Chereads / Thorn In The Garden / Chapter 4 - CHAPTER 3

Chapter 4 - CHAPTER 3

October 17th, 2016

It was already nightfall, and Laiza had drifted into a deep sleep. I couldn't wait to share the news with Cameron. The business deal he had been chasing for so long was finally his. With excitement bubbling inside me, I hurried through the pack house, eager to tell my beloved mate. Standing before our bedroom door, my heart raced with joy, but just as I reached for the handle, I overheard a voice.

"Baby, I thought you said you didn't love her?"

My blood turned cold. It was Stella's voice my twin sister, whom I'd recognize even in my sleep.

"Of course I don't. Why would I love a worthless plain Jane like her? The bitch even tried to get pregnant for me the nerve of that worthless whore!" Cameron's voice followed, dripping with disgust.

My heart sank. My beloved Alpha, Cameron of the Silver Tooth pack—the man I thought was my partner was speaking of me with such venom. And my own sister... why was she there?

"It was tough, you know," Stella continued, her voice laced with amusement. "I had to pay someone to push her, then slip an empty pack of aborticide into her bag. I had to pretend to care afterward. Can you believe the audacity of Mum, though? She actually called to check if it worked. The woman is relentless."

Shock and disbelief flooded me. Stella, the light in my darkest moments, the sister who stood by my side when everyone else treated me like dirt, had betrayed me. They hadn't just hated me—they had conspired to kill my child. A baby I didn't even know I had. Why? Why would they do this? For what? So Stella could have Cameron?

I stood frozen, horror-struck, as their conversation continued.

"Your mom nagged me nonstop too," Cameron added. "She couldn't wait to be rid of Laiza's spawn. All that fuss for a mistake of a child."

A mistake. My child... our child was just a mistake to them.

Before I could process the pain surging through me, the door opened, and Stella stood there, her face pale with shock. "Laiza…"

I stepped forward, but instead of confronting them immediately, I turned towards the fireplace and threw the business documents I had brought into the flames. They ignited instantly, crackling as they burned.

"Did you enjoy it?" I asked, my voice trembling, tears welling in my eyes. "Did you enjoy killing my child?"

Stella's face paled further. "Laiza… did you hear everything?" she stammered, trying to regain control of the situation.

"I asked you a question," I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. "Did you enjoy murdering an innocent child? My child, your nephew?"

Cameron's rage flared as he stepped forward, but I didn't flinch. "You worthless bitch," he spat. "I should've killed you along with that bastard."

I barely registered the slap that followed. As I crumpled to the floor, hitting my head against the side table, I looked up at the people I had once called my family. They simply stood there, cold and indifferent.

Stella, still trying to play innocent, cried out, "Laiza, please! Cameron and I have been in love for years. I didn't mean to hurt you—it was madness. You know I would never harm you!"

I let out a bitter laugh, wiping the tears from my face. "You're right. We're not living in a fairytale. You didn't hurt me, Stella. You destroyed me."

The room fell into a tense silence as the rest of my family walked in—my parents, my brothers, even the Beta, Austin, and the Gamma, Tim. They looked at me with smug expressions, as if I were the problem. My mother's voice cut through the stillness, dripping with contempt.

"Look at how far you've fallen, Laiza. Disgracing us like this."

"Your teachings?" I said, my voice calm, though the storm inside me raged. "You mean the lessons you gave only to Stella? No, I'm thankful I wasn't molded in your image."

Stella attempted to defend our mother, but I interrupted her, my words icy and deliberate. "If she's capable of murdering her grandchild, what's stopping her from doing the same when you or my brothers have children?"

My father, seething with anger, finally spoke up. "Enough of this nonsense!"

I turned to him slowly. "Did you really think shouting would make me stop, Father?"

My mother rubbed her temples, feigning exhaustion. "Laiza, we love you. You're overreacting. This can be fixed."

"Love?" I scoffed. "You murdered my child, and now you speak of love? No, Mother, I'm not your child. I've never been."

The shock in her eyes gave me a brief sense of satisfaction, but it was short-lived.

My father's patience snapped. "If you're going to keep this up, spit it out and be done with it."

I faced them all, my so-called family. "You plotted to kill an innocent life. Will you do the same to the children of my brothers and sister when the time comes?"

Their faces darkened.

Before I could continue, Austin broke the silence. "Cameron, please tell me you didn't know about this." His voice trembled with disbelief.

Cameron said nothing, but I answered for him. "He did. He's the one who hired the hit."

The betrayal in Austin's eyes mirrored the pain I felt, but I didn't care anymore. The people who once ruled my world had torn me apart.

Exhausted and broken, I made my way to the door. "I hope you all feel the pain I've felt...no, five times worse. Maybe then you'll understand what it means to lose everything." Without another word, I walked out.

As I left the house, their voices faded. My feet carried me, step by step, into the night, and I didn't stop. I walked until the world blurred around me, until I stood in the middle of the road, unaware of the car speeding towards me.

I jolted awake, drenched in sweat, my heart pounding in my chest. It wasn't a dream—it was a memory. The memory of the night I died.

I stumbled to the bathroom, gripping my stomach as tears streamed down my face. If they hadn't done what they did, my child and I would still be alive. But now, I had a mission—to make them suffer. I would take everything they loved and make them wish for a life worse than death.