The Devil You Need

SALLY'S POV

"You are seriously going to Frank’s house?" Pamela’s voice sliced through the soft music playing in the background. She was sprawled on my bed, scrolling through her phone, but I could feel her eyes on me.

I adjusted the strap of my baby-blue dress, giving my reflection a glance. "Yes." I said, applying one final coat of lip gloss. "We have been texting for weeks, Pam. Besides, you are the one who’s been pushing me to get out again, so this is me... getting out."

"I said go for drinks, not go to some stranger’s penthouse, for date." She huffed, sitting up. "You don’t even know this guy."

I turned to her, arching a brow. "I think I know enough. He’s funny, charming, doesn’t send unsolicited dick pics, and actually remembers things I say. That's more than I can say for half the guys you have dated." I didn't mean to be rude but it's the truth.

"Ouch." She tossed a pillow at me.

I caught it mid-air and laughed. "Relax, I will drop my location as soon as I get there. I am not stupid."

Pamela sighed, dramatic as always. "Just don’t drink too much or at all and text me every hour, I am setting a timer." She said while doing something on her phone.

"Yes, Mom." I teased.

I slipped into my heels, grabbed my clutch, and gave myself a final once-over and the mirror didn’t lie, I looked good. Heartbreak had carved hollows under my eyes, but I was still standing, still glowing even without Kelvin, especially without Kelvin.

Once ready, I stepped out and Frank’s driver was already waiting. Black suit, silent nod, shiny Mercedes. It felt like I was stepping into a scene from a billionaire romance novel.

I got into the car and he drove off immediately and thankfully, his house was just about twenty minutes away, so it was long before we arrived.

The house... no, the mansion, was nestled in a quiet part of town I didn’t even know existed because I don't go out much. Iron gates, tall hedges, and walls that whispered money. When we pulled into the driveway, my jaw didn’t drop, but it tightened. I had suspected Frank was rich but this was next level.

A butler greeted me, an actual butler. He led me into a warmly lit dining room where a long glass table had been set with silver cutlery, white roses, and enough candlelight to film a proposal scene.

And then, Frank showed up.

Handsome in an effortless kind of way, he wore a navy silk shirt unbuttoned just enough to be suggestive, his smile was lazy, like he owned time itself.

"Sally." He said, pulling out my chair. "You look even better in person."

"So do you." I complimented as well as I settled into the seat, even though something about the whole setup tickled the back of my mind.

Dinner was delicious, steak that melted on the tongue with creamy truffle pasta and French wine I recognized from my late father’s collection. It felt like being seen again, admired and wanted.

After the chef cleared the plates and disappeared with a respectful nod, we drifted to the living room. Plush couches, warm lighting and some old movie playing in the background.

Frank handed me another glass of wine. "To new beginnings." He said.

I raised my glass and smiled while making eye contact. "To new beginnings." I didn't know what new beginning entailed with Frank but I wanted it, after everything that happened with Kelvin, I needed a fresh start and if frank could offer me that, then I was in.

We clinked, we drank, we laughed, then he moved closer.

At first, it was innocent, a touch on my knee, a brush of fingers against my collarbone. I smiled, leaned into him a little but when his hand slid higher, too high, I pulled back.

"Frank." I said gently. "Slow down."

He didn’t listen, instead his lips found mine. His hand slipped behind my neck, the wineglass dropped from my hand and hit the carpet with a soft thud. We kissed, hot and urgent but then his hands roamed again, possessive now and hungry.

I pushed him back. "I said, slow down."

He blinked and then grinned. "You are such a tease." I don't understand, was he expecting me to just jump in bed with him?

I stood up angrily, heart pounding. That grin, it wasn’t charming anymore, it was cruel and it scared me.

"Frank..." I stopped as my head spun, the floor swayed beneath me like I was on a boat. "I... I feel dizzy."

He stood up as well, stalking slowly toward me.

I backed away as my hands flew to my locket instinctively, I tend to do that a lot whenever I was nervous or scared and in this case, both. I backed away from him as he moved closer but the dizziness made it hard. "What did you do?"

Frank’s eyes glittered. "Relax, once the pills kick in, you will be begging for it."

My stomach twisted at the realization.

"You drugged me?" My voice cracked.

He laughed. "Come on, sweetheart. It’s not like you weren’t already into it."

He reached for me again, but I slapped his hand away. "Don’t touch me."

"Oh please." He said casually, voice darkening. "You think you are better than this? I have seen your texts. I know what you want."

I stumbled backward, my legs weren’t cooperating. I grabbed my clutch, praying my phone was still inside as he made a move to touch me again.

"I said don’t touch me!" I screamed in his face.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer, my head spun as I panicked and shoved him with everything I had.

I watched wide eyes as Frank stumbled, his foot caught on the edge of the coffee table, he slipped and his head collided with the sharp corner of the marble step behind the couch.

I head a crack and then... silence.

Blood pooled beneath him, I froze for a long, awful second, I just stood there, holding my locket like it was going to save me from the mess I just created.

I blinked at his unmoving body before I realized what I just did. "Oh shit." I dropped to my knees. "Frank?" I whispered, reaching out with trembling fingers. "Frank..."

No pulse, no breath... He was dead.

Oh my God. "I killed someone." I whispered as I backed away from his body. "I am a murderer."

Panic surged through me like wildfire. I had to get out before someone found me, before they thought I...

I turned to run but the room tilted and my knees gave out... The last thing I remembered was falling... falling backward, and the cold, sharp crack of my head hitting the floor.

Then darkness.