THE ACCIDENT

He flung the papers at her.

She bent down to pick them up, her hands trembling.

Her stomach churned as hunger scraped at the sides of her stomach.

A tiny glint of hope was rising in her… maybe it wasn't over.

Maybe there was actually something to fight for.

She had grown to become who she was from passing through hell, and there was no way she was going to let these hungry, ungrateful leeches take her hard work away from her without a fight.

“No! I would sign these papers, Alfred. We will meet in court.”

She watched him as he flinched.

A tiny smile escaped her lips.

She had hit him with a pawn; he hadn't expected that.

She didn't know how she was going to win this game without a queen, but she would try.

She flung her clothes out of the drawer, her shoes and bags went flying into different boxes as she packed, a sudden surge of energy spreading through her.

She was going to fight with everything she had.

To hell with it! She was going to fight.

She opened her jewel box again and emptied everything into her bag.

“I said you can't take them!” he said through gritted teeth.

“These are mine, and I will take them. If Selena needs jewellery, buy her some with YOUR money!”

With that, she pushed him aside and strolled down the stairs, pulling her boxes along with her.

It was tiring, but she managed.

She wasn't a weakling.

The energy that flowed through her veins made her head throb.

Was this what it meant to be high on adrenaline?

The hope for life!

She didn't say a word to her family downstairs as she was marched out of her own house into the only car Alfred insisted that she could have.

Her old Audi.

The first car her mother had gotten her in college.

She hadn't sold it, as it had always reminded her of her mother.

She didn't fight him on this.

She gladly pushed her boxes into the trunk.

She rubbed her hands on the steering wheel.

A piece of her mother—she smiled.

She turned the ignition and the car sprang into life.

Perfect!

Driving out of her estate with a cloud of sadness hovering over her head, she shed a tear… for her past life, for her mother, for her life ahead.

It was going to hurt a lot, but she would face it squarely.

Thunder rumbled and lightning glistened in the skies.

She needed to get a hotel before it was late.

Rainfall in Whirthbourge wasn't very admirable, especially if one was driving.

The road would be steep and slippery, causing tyres to swerve.

She parked her car and walked into the first hotel with just her handbag.

It was a five-star hotel.

Alfred thought he could swindle her, but he had another thing coming.

The hotel clerk took one look at her and squeezed her face in disgust.

“I'm afraid, ma’am, we can't let out a room to you,” the girl said.

“Helen, this is my hotel. Stop playing stupid and prepare my room for me,” Mary said, feeling irritated.

The clerk didn't budge.

“Mr. Alfred instructed us not to, ma’am. I'm afraid we can't,” the girl insisted.

A dash of hopelessness came again.

Was he really serious about the divorce she had signed that willed everything to him?

She hadn't read it thoroughly.

She had simply thought it had just been divorce papers.

She made a mark to review Helen's employment if she had been lying and left the hotel.

Hunger still bit her intestines, but she needed a bath even more.

Her heart, thankfully, had stopped hurting her, and she didn't feel a lot of pain from the head blow Karen had given her with the vase.

She made five more stops at her other five hotels but was given the same response.

She had been played.

She drove to a smaller motel… one which she knew wouldn't know who she was.

Their rooms were all booked.

Frustrated and annoyed, she drove through four others until she got lucky at the sixth.

The room was cheap, and she gave the clerk on duty—a grumpy old man—her card to swipe.

His face twisted into a deeper frown as he handed her back her card.

“The payment was declined, ma’am,” he hissed.

She gave him three others, but they were returned.

Sweat began to trickle down her face as she pulled out her last card…

She had loved Alfred, but not too much as to not take precautions and save for a rainy day.

The clerk finally grunted as the card released the payment, and he handed her the room key.

“Can I have a porter bring my boxes from the car?” she asked, and he smiled in affirmation.

She grimaced.

It was better that he frowned.

She walked into her room and slumped on the bed.

It was a shabby comparison to the security room in her house, but she couldn't complain for long.

The porter rolled her boxes into her room, and she tipped him.

His eyes danced in delight.

A bath was what she urgently needed, and with that, she made sure to take her time in the bathtub.

The towel looked like it had lived a hard life with all the coloured patches of brown stains on it.

Her head had stopped bleeding, and she pressed a cold pack to reduce the swelling.

Her phone suddenly began to ring.

She wasn't expecting anyone to call her.

She searched her handbag and pulled it out.

It was Debby!

Mixed emotions made her sigh.

“Hello, Debby! What's up?” she asked.

She realised that she had held up so much, she needed someone to release all her steam to.

“Come to my place immediately. You won't believe what I found out!” Debby yelled excitedly.

“Slow down, girl! What happened?” Mary asked.

“I think Selena planned all that poisoned food drama by herself. Come immediately!” she yelled excitedly again and cut the connection.

Mary dialled her line again, but it didn't go through.

That silly girl!

She had been so excited she must have turned off the phone accidentally or something.

Mary slipped into a big hoodie and slacks.

She raced down the hall into her car and began to drive to Debby’s house.

What had she found out?

Was this her break?

Was this the light she needed to kick those bastards out of her house and life forever?

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the black sedan tailing behind her.

It suddenly picked up speed, trying to push Mary into a ditch, but she held on, swerving from side to side.

The wet street made her lose control of the car.

A big trailer driving at high speed was in front of her, and she slammed her foot on the brake pedal, but it wouldn't budge.

She began to yell at the truck driver to move out of the way, but he didn't seem to hear her.

Two cars came from both sides, bashing into her car.

A man suddenly walked into the road, and she swerved to avoid him, but that was just the move her attackers needed.

Her tyres screeched and went flying into the truck.

The last image she saw was her mother smiling and waving at her, then a huge fire erupted as the trailer exploded.