Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

“Don’t push your luck, Dexter!” Ryder stepped forward, gripping Dexter’s collar with a firm hand. I was worried things might escalate to blows, so I stepped in front of Ryder, “Thanks, Ryder, but you should go. I’ll get in touch some other time.”

Ryder, not wanting to make things hard for me, shot Dexter a furious glance, “Phoebe, sort out the stuff we talked about ASAP. Stay away from this guy as far as you can.”

I nodded, “Will do.”

Ryder drove off, and I stood there, not looking back..

“Phoebe, have I been too nice to you lately?” Dexter stepped closer, grabbing my wrist and dragging me toward the garden shed.

I looked at him with fear, unsure of his intentions.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from Ryder? Did my words just go in one ear and out the other?” Dexter’s voice was laced with anger.

“I’ll talk to Hailey to call off our engagement. I’ll leave Sea City,” I was so scared that I stepped back and watched him nervously.

“Oh, thinking of running away? Phoebe, you’ve made a mistake and there’s a price to pay. You think you can just leave and that’s atonement?” Dexter sneered.

“But you told me… to leave,” I cried, asking why he was doing this.

“You had your chance to leave before you pushed Melody down the stairs like a witch. I gave you that chance and you squandered it. Now it’s too late!”

“I didn’t do it; how many times do I have to say it before you’ll believe me? Why won’t you believe me?” I sobbed, begging for his trust and compassion.

Dexter seemed indifferent, his eyes filled only with rage. He snatched my phone and locked me in the shed, “Reflect on your actions in here. When you agree to come to the hospital and apologize to Melody, I might let you out.”

I was crying, pounding on the door, begging Dexter to let me out.

But he refused, and no one in the Fitzgerald family dared to release me.

I don’t know how long I cried; I just huddled in a corner, afraid.

The shed light was broken, and Dexter knew I’d been afraid of the dark ever since our parents passed away. Yet he chose this dark, confined space to punish me.

He always did that, using what he knew scared me the most to threaten me. He was exploiting his hold over me, bullying me time and again.

The fever got worse, and I lay against the clutter, not knowing how long I’d slept.

If the housekeeper hadn’t been so compassionate as to tell Halley, I might have died in that shed that night.

The next morning.

“Dexter, what did Phoebe do that you locked her in the shed?” Hailey confronted Dexter angrily.

“Melody’s in the hospital and she’s just out of danger!” Dexter’s voice barely contained his fury. “Mom, it’s your coddling that spoiled her. She’ll become lawless if this continues!”

I lay in bed, feeling groggy while listening to Dexter and Hailey argue outside the door.

“She dared to push Melody down the stairs, and that’s attempted murder! If Melody pursues criminal charges, Phoebe could end up in jail!”

Hailey fell silent. After a long pause, she finally spoke, “Dexter, talk to Melody. Whatever compensation she wants, the Fitzgeralds will provide it. We can’t let Phoebe go to jail. The poor child would be ruined.”

Dexter scoffed, “Your coddling made her this way. All these years, she’d been living with the Fitzgeralds, eating our food, and using our resources. What good has she done for the Fitzgeralds except cause trouble?”

“Mom, I’ve had Dean buy you a ticket to Sunya Bay. You will stay there for a while as I handle things here. You can’t keep indulging her. If you do, it’s only harming her.” He added.

Dexter was pushing Hailey away.

I gripped the sheets in fear and didn’t dare make a sound.

If Hailey left, Dexter would have free rein.

Curled up under the covers, my whole body trembled. What to do? I mused.

Dexter wouldn’t let me go.