I barely registered Dani's body on the floor, her chest rising and falling in shallow, erratic breaths. Her eyes were dazed, glossed over, like she had disconnected from reality entirely. The room spun for a moment, and I let my head drop against Sebastian's chest, exhaustion weighing me down. His arms were the only thing holding me up now.
Sebastian's voice was soft, almost a whisper in my ear. "Esme... what the hell just happened?"
I swallowed, feeling the bitterness of it settle in my throat. "She's the reason. She's the reason for all of it." I said. I wasn't sure if I was talking to him or myself anymore. "She's the murderer."
Sebastian held me tighter, his face unreadable, but I could feel his pulse racing against my cheek. Behind him, the officers were helping Dani to her feet, but the crazed look in her eyes didn't falter. She blinked at me, slow and eerie, like she was seeing a ghost.
Pete stood back, his gaze darting between us, and for a fleeting second, I saw a flicker of understanding in his eyes—he knew. He had always known what Dani was capable of. He had warned me the first time I told him about my plan.
The station was quiet now, but in my head, Dani's scream echoed, bouncing off every wall.
The police officers exchanged a glance, their expressions unreadable before one of them spoke in a low voice. "Take her home, Mr. Ainsworth. We'll come by later to get a full statement."
Sebastian's grip on me tightened slightly as if he needed to reassure himself that I was still standing. Without a word, he nodded, turning me gently and guiding me toward the exit. The station's air felt stifling, laced with the tension left behind after the chaos. Pete lingered behind, probably to hear Dani's statement.
Once outside, the cool night air hit me, but it did little to soothe the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside. My limbs felt heavy, like every step I took was being weighed down. Dani's crazed eyes still burned into my memory, her screams echoing in my ears.
Sebastian opened the passenger door of his car, his movements careful, almost mechanical. I sank into the seat without a word, my body too exhausted to resist, too numb to do anything but comply. As we drove away from the police station, the silence between us stretched, almost suffocating. I stared out the window, watching the lights blur past, my mind racing with fragments of memories, guilt gnawing at my insides.
Before I knew it, we were pulling up in front of a villa. The sleek architecture was unfamiliar, but I didn't care. Sebastian parked, got out, and came around to my side, opening the door with the same quiet determination. He guided me inside, his hand firm on the small of my back as he led me through the grand hallway and into a bedroom.
The room was pristine, its white walls and minimalistic decor an opposite to the mess inside my head. I sank onto the bed, the soft mattress barely registering under me as I stared blankly ahead. Without a word, Sebastian left the room. When he returned, he handed me a glass of cold water. The condensation clung to the glass as I took a sip, the chill a brief relief from the heat that burned in my chest.
I lay back down, staring at the white ceiling. The stillness in the room was deafening. My mind, however, refused to be quiet. Kyle's voice, his laughter as we had dinner together, when we rode his bike together, his smile when he handed me flowers—everything rushed back in vivid, painful detail. A knot tightened in my throat, and before I could stop myself, tears slid down my cheeks.
The dam broke.
I sobbed, my body shaking with the force of it. Every emotion I had buried for so long came spilling out uncontrollably. Sebastian didn't say a word. He simply got into bed beside me, wrapping his arms around me, holding me close as I cried. His presence was solid, unmoving, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn't have to hold everything together. I let go. I cried until my throat burned, until my tears soaked into his shirt, until my grief and guilt had drained the last of my energy.
Somehow, sleep claimed me.
When I woke up, it wasn't to the soft light of dawn or the gentle stir of the breeze outside. It was to the sound of yelling—Sebastian's voice, rough and angry, reverberating through the villa.
The noise made my head throb, but I forced myself out of bed, still groggy from sleep. My bare feet padded across the cold floor as I made my way toward the living room, where Sebastian's voice was growing louder by the second. When I turned the corner, I froze.
Standing in the middle of the room was Mr. Manuel—Dani's father. His tall frame was rigid, his eyes sharp and piercing as they flicked toward me the moment I stepped into view.
"Esmeralda," he said, his voice dripping with a thin layer of civility that barely masked the storm beneath. His gaze held mine, cold and unrelenting, as if he were sizing me up, assessing every ounce of my being.
I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry as I looked between him and Sebastian, whose expression was twisted in a way I rarely saw—pure, unfiltered rage.
"I told you. Leave her alone. Your daughter has caused her so much pain." Sebastian spat.
Mr. Manuel raised a hand, as though calming a wild animal. "I'm here to talk. Nothing more."
Sebastian scoffed, stepping in front of me as if to shield me from whatever danger he thought was coming. "You've got some nerve coming here after everything your daughter has done."
Mr. Manuel's eyes flicked to me again, lingering for a second too long before returning to Sebastian. "My daughter," he began slowly, "is in custody. I'm not here to defend her actions. I'm here for answers."
"Answers?" I finally found my voice, though it was hoarse from the crying. "What kind of answers could you possibly want?"
His eyes narrowed, his lips thinning as though he was trying to restrain himself. "I want to know what's been going on behind the scenes. With Daniella. With you. With all of this." His hand gestured vaguely, as though encompassing everything—the fights, the accusations, the chaos.
Sebastian barked a harsh laugh. "You want answers? Ask your damn daughter. She's the one who—"
"Sebastian." I cut him off, though my heart raced in my chest. "Let me talk to him."
He turned, his brow furrowed, clearly ready to argue, but something in my expression must have stopped him. With a frustrated exhale, he stepped aside, though his body remained tense, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
I met Mr. Manuel's gaze, holding it this time, unwilling to back down. "What do you want to know?"
He regarded me for a moment, then sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping just a fraction. "I want to know why."
"Why what?" I asked, though the question itself made my stomach twist.
"Why Daniella would turn on you like this. What happened between the two of you to make her... what she is now?"
Dani and I had been inseparable once, but now... now we were nothing but enemies in this twisted, dangerous game.
"I wish I knew," I whispered at first, then the words grew stronger, years of frustration, betrayal, and anger came crashing down. "Jealousy? Greed?" I scoffed bitterly, my eyes darting between Mr. Manuel and Sebastian, searching for answers they would never give me. "She's always had everything, hasn't she? Money, status, a perfect reputation," my gaze locked on Sebastian for a second too long, my heart tightening. "A husband. So, why was she threatened by me—by a girl who had nothing?"
Silence stretched out between us, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. All the hatred that had been festering inside me for years finally poured out.
"Maybe," I continued, "you did a shitty job raising her. Did that ever occur to you?" Mr. Manuel's face hardened, but I pressed on. "I saw how you treated her. She was never your daughter, was she? Just some prized possession, a puppet to carry on your legacy—only if she could prove she was worthy in your eyes."
I could feel Sebastian tense beside me, but I didn't care. He needed to hear this too. "Maybe that's why she was so jealous of me. So threatened that she had to sleep with my fiancé—and then what? She had a child by him."
That last sentence was a bomb, almost too much to bear. I could feel my throat tighten, but I swallowed the lump down, forcing myself to stay in control.
Sebastian stilled beside me, and when I looked at him, his expression was one of pure confusion. "What did you just say?"
I turned to him fully. "You heard me. That child—she's not yours. Dani's daughter? She's Derrick's."
His face paled, his hands curling into fists at his sides. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Mr. Manuel's low voice cut through.
"So?"
My head snapped toward him, disbelief flashing through me. "So?"
He crossed his arms, unbothered by the shock rippling through the room. "There must be a reason you're doing all this." His eyes were cold, calculating, as though he were trying to dissect me, figure out what made me tick. "What do you want, Esmeralda? Money? Power? Name it. I can make it happen."
I almost laughed—a bitter, broken sound that echoed off the walls. A month ago, if he had made that offer, I probably would have jumped at the chance. I would have given anything to claw my way out of the pit Dani had thrown me into. But now, after everything—after Kyle's lifeless body, the lies,—I felt nothing but disgust.
I took a step closer, my eyes narrowing, my voice dropping to a deadly calm. "I don't want your money, and I sure as hell don't want your connections. The only thing I want is to see Daniella suffer for what she did. I want to see that perfect mask she's been wearing for so long crack and crumble until there's nothing left but the real her."
I could feel Sebastian watching me, feel the weight of Mr. Manuel's cold stare.
"And what do you think that will achieve?" Mr. Manuel asked quietly.
I held his gaze, unflinching. "It'll show everyone what she really is—a murderer."