" Delusional wealthy old hag"

CHAPTER TWO: DELUSIONAL WEALTHY OLD HAG

ANNALISE

I couldn’t believe my ears.

Veronica had a baby for Sam?

Wasn’t that… incest? She was his sister.

No… no, it couldn’t be. My mind refused to accept it. The words swirled inside me like a hurricane, twisting, gnawing, impossible. My chest tightened painfully, each inhale a ragged struggle. My hands shook violently, knocking over a vase. Rage, horror, and disbelief clawed at my insides, a storm with no calm. The man I had loved, the man I had trusted… capable of something so monstrous.

My legs felt heavy, yet my body moved on autopilot. I packed my things in a trembling frenzy, my fingers fumbling as tears blurred my vision. I was done. Finished. I couldn’t stay another second without shattering completely.

Then Sam walked in.

“You’re leaving?” His voice was unnervingly calm, almost amused, but those sharp, predatory eyes pierced through me. “You can’t survive out there without me.”

I spun around, fury radiating from every pore. “Watch me,” I spat, voice low but burning with venom. “Watch me, you shameless bastard. Sleeping with your sister…”

Sam froze, his expression unreadable. “What are you saying?”

“You know exactly what I’m saying,” I hissed, teeth clenched, digging my fingers into my bag until the pain shot up my arm. “I overheard you. You asked for your boy… ‘Tell him Daddy misses him.’ Does that jog your memory?”

Before he could answer, a voice cut through the tension like a knife:

“Who said I was his sister?”

Elena stepped into the doorway, her presence sharp and ice-cold. My stomach lurched, bile rising. My limbs went rigid, disbelief freezing me to the spot.

“How… how did you get here?” I whispered, voice trembling. “You—”

“This is a family matter, Elena. You should excuse us. Help me get my stuff…” I tried to assert control, my voice cracking despite my effort.

“Ok, m…a,” she said in a mocking, sing-song tone, taking a deliberate step toward me, then halting, letting her gaze roam over me like a predator inspecting its prey.

“You know, Anna,” she continued, lips curling into a smirk that cut like glass, “you are such a drama queen. A delusional, wealthy old hag.”

My eyes widened, my heart pounding violently against my ribs. Since when did my maid—my trusted Elena—dare speak my name like that? The venom in her voice, the audacity… I couldn’t breathe.

“I am your boss. You are being disrespectful, Elena,” I said, voice trembling, hands balling into fists as rage threatened to spill over.

“Babe, tell her,” she said, turning to Sam—and that word babe seared through me, molten and raw, leaving a burning ache in my chest.

Sam didn’t flinch. His gaze was cold, detached, terrifyingly calm. “You could have just terminated the pregnancy. You caused all of this,” he said, like I was the villain in his story.

My head spun, thoughts scattering in panic.

“What is going on?” I croaked, my voice breaking.

“Veronica is only keeping our child,” Elena said slowly, letting each word drip like poison. Her eyes gleamed with triumph. “Sam is mine. It’s funny how you thought he could ever love you. You’re old, outdated, barren… why would he love you?”

Shock, disbelief, and humiliation collided inside me. My knees weakened. My chest felt hollow. My world twisted—Sam had another woman, a child. Another woman had lived under my roof all along. No wonder he had been so enamored with her.

“You… slut,” I tried to hiss, but my throat closed. Words caught like thorns, jagged and suffocating.

Elena stepped closer, deliberately slow, her every movement a taunt. “Maybe I am a slut… but a damn good one.”

“And you? You’re nothing but a needy, old woman,” she spat, voice sharp, each word hammering into my chest.

My heart thudded painfully. The betrayal weighed on me like stones, my vision blurred, a nausea rising that I couldn’t swallow down.

She brushed her fingers lightly along Sam’s jaw, an intimate caress that made my stomach turn. “Isn’t it funny, Anna? You thought you could keep my Sam. Ooooh, too bad you had money. In reality—no one wants you. Sam is mine. All we ever wanted was your house, your company, your life. And babe…” she winked at Sam, cruel and intimate. “Remember those nights we sneaked around so you could fuck me?”

Ohh… baby, you were always so sweet, Sam whispered, brushing his lips over hers.

They kissed, right there, in my bedroom. My blood ran cold, a tight knot forming in my stomach. My hands shook, my vision blurred with tears and rage. I felt like I might collapse, vomit, die from the sheer weight of betrayal.

Elena turned back to me, soft but venomous. “At first, I didn’t want it. Having my husband pretend to love you… touch you… play dummy. But hey, you gave him your company, your wealth… and I thought, why not?”

Her eyes gleamed like daggers.

“But then you ruined our perfect little plan by insisting on having a baby.”

My chest hollowed further. My breath hitched, fear twisting with anger.

“You can’t have my husband’s child,” she said, calm, as if stating a fact beyond debate.

And then she kissed him again. Right there again. Right in front of me.

“Get out,” I whispered, trembling, voice cracking. “This is my house. All of you—get out now.”

Elena laughed, cruel and low. “Is it?”

She turned to Sam, smirking. “Go on, baby. Tell her.”

Sam’s eyes met mine—a cold, victorious stare I had never seen before.

“Tell her how we’re now the owners of the house, the company… everything she thought she had.”

My world tilted violently. The walls seemed to close in. The room spun, dizzying, suffocating.

“And how our son,” Elena added proudly, “is now the heir to the Carter Conglomerate.”

Sam’s smirk widened as Elena wrapped herself around him, leaning in with an intimate closeness meant to erase me entirely.

“We should change the name, Sam,” she whispered mockingly, pressing near him. “Something that isn’t Carter… something that’s ours.”

Their laughter rang in my ears like shards of ice, piercing, relentless.

My life, my marriage, my trust… stolen.

Elena leaned in, whispering softly but cruelly. “I should take the baby away too. Yank it right out of your tummy. Right, babe?”

“Of course,” Sam replied, without hesitation, without a flicker of remorse.

“Don’t do it… please…” I whispered, voice raw, tears running freely. My whole body trembled, and my sobs threatened to erupt.

“Ohhh… too late,” she said, triumphant, her eyes sparkling with cruelty.

Panic, rage, heartbreak—everything collided inside me, suffocating and overwhelming. My mind raced, adrenaline fueling me. I had to protect my child. I had to escape.

“I’ll finish her,” Elena said, voice deadly. “Sam, get her. She can’t afford to leave.”

Somehow, a surge of desperate strength propelled me forward. I ran, as if possessed, my legs carrying me with blind determination. The world spun around me, every shadow threatening, every heartbeat pounding in my ears. I ran until my legs gave out, until the pavement rose to meet me like a nightmare, until I tumbled into the path of a moving vehicle.

“Protect my baby… protect my baby…” I chanted over and over, clutching my stomach, until darkness finally swallowed me whole.