Ella stood at the sink, rinsing out the last of the flour from her hair. The laughter from earlier still echoed in her ears, a balm to her weary soul. The boys were upstairs now, getting cleaned up before dinner, and the house was momentarily quiet.
Yet, in the back of her mind, a nagging thought lingered. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was brewing, something just beyond her reach.
She thought of Tania again. Her sister’s silence was unusual, almost eerie. Tania had always been brazen, her actions loud and conspicuous. This newfound quiet unsettled Ella.
What are you up to, Tania?
Ella walked to her desk, opening her laptop to check for updates from Derek, her trusted investigator. He had been keeping tabs on Tania’s movements, but lately, there hadn’t been much to report.
The cursor blinked on her screen, the empty inbox offering no reassurance. Ella tapped her fingers against the desk, her unease growing.
She decided to distract herself by working. Pouring her energy into her projects had always been her way of coping. But even as she typed, her thoughts drifted to her sister.
We were inseparable once, she mused. Tania had been her confidante, her best friend. How had things gone so wrong?
The betrayal still stung, but Ella felt a pang of sadness too. Tania wasn’t just her enemy; she was her blood, a person she had loved deeply once.
Ella closed her laptop with a sigh. “She made her choices,” she muttered. “Now she has to live with them.”
Ella’s unease didn’t subside, even as the boys came bounding downstairs, fresh-faced and full of energy. She masked her worry with a smile, guiding them to the table for dinner. The routine moments setting the table, reminding Liam not to talk with his mouth full, laughing at Leo’s endless stream of jokes helped ground her, but the weight in her chest remained.
As they ate, her mind still wondered to why Tania still has not said a word, Tania usually b now would show up at her door step to scream profanities at her or even call, but…
Her stomach tightened. If there is one thing she learnt a vindictive person like Tania staying quite was never good.
“Mommy, are you okay?” Leo asked, noticing her distracted expression.
Ella forced a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, sweetie. Just grown-up stuff.”
“Boring stuff,” Liam added with a grin.
“Very boring,” Ella agreed, ruffling his hair.
After dinner, she tucked the boys into bed, lingering a little longer than usual as she read their favorite story. The sound of their even breathing as they drifted off gave her a brief sense of calm.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of her once-glorious life, Tania was spiraling. The plans she had meticulously crafted were crumbling around her. Her isolation had deepened, and with every passing day, her grip on reality seemed to loosen further.
In the dim light of her room, Tania stared at a photo of Ella, her hands trembling. Her sister’s radiant smile taunted her, a stark contrast to the hollow shell she had become.
“You think you’ve won, Ella,” she hissed, her voice a venomous whisper. “But you haven’t. Not yet.”
Her mind raced, plotting her next move. Ella’s boys, Ethan’s newfound resolve, Grace’s loyalty Tania saw them all as pieces on a chessboard. And she was determined to win.
But deep down, a part of her knew the truth: she was losing. Not just the battle, but herself.
Tania clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She couldn’t let it end like this.
“I’ll fix this,” she vowed, though the words felt empty even to her. “I’ll make them pay.”
As the night deepened, Tania’s obsession consumed her, driving her further into the darkness. Tania paced back and forth, her eyes wild with fury and determination. The photo of Ella and the boys scattered on her bed, a constant reminder of the life she believed was stolen from her.
“You both think you’re so perfect,” Tania muttered, her voice venomous. “So happy. So complete.”
She picked up the photo, her fingers tracing the faces of the twins. “You think you can just cast me aside, like I don’t matter. But I’ll show you.”
Her laughter started as a low chuckle, growing into a manic cackle that echoed through the empty room.
“I’ll take them,” she hissed. “The one thing that matters most to both of you. If I can’t have happiness, neither will you.”
Tania’s mind whirled with plans, each more sinister than the last. She envisioned the chaos, the despair, the heartbreak when Ella and Ethan realized the boys were gone.
“Enjoy them while you can,” she whispered, her lips curling into a wicked smile. “Laugh, play, be the perfect little family. It won’t last.”
The thought of their pain filled her with a twisted sense of satisfaction. This was her revenge, her way of reclaiming control.
She stared at the photos, she had no help this time around , “I’ll do it all by my self she said with determination”. All she needed was the perfect moment.
Tania leaned back on her bed, her laughter filling the room again. “Oh, Ella,” she purred. “You always thought you were so much better than me. But we’ll see who has the last laugh.”
Her gaze drifted back to the photo, and she slammed it face down on the bed. She didn’t want to see their happy faces anymore.
Tania’s smirk deepened as she leaned back in her chair, imagining the moment of realization dawning on Ella and Ethan’s faces. The horror. The panic. The heartbreak. It would be her masterpiece.
“They think they’re untouchable,” she muttered, running her fingers along the edge of the desk. “But everyone has a breaking point. And this this will be theirs.”
Her mind raced as she refined her plans. The boys were her ultimate bargaining chip, the weapons she would wield to cut through the heart of her so-called family. She had always been resourceful, always one step ahead. This time would be no different.
Her notebook lay open on her bed, filled with pages of detailed notes. Times, locations, vulnerabilities it was all there. The school drop-offs, the playground visits, even their favorite ice cream shop. She had watched, waited, and learned everything she needed.
“Careful observation,” Tania said to herself, flipping through the pages. “That’s the key to a successful strike.”
“You won’t be smiling for long,” she murmured, her voice cold. “You’ll see what it feels like to lose everything.”
Her thoughts turned to Ethan. He had betrayed her just as much as Ella had. His sudden shift in loyalty, his rejection of her, had cut deeper than she cared to admit.
“You think you’re so righteous now,” Tania sneered. “But when your sons are gone, you’ll realize how powerless you really are.”
She could already picture the chaos. Ethan storming around, demanding answers. Ella breaking down, her perfect composure shattering like glass. The image filled Tania with a dark glee that made her blood hum.
Standing, Tania crossed the room to a small cabinet. She opened it, revealing a collection of items she had carefully curated: a pair of binoculars, a map marked with red circles, and a small lockbox containing cash.
“This is my insurance,” she said, pulling out the map. “No loose ends, no mistakes. Just precision.”
She would oversee every detail herself, ensuring the plan was executed flawlessly.
Her smirk returned as she sat down and spread the map across the desk. Each red circle marked a place where Ella or Ethan had let their guard down. A park with no cameras. A quiet street on their route home. An alley behind the boys’ favorite arcade.
“They’re so predictable,” Tania muttered, shaking her head. “They make it too easy.”
She reached for a pen and began marking the map with new notes, refining her strategy. Her mind worked quickly, each step of the plan falling into place with chilling precision.
She paused, her pen hovering over the paper. “What will you do, Ella, when you realize your precious babies are gone?” she whispered. “Will you cry? Scream? Beg me to give them back?”
The idea of Ella begging was intoxicating. Tania wanted her sister to feel powerless, to understand what it was like to have everything ripped away.
“I’ll let you suffer for a while,” she mused aloud. “Let you feel the emptiness. Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll let you see them again. But only on my terms.”
Her laughter bubbled up again, sharp and maniacal. She leaned back in her chair, savoring the image of her victory.
“This isn’t just revenge,” she said, her voice calm but deadly. “This is justice. You took everything from me, Ella. Now I’m taking it back.”
She stood and walked to the window, looking out at the darkened city. Somewhere out there, Ella was probably tucking the boys into bed, blissfully unaware of the storm heading her way.
“Enjoy this time while you can,” Tania said, her voice dripping with venom. “Because it’s the last bit of peace you’ll ever have.”
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass, the twisted grin on her face a stark contrast to the woman she once was. But Tania didn’t care about who she used to be. That person was gone, replaced by someone who had nothing left to lose.
She turned away from the window, her resolve hardening. This was it. The culmination of everything she had suffered, everything she had planned.
Tania glanced back at the map on her desk, the red circles glowing under the dim light. She traced one with her finger, her lips curling into a wicked smile.
“This is my moment,” she said, her voice low but fierce. “And I won’t let anyone take it from me.”
With one final glance at the photo of Ella and the boys, Tania turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness.
“I’ve been quite and bidding my time all this while even though I was lost in my mind, you all will pay for everything and I don’t care if the children are innocent”.