“Hmm?” Linda paused. Her head tilted as she studied Hadley. Ever so slightly, her grip faltered, and she murmured, “You’re right. You’re not so easy to deal with anymore. Getting rid of you is so much more difficult now.”

Meanwhile, the door shuddered under Tamara’s relentless blows. It was seconds away from being knocked off its hinges.

“Isn’t it something…” Linda muttered, her face suddenly turning ashen. She looked at Hadley with a strange mix of envy and despair. “Eric… he’s really fallen for you, hasn’t he? Tell me…”

Her eyes glimmered with something dark, and her voice dropped to a chilling murmur. “What if one day you found out it was all a lie? That he never really loved you? What would you do? Would it break you? Would you come undone?”

Hadley frowned, thrown off by Linda’s words. For a moment, she couldn’t make sense of them.

Just then, a thunderous crash split the air. The door burst inward, ripped from its hinges, and landed with a heavy thud that made the floor quake.

“Hadley!” Tamara’s voice cut through the room, sharp and urgent.

“Hadley!” Linda echoed, staring directly at her. With a twisted smile, she said, “I’ll show you. Eric never loved you. Not for a single heartbeat!”

Hadley stood rooted to the spot, her mind reeling from a mix of confusion and disbelief.

A slow, enigmatic smile crept across Linda’s face before anyone had a chance to process what was happening. Digging deep for whatever strength she had left, Linda forced herself upright and lunged at Hadley. The sudden movement caught everyone off guard.

Hadley’s hand stayed wrapped around the fruit knife. Nobody could have expected Linda to launch herself so recklessly. There had been no warning—everything happened in a blur.

Right then, Tamara burst through the ruined door, racing to Hadley’s side. Moments later, the nurse who had gone for the keys arrived, closely followed by Jane, Linda’s caregiver.

Tamara knelt beside Hadley, steadying her by the shoulders. “Hadley? Say something. Are you alright?”

? ? g?ν

Physically, Hadley appeared unharmed, but the way she and Linda were caught up together set off alarm bells. Hadley did not move or answer, her gaze hollow and lost as Tamara watched her closely.

When Linda’s head slumped onto her shoulder, Hadley heard it—a terrible, unmistakable sound. The knife’s blade had cut through flesh. She felt her body go cold, as if her blood had turned to ice.

“L-Linda…” Her voice trembled and faltered, fear choking out Linda’s name. All she could think about now was getting the knife away from Linda’s body, hoping desperately that it was not too late.

With panic rising in her chest, she called out, “Tamara! Get her off me!”

“On it!” Tamara responded quickly. She seized Linda by the shoulder and arm, doing her best to pull her away from Hadley.

The attempt failed. Linda stayed locked in place. Nobody had expected Linda to fight back with such iron determination.

.

.

.