Page 59 of Choose Me

"Just making sure you don't try anything stupid when I reunite you with your family."

"I gave you my word."

"I'd be a fool to take you for it. Now, sit in the chair before you pass out and hurt yourself." She instructed.

My vision was becoming hazy, and I felt lightheaded, but I sat in the chair just as my legs buckled. I was too weak to fight her as she tied my arms behind my back and my legs to each portion of the chair. I was barely conscious when she started wheeling me into the hallway toward another door.

"James?" Ava's voice sounded like an angel calling me, distant but absolute.

Was I imagining it?

They say people hear the voices of their loved ones when they are dying as a comfort in their last moments.

Was my angel here to help me cross over?

32

THIRTY-TWO

AVA

I heard her before I saw her. The distinct sound of something being dragged filled the room, and Everett's body tensed, preparing to protect me. The door creaked open, and Margaret stepped in, a sinister smirk on her face and a figure slumped over in a chair behind her. I gasped as recognition struck--it was James, his head lolling back and forth, mumbling incoherently.

"What did you do to him?" I yelled, running to him. "James, it's Ava. Can you hear me?" I pleaded as his eyes remained closed.

Margaret chuckled darkly, "I may have given him too much calm juice," she said with feigned innocence before storming out of the room and returning with a small capsule in her hand. She bent it in half and pressed it up against James' nostrils, sending his head flying back and his eyes wide open with terror.

"Smelling salts," she said smugly, satisfaction dripping from every word. "Works like a charm. And I definitely want James to be awake for what comes next."

"What comes next?" I asked her, confused.

"Yes, sweet little Ava. The next part is where I reveal the background. There are so many things to catch him up on, don't you think?" Her voice was laced with malicious intent, and fear clogged my throat as I looked up at her.

"What do you need him for? Let him and Everett go, and I'll stay here."

"Always willing to sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. I can see why my brother picked you. But while that's all very admirable, you're still missing the point."

"Then tell me. What do you want with us? Why are you doing all of this?" I asked her cautiously.

"Ding, ding, ding! I was beginning to think there was just air between those pretty ears of yours. Take a seat." Her voice was sharp as a knife and cut through us like a blade."My name is Margaret. Hi. Since we haven't been formally introduced. Shall we begin? As you all know, my brother Benjamin was brutally murdered in cold blood. You see, everyone used to think that the love Benny and I shared was evil. Unorthodox. Vile. But it was pure and loving, as only a sister and brother can have. We knew each other's secrets; everything we went through, we went through it together. But then Daddy interfered, and he put his dirty hands in things he had no business touching. So I stabbed him until his chest spilled open like raw meat until all that remained of him were chunks of red flesh stuck to our walls. Out of that nasty little mess was a precious baby that Benny and I created together. That judge sentenced me to rot in that asylum for being 'crazy.' But my Benny wouldn't stand for that either. He tried to protect me. But then you all took my Benny away--snatched him like some toy you can throw away when you're bored, and for what? What did he do wrong? He created something beautiful out of nothing--a life that none of you could ever comprehend, and you branded him a killer. I tried to escape to be with my Benny, but I never got the chance before he died. You killed him for your little whore." Her eyes were pools of burning rage as she glared at us. "So, I escaped to get revenge for the person who killed him. I followed Ava before you knew who I was, and you know what I found? I found another little toy following her, too. I convinced him that we would work together and kill her. Just like a fly in my web, he believed I was going to help him get revenged for you testifying against him and taking away ten years of his life. But he was weak. He didn't have what it took to orchestrate all of this." She stared me down like a lioness hunting her prey. "So, I slit his throat and cut his hands off so I could leave his fingerprints on that picture I sent you. I set little traps and convinced you all that I was on the run. While James was distracted in Miami, and Everett was searching for David, I was a ghost, free to move where I needed to." She curled her lip into a wicked sneer. "But first things first," she snapped her eyes towards James, stalking where he sat, restrained. "I swore I would get revenge against my brother's killer, so I did a little digging and imagine my surprise when I found out he was killed by the lover of my brother's plaything." She plunged the knife deep into his shoulder, his sharp screams piercing through the air with a vengeance.

"STOP!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

Her movements became more precise and calculated as she pressed it deeper and deeper into his flesh.

"Stop, you crazy bitch!"

She pulled her knife out of James and marched towards me, twirling it in her hand like a baton.

Everett pushed himself between us, shielding me from her wrath, and James roared ferociously, "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

Margaret stopped dead in her tracks and let out a shrill, maniacal laugh that bounced off the walls like thunderclaps. "Oh, James, James, James. I won't touch her...yet, but someone else is."

"You're a fucking psycho just like your brother." James sneered, quiet desperation in his voice as he begged, "Just kill me already, so I don't have to listen to you talk anymore."

He was trying to get her attention off of me.

"I'm not going to kill you yet. Not when there's so much fun to be had. Not until I make you suffer like I have. Not until I break your heart as you broke mine." She turned her icy gaze towards Everett. "You see, it all comes full circle in the end. I will get my revenge, and when I do, I'm going to cut my baby out of your stomach and disappear. But for now, you two have to play your part in this little masterpiece of mine."

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