Their names are Leo and Liam!” she exclaimed, but quickly realized that her mother wasn’t paying attention. Grace frowned, tugging at Tania’s arm. “Mommy, are you okay?”
Tania snapped out of her thoughts, blinking down at her daughter. “I’m fine, my love. Mommy’s just tired, that’s all,” she said, forcing a smile. Grace, unconvinced but unwilling to push, nodded and headed to her room.
Ethan, who had been watching from the doorway, approached Tania with concern. “What’s wrong? You’ve been distracted all evening,” he asked, his voice laced with worry.
Tania quickly dismissed his concerns, brushing him off with a practiced smile. “It’s nothing, Ethan. Just a long day. How was your day? What do you want for dinner?” she asked, shifting the focus away from herself.
Ethan frowned but didn’t press further. He could tell something was bothering her, but he decided to let it go for now. Smiling back, he told her about his day, and they carried on as if nothing was wrong.
But deep down, Tania’s anxiety was building. As the night wore on, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Around midnight, she awoke to the sound of something moving in the living room. Her heart pounding, she slipped out of bed and crept downstairs, her breath catching in her throat when she saw a figure standing in the center of the room.
As she drew closer, her blood ran cold. It was Ella, her face pale and expressionless, her eyes dark with hatred. Ella took a step forward, a sinister smile playing on her lips. “Why did you do it, Tania? Why did you kill me?” her voice cold as she whispered holding a knife.
Tania screamed, her body paralyzed with fear. She tried to back away, but her legs wouldn’t move. Ella advanced, the knife gleaming in the dim light, and Tania screamed again, jolting herself awake.
She sat up in bed, drenched in sweat, her chest heaving. It had all been a nightmare, but it felt so real. Her heart pounded wildly as she looked around the room, trying to ground herself in reality.
Ethan woke up beside her, alarmed by her screams. “Tania, what’s wrong?” he asked, reaching out to comfort her.
But Tania couldn’t find the words to explain the terror that had gripped her. She kept muttering “No, no,” over and over, her eyes widen with fear. Ethan held her until she finally drifted back to sleep, though the tension in her body never fully eased.
As he watched her sleep, Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. What could she have dreamt about to scare her so much? He thought, his mind racing as he lay awake beside her, staring into the darkness.