Chapter XIIII: Deranged

Earlier…

As the fading light of the sun yielded to the soft embrace of dusk, painting the sky with a delicate palette of colors as evening unfolded, a taxi glided to a stop outside the ornate gates of the Springsview Valley Estate.

Springs Valley Estates was a gated community exclusively for the ultra-rich.

The security guard approached the driver’s window with a stern expression. “I’m sorry but public transportation is not permitted through these grounds.”

The driver twisted in his seat to address his lone passenger. “Ma’am, you’ll need to get another ride from here.”

The tinted window slid down with a low hum to reveal a woman in her early twenties. Though her stylish appearance was marred by dishevelment, the guard felt his heart stir as he recognized those delicate features.

She flashed him a winsome smile that made his pulse quicken. “Kelvin.”

He puffed out his chest imperceptibly. Who would have thought she even knew his name?

“M-Ms. James. What can I do for you?”

“I have an urgent matter to discuss with Miss Lydia. Could you allow us through, please?” She blinked her long lashes innocently.

Kelvin’s infatuation warred with protocol as he eyed the non-descript taxi idling at the gates. “I’m sorry Ms. James, but I can’t authorize public vehicles on the premises. It’s against policy.”

Her rosy lips curved downward in displeasure. “Is that so?”

Desperate to wipe that aggrieved look from her face, Kelvin scrambled for a solution. “But I’d be happy to drive you to the main residence in one of the estate’s golf carts.”

The brilliant smile she awarded him made his knees go weak. “Thank you, Kelvin. That’s very kind of you.”

Minutes later, they were gliding across the impeccably manicured grounds side-by-side in the golf cart.

Kelvin could barely contain himself as the intoxicating smell of her perfume enveloped them in the compact space.

“It really is a lovely property, isn’t it?” he gushed in a rush, barely able to string coherent sentences together under her radiant presence. “Though I’m sure someone as widely traveled as yourself has seen far grander vistas, not that this place doesn’t have its charms, I just meant—”

“Kelvin.” The gentle reproach in her tone brought his babbling to a sheepish halt.

“S-Sorry, Ms. James. I’ll just keep quiet and get us there.”

“It’s quite all right.” She patted his arm companionably, causing his heart to stutter. “I enjoy your rambling. Do go on.”

As if granted divine benediction, Kelvin launched into a breathless recitation of the estate’s impressive history, botanic gardens, and architecture. She rewarded his verbosity with the occasional nod and tight-lipped smile, which he greedily soaked up like a sponge.

Soon, the towering facade of the Beaumont residence came into view. Kelvin steered them up the imposing gates.

When they arrived at the Beaumont estate, she hit him with another dazzling smile. “Kelvin, may I borrow your phone?” As if he could deny his goddess anything.

Handing it over, he watched raptly as she dialed and waited, studious of every breath and micro-expression. Her voice took on an animated, frantic quality as she finally connected with someone, carrying on an increasingly agitated conversation. Kelvin’s brow furrowed with worry – had someone upset his angel?

It was then that a sleek family SUV pulled up.

In the backseat was a little girl, chatting animatedly with the female driver. If Sahara had turned her head just a little to the left, she would have recognised the woman as the one who had engaged with her mother in a tense argument in the elevator, a few days back.

At the sight of the girl, the woman ‘s delicate features contorted in a hateful glare.

“Do you need me to wait?” Kelvin asked hesitantly when the call ended.

“No,” she clipped out, though her full lips curved in a smile again as she met his besotted gaze. “It may take some time. I don’t want to keep you from doing your duties.”

“O-Okay,” he stammered, heart thumping. “Just give me a call when you’re ready to go.”

With Kelvin’s intervention, the staff begrudgingly allowed the woman through the gates, despite the call abruptly turning her away and rescheduling for another day. But she was in no mood to be delayed further. Her heart burned with resentment and hatred toward those who had reduced her to such lows.

She stormed off the driveway and into the vast gardens, knowing Lydia always took an evening stroll after dinner. If she could just get a word with her former boss…

But as she cut through the sculptured hedgerows, a small, stumbling shadow blundered into her path – a shadow she immediately recognized as the devil-spawn of Lydia’s rival.

Little Sahara wandered lost and disoriented, sniffling piteously.

The woman’s dark glare intensified as she neared the helpless child. Her hands moved of their own accord, shoving Sahara with brutal force and sending the girl tumbling into the deep pond with a yelp of surprise and fear.

A cruel, sickening smile split Ms. James’ face as she watched Sahara flail and choke, struggling against the water. This was revenge, catharsis, justice…

“Sahara!” The shrill cry rent the night, shattering her vicious reverie.

Panic seized her as the plump silhouette of Louise burst onto the scene in horror. Ms. James ducked behind a cluster of bushes just as the frantic mother plunged into the pond after her daughter. Her heart thundered, her breath trapped in her lungs, as more footsteps and voices converged in panicked chaos.

She was so close – mere feet from them as they frantically tried to resuscitate the rescued but unconscious girl. But they were too engulfed in worry over Sahara’s state to notice the nervous, skulking figure concealed in shadows, one shaking hand clamped over her mouth to stifle any sound that might give her away.

Only after what felt like an eternity of holding her breath did the clamor finally die down. Sahara would be okay, it seemed.

Ms. James could finally exhale…and that’s when piercing eyes locked onto her hiding spot, silently accusing.

She went rigid, cold dread seizing her core.

Had she been seen? Did they know what she had done? Those eyes seemed to burn straight through her, and she shrank back deeper into the shadows, petrified.

‘’I know you’re skulking back there,” Constance called out in a low, dangerous tone. ”Are you going to come out on your own? Or do I need to have the security team drag you out?”

The woman dared not answer. Her heart drummed deafeningly in her ears.

‘’What do I do? What do I do?’’ she mumbled herself panicky. Her eyes started everywhere looking for a way to escape.

But…She was trapped with nowhere to go.

”No?” Constance continued her voice, neither excited or disappointed. ”Very well then. Perhaps I should have security call the police to deal with the trespasser on my property.’

No sooner had the thinly-veiled threat left her mouth than a trembling figure slowly emerged from the dense shrubbery like a beaten dog, hunched and visibly shaking.

Constance’s lips curved into a remorseless smile at the sight of the woman.

”Please don’t,” a hoarse, quivering voice begged. ”Don’t call the police on me.’’

Constance turned back, smirking coldly at the redhead sporting a raggedy bob cut which just a few days ago had looked stylish and sophisticated. However, the unkempt and disheveled woman kneeling before her was anything but put-together now.

“Sarah James,” she practically purred, surveying the trembling wretch with undisguised disdain.

Sarah flinched as if struck, crumpling fully to her knees on the damp grass. She clutched at the hem of Constance’s designer skirt, staining the expensive fabric with dirt and her desperate, groveling pleas.

“I’m so sorry, please don’t call the police on me,” she babbled, spittle flying as panic overrode any last vestige of dignity. “I didn’t mean to push her, I swear! It was an accident, a horrible, horrible accident!”

Constance’s expression remained glacial as she looked down at the pathetic, bedraggled excuse for a woman literally kissing the ground she walked on. Her eyes glittered with callous indifference and a hint of perverse delight.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” she said at last in a low, carrying tone. “Sorry that you failed to handle a mere, feeble five-year-old child.” She clucked her tongue in mocking reproach, shaking her head slowly. “Such a pity your incompetence knows no bounds. Although I suppose there’s always room for improvement, isn’t that right?”

The cruel words laced with dark promise hung heavy in the crisp night air. Sarah James recoiled as if struck, her jaw dropping in shocked disbelief as she stared up at Constance with naked horror etched across her splotchy features.

For several moments, the only sound was her harsh, ragged breathing and the distant whine of the ambulance siren dwindling into the distance. Then, as if splashing herself with a bucket of ice water, Constance seemed to recover her razor-sharp poise and composure.

She disengaged her skirt from Sarah’s trembling clutches with a look of outright revulsion, straightening to her full imperious height as she smoothed away the wrinkles with neat strokes of her hands. Her calculating gaze traveled over the shrubbery and well-tended gardens surrounding the pool area.

Sarah remained frozen, barely breathing as she tracked Constance’s every calculated move with wary, petrified eyes.

”You should leave.”

“Please don’t call the police on me. I never meant to hurt her, I swear!” The words burst from Sarah in a broken wail of anguish and despair. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I was just so angry , I pushed her a bit to scare her , but she slipped and hit her head and…and…”

The broken stream of words and whimpering sobs trailed off as Sarah buried her splotchy face in her shaking hands, shoulders heaving with the force of her guilt and remorse.

Constance watched the pathetic display for a long moment, her features an impassive, chiseled mask of stone. Then, without preamble or transition, she unfolded her arms and turned on her heel in one smooth, fluid motion.

“A wise woman would learn from her mistakes and strive to become…more capable,” she tossed over her shoulder without a backwards glance. “I trust I can count on your dedication, Sarah.”

The words landed like a physical slap across Sarah’s already stinging cheek. She jerked her head up, mouth working wordlessly as Constance’s willowy form retreated in a swirl of silk and disdain, disappearing beyond the neatly-pruned shrubbery toward the house.

Alone in the darkness, Sarah James could only wrap her trembling arms around herself, rocking back and forth as the horrific reality of what she had done gradually sank its vicious, unrelenting hooks deeper and deeper into her consciousness.