Page 50 of The Perfect Revenge
There were two of them on either side of the front door.Both were wooden and looked heavy.She imagined that one of them would pretty effectively smash the front window.There wasn't time to weigh the pros and cons.Instead, she unsnapped the holster on her gun for easy access if she needed it.Then she braced herself and picked up the chair by the back.It was indeed heavy, and she had to swing it once to build up momentum.Then she flung it at the glass.The entire pane shattered upon impact, and the curtain was ripped to the floor.
Jessie followed close behind, stepping up onto the window sill, and leaping into the room.Both women stood facing her, their eyes equally wide.The startled baby began to cry.Jessie tried to ignore that and focus on Sienna, who was still clutching the syringe, just one quick lunge away from Shannon Mitchell.
“Sienna,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm despite the madness of the situation.“I need you to drop that syringe and step away from Shannon and the baby.”
Neither woman spoke for a moment, clearly stunned.Sienna recovered first.
"You don't understand.This woman stole my child.Rosie belongs to me, and I'm just here to get what is rightfully mine."
“That’s not true,” Shannon shot back.“She’s crazy.She said that if I didn’t hand over my baby, she’s going to inject me with some poison.Please help us.”
Jessie wasn't entirely sure how.A brief fantasy of shooting Sienna and seeing her brains decorating the wall popped into her head, and it wasn't as appalling as she hoped it would be.Yes, she could go for her gun.But she feared that by the time she grabbed it, it would be too late.And even if she was quick enough, she wasn’t the best shot.No matter how much she might want to paint the house’s walls with Sienna’s brain matter, she likely couldn’t make it happen.She needed another option.
She was sure that Susannah must have heard the breaking glass, but that didn't mean she was in a position to help.She might be stuck out back without a quick way to get inside.Jessie had to assume she was on her own for now.
Listen, Sienna, I get it,” she said with as much sympathy as she could muster.
“Don’t give me that crap,” the woman hissed.“You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
“Actually, I do.I know that you tried to help bring a child into the world for Shannon, as well as multiple other women.I know you lost that ability, but pressed on anyway.I know these last few years must have been incredibly painful for you.”
Sienna seemed briefly startled by how much Jessiedidknow about her.But that didn’t last long.
“You’re just saying all this to make me let my guard down.You want to take my baby, the one that is owed to me.I’ve done my penance.Now it’s time for my reward.”
Jessie tried to process what she was hearing.Sienna Tropper wasn't just a killer, looking for payback against the women she believed cost her fertility.If possible, she was more far gone than that.Apparently, she believed that she was somehow entitled to Shannon Mitchell's baby, as some kind of compensation for the suffering she'd endured.
Jessie wasn’t sure how to respond.But seeing Sienna’s quivering hand, Shannon’s stunned shaking body, and the baby twisting its head from side to side as it bawled uncontrollably, she decided that maybe the truth was her best weapon.
“Sienna, you said I don’t know what you’re going through, but that’s not true.I’ve been through the same thing.Three years ago, I was pregnant myself, excited about the impending birth of my first child.But then that joy and anticipation were ripped away from me.I lost the baby.And I still feel that hole in my heart.”
She didn’t mention that her miscarriage was intentionally caused by her unhinged husband.Those details weren’t important right now.
Sienna shook her head.“You’d say anything right now to stop me.”
“I wouldn’t lie about something like this,” Jessie insisted, though she would if it served her purposes.But she didn’t need to now.“I got divorced after that.My new husband desperately wants to have a child together, but I can’t bring myself to go through that again.I’ve told him that it’s because I don’t want to derail my career right now, which is true.I’ve said that—with all the injuries I’ve suffered in the last few years—I don’t think my body can handle the rigors of a pregnancy.That’s true too.But what I haven’t told him is the deeper truth.But I’ll tell you, Sienna.I don’t think I could emotionally survive another miscarriage.I’m not sure I’m strong enough.I fear it would destroy me.But as amazing a man as my husband is, I’m not sure that he’d understand.But I’m guessing you do.”
The room was silent.Even the baby had quieted, as if in response to Jessie’s revelation.She watched as something close to empathy crossed Sienna’s face.It was clear that her words had gotten through.The question was whether it would matter.
It didn't.Sienna blinked several times, and the moment was gone.Jessie knew she'd failed.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you, but that's not me," the woman said."Maybe you were never intended to have a child.Maybe this is the universe telling you that you would be a terrible mother.Maybe you're supposed to suffer.All I know is that my suffering has finally been rewarded."
As Sienna spoke, Jessie felt that familiar fury rise in her chest.She had a brief flash of snagging the syringe from Tropper and jamming it repeatedly in her eye.But before the feeling grew any stronger, she noted movement behind Sienna in the kitchen.Susannah had managed to get inside.But if she moved to the side, where she might be able to get a clean shot, she’d be in Sienna’s line of sight.
The woman, syringe still firmly in her grip, pointed at Shannon.“She was chosen to carry my baby to term.Now that she has and Rosie has entered the world, her purpose is complete.I could have killed her before when she was entering the house, but I didn’t want to risk harming my little girl.I showed mercy.But the time has come.I’m taking my child.And if you try to stop me, then I will have to inject the needle into Rosie.Because if I can’t have her, no one can.”
That was a bridge too far.Telling Jessie that she didn’t deserve to be a mother was one thing.But threatening to murder a newborn baby rather than let someone else keep it was a different level of disturbed.Jessie realized that no amount of talking was going to help.Any second now, Sienna would act.The only question was who she’d try to plunge the needle into.It was time to act.
“Shannon,” she said, turning to the new mother who looked back at her with fear in her eyes, “Run!”
Shannon, who had already looked ready to bolt, didn't need to be told twice, she turned and dashed toward the front door.It took Sienna a second to follow suit.But by then, Jessie had already made her move.
She took two large steps and flung herself at the killer, diving over the back of the couch.As she made contact with Sienna’s body, she chopped down on the woman’s right forearm, hoping to shake the syringe free.
They both slammed into the floor, colliding in a heap.Jessie ignored the pain in her right hip, which took the brunt of the fall, and scrambled to her knees, ready to defend herself against an attack with the needle.But Sienna’s hand was empty.
The woman, on her knees, balled that hand into a fist and swung at Jessie, who tried to raise her hands to block the blow.She was a fraction of a second too late and felt the woman's fist smash into the bridge of her nose.Ignoring the stinging sensation and her watering eyes, Jessie formed a fist of her own, about to return the favor.
