Chapter 17 - Vanessa's Desperation|
That evening, a heavy thunderstorm rolled over New York, lashing the glass windows of the Hastings estate with heavy rain.
Inside, the house was warm and quiet. Mia was fast asleep in her room upstairs, holding her beloved one-eared stuffed rabbit.
Rosa was sitting in the estate library, reading a book by the crackling fireplace, while Adrien worked on his laptop across the room.
Suddenly, a loud, violent crash echoed from the glass conservatory at the back of the house.
Adrien stood up instantly, his posture going alert. "Stay here, Rosa."
"Adrien, wait!" Rosa warned, standing up as well.
Adrien pulled a small flashlight from his desk drawer and walked slowly toward the glass conservatory. The heavy iron doors hung slightly open, the cold night wind blowing rain inside.
Shards of glass covered the floor near the garden doors.
Standing in the center of the dark conservatory, soaking wet, her expensive clothes ruined, her hair wild and matted, was Vanessa Cole.
In her right hand, she clutched a heavy brass fireplace poker she had grabbed from the patio.
Her eyes were wild, unhinged, and filled with terrifying madness.
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"Vanessa?" Adrien gasped, stopping ten feet away. "How did you get past the gate?"
"I walked through the woods!" Vanessa shrieked over the sound of the thunder. "You destroyed my life, Adrien! My father is in prison! My family is bankrupt! Everyone is laughing at me!"
