Chapter 88
88
When Mom and Dad snapped out of their shock, they immediately came at me, fists flying.
“You ungrateful brat! How could you call the cops? How could you accuse Irvin like that?”
The officers quickly stepped in , shielding me from their blows.
Then Mom and Dad turned to the officers, their voices full of urgency and fake concern. “She’s mentally ill! She’s not in her right mind! We’re her parents, and Irvin is her husband. He wasn’t trying to hurt her–he just wanted her to go up and talk Julianne down. This is all a misunderstanding!”
I cut in before they could spin their story further.
“That’s not true!” I shouted. “They didn’t want me to calm Julianne down–they wanted me dead!”
I knew I had to leave a record of this incident. If anything happened to me in the future, I wanted the police to know exactly where to start looking. This wasn’t just about tonight but about protecting myself from whatever might come next.
Despite their claims, my parents couldn’t provide any proof that I had a mental illness. With no way to discredit me outright , the police decided to bring all of us to the station for questioning.
This time, Julianne didn’t faint. She stayed conscious the entire time, her expression tightly controlled.
At the station, the officers explained that since we were family–husband, wife, parents, and siblings–they’d give us a chance to talk it out and resolve the matter on our own. It wasn’t that they didn’t take my accusations seriously , but most people don’t plot to kill someone so openly. And with so many family members present, the situation seemed more complicated than it
appeared.
Once the officers stepped out, Irvin turned to me, his face a mask of disappointment so intense it was almost laughable..
I rolled my eyes at him, refusing to entertain his theatrics.
He opened his mouth like he wanted to scold me but then stopped himself. After a moment, he said, “Emilia, I wasn’t trying to send you to your death back there on the rooftop.”
His voice was measured, almost patient, like he thought he could reason his way out of this. “What I meant was that I needed you to cooperate with me. I was trying to distract Julianne so I could get close enough to pull her back safely.”
I let out a cold laugh, my silence speaking volumes. It was clear I didn’t believe a word he was saying.
Irvin sighed, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “You don’t believe me, do you? Emilia, I would never want you dead!”
His voice rose, his irritation showing as he tried to convince me.
But I didn’t care.
In his mind, he probably thought he had never done anything to make me feel like he wanted me gone. But to me , every action, every choice he’d made told a different story.
When the abductors forced him to choose between saving me or someone else, he chose me to die. When Julianne and I both fell into the water, he saved her without hesitation. And tonight, when Julianne wanted me gone, he dragged me to the edge of the rooftop himself.
If that wasn’t wanting me dead, what was? Did I have to actually die for it to count?
Irvin opened his mouth to speak again, but Dad cut him off.
“Irvin, don’t waste your breath on her. She’s done enough damage to Julianne–hurting her over and over/showing no remorse. Now she’s filing false reports and trying to get you thrown in jail? She needs to be taught a lesson ! ”
Dad turned to me, his expression full of disgust. “Emilia, you drugged Julianne! You’re the reason she was violated by Irvin’s father and forced to be with that scumbag. That alone is unforgivable.
1/2
88
+25 BONUS
“You’re lucky, Irvin, and we, your family, let it go. We overlooked your sins, even when it meant Julianne had to suffer in silence. But you? You’re unrepentant. You’ve crossed the line by trying to ruin Julianne again and getting us all in trouble!” Dad’s voice rose with every word, his anger boiling over. “You should go to jail! Maybe then you’ll finally reflect on what you’ve done!”
His words left no room for doubt he was serious about wanting the locked up.
I stared at him, stunned for a moment. Then I laughed, the sound bitter and hollow.
“I drugged Julianne? When did that happen? Because I have no memory of it.”
Dad’s face twisted with anger. “You drugged her, Emilia! That’s why she was forced into that situation with Mr. Sawyer. She was violated because of you!”
Mom jumped in, her voice shaking with fury. “Julianne’s spent years trying to recover from what you did to her. And now you’re trying to ruin her all over again? How could you do that? How could you?”
Her face turned red as she pointed a trembling finger at me. “If only you’d died when you fell off that cliff! Why couldn’t you have just died back then?”