Her Revenge Returns (Lea and Alfred)



Chapter 1

"I gotta hand it to you, Lea. Even with a messed-up tendon, you still managed to escape," Abigail Erickson said, a cruel smile on her face.

Lea Berry lay prostrate on her stomach in a truly pitiful way, all the fight drained right out of her. She bit her lower lip and remained silent.

"Still not throwing in the towel, huh? Waiting for Milton to come riding in and save you?" Abigail grabbed Lea's chin, flashing an even wider grin. "You've been stuck in the psych ward for a full year. How come he hasn't come to visit you, hmm? Let me enlighten you - it was none other than Milton himself who put you in this mess in the first place!"

"No way! You're flat-out lying!" Lea's head snapped up, her eyes brimming with disbelief. "Milton would never do that to me. I'm his wife, for crying out loud!!"

A year back, Lea's little boy - her three-month-old son, was murdered right in front of her very eyes. Lea had straight-up lost it after that, killed the killer and then got shipped off to the loony bin.

His wife? Abigail let out a loud, mocking cackle, finding Lea's words utterly ludicrous. "Oh, come on, I thought you were smarter than this. Haven't you figured it out yet? You're not actually married to Milton at all!"

Lea laughed mockingly before saying, "Abigail, hate to break it to you, but you're the real nutcase here."

When Lea was just twenty years old, Milton Andrews first laid eyes on her. After 7 long years of being together, they finally tied the knot. Then, ten short months after that, they welcomed their little boy into the world.

Throughout it all, everyone in their lives - their friends, their family, everyone - they all knew well that Lea was Milton's one and only wife.

Abigail suddenly reached out and grabbed Lea by the chin, forcing her to look up at her. Abigail's face was twisted into a look of pure mockery, her eyes cold and merciless.

"Oh Lea, you poor, naive thing." She sneered. "After you two got hitched, you and Milton only ever slept together that one time. Since then? He hasn't so much as laid a finger on you."

Abigail leaned in closer, her grip on Lea's chin tightening. "Actually, you know what? That night you thought you were with Milton? It wasn't him at all. It was his cousin, Alfred!"

"You see, Lea, Alfred was supposed to be the heir of the Andrews family. But if it got out that he'd slept with you, his cousin-in-law? Well, that would have absolutely ruined the family's pristine reputation." Abigail's eyes glinted with malice.

"That's where Milton came in. He must have made some kind of deal with his grandfather - you know, the one who controls the Andrews Group?" Abigail's lips curled into a smirk. "In the end, his grandpa agreed to make Milton the heir instead, and handed over control of the whole company to him."

Lea felt like every word Abigail spoke was driving a knife straight into her heart. She stared at Abigail, utterly shocked and devastated by the cruel revelations.

"But do you know what the best part is?" Abigail sneered. "It was Milton, your own husband, who got Alfred drunk and sent him to your wedding bed that night! A proud man like Milton could never truly love a murderer like you. Especially since that child you gave birth to? It wasn't even his." She let out a cruel laugh. "Face it, Lea - you were nothing more than a tool for Milton from the start!"

Lea shook her head violently, her whole body trembling. "No, no, you're lying!" she cried out, the anguish plain in her voice.

Abigail's lips curled into a cruel smirk. "Really? Doesn't it all just seem a bit too convenient?" she taunted. "Who in their right mind would dare to kill Milton's precious son? And why were you sent to a place like this, with no hope of escape?"

"And now, look at you," Abigail continued, her voice dripping with derision. "You've fallen so low. What, pray tell, would I possibly gain by lying to you?"

Lea's eyes went wide, and she let out a desperate shout. "No way! I'm Milton's wife. His lawful wedded wife, I tell you!" Her voice was hoarse with emotion.

"Digging her fingers into the ground, Lea winced as the sharp edges cut into her skin, drawing blood. ""Unless he comes here and tells me to my face, I ain't buying what you're selling," she cried.

Abigail's face twisted with unbridled rage. In one swift motion, she slapped Lea hard across the face. "You're finished, don't you get it?" she spat. "Even now, you still want to be his wife. You're such a bitch!"

Abigail raised her hand, noticing the blood on her ruby ring. The gem was so sharp that it cut Lea's face when Abigail slapped her.

With a cruel smile, Abigail said, "You know, I always hated your pretty face. I've been wanting to ruin it for so long!" She then slashed Lea's face several times with the ring.

"Lea, I got close to you to take your place and everything you had." Abigail laughed. "You were once called a genius, and now you're stuck in a psych ward, bullied by everyone. How pathetic!"

Abigail laughed wildly, swinging her hand again and again. Lea's face was covered in wounds, blood streaming down. She glared at Abigail with wide eyes.

Lea felt a wave of regret wash over her. If only she had never taken pity on Abigail, curing her cancer and allowing her to remain in their circles. That single act of kindness had given Abigail the opportunity to worm her way into Milton's life, and now it was all coming back to haunt her.

Seeing Lea's face now a mess of wounds, Abigail raised her ringed hand with satisfaction, provoking with a smile. "Isn't this ring just exquisite?" she purred, admiring the way the facets of the gem caught the light. "Milton had it custom-made, you know. Spared no expense - over 20 million dollars, can you believe it?"

"He popped the question to me," Abigail said coolly, her hand resting on her slightly rounded belly. "And I'm baking a little bun in the oven - about 18 weeks along now. It's starting to show."

"Abigail's gaze was icy and calculating as she continued, ""Milton is over the moon about this baby. He wants this kid to be the heir to the Andrews Group." A cruel smile twisted her lips. ""And once you're out of the picture, he and I can make it all official.""

Abigail's words struck Lea like a knife to the heart. The chilling realization dawned on Lea - Abigail had come here today with the sole intent of ending her life.

"Thanks to you, Andrews Group has become the powerhouse it is today," Abigail sneered. "And now that I've taken your place, I'm going to make sure it's mine forever."Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

"Oh, don't tell me you still think Alfred is going to come swooping in to save the day," Abigail taunted, her voice laced with cruel amusement. "That's not happening, darling. Because Alfred is already dead."

"What? Alfred? Dead?" she gasped, the shock sending a jolt through her.

Abigail regarded her with a smug, self-satisfied expression. "That's right. It's all thanks to you," she said.

"Eighteen months ago, you were dying from heart failure, remember?" she began, her tone dripping with feigned sympathy. "You wanted to live for your unborn child, but the doctors couldn't find a suitable heart donor. Alfred's heart was a perfect match. So he made the ultimate sacrifice - he killed himself to donate his heart to you."

Clutching her chest, Lea felt an agonizing pain tearing through her, and to her horror, a mouthful of blood suddenly spilled forth, splattering the ground as she crumpled to the floor.

"You know who gave you that stuff that made your heart go all wonky?" Abigail said, her smile widening as her eyes sparkled with pure evil. "Yep, that was me."

Abigail's laughter rang out, cold and triumphant. "And do you know why the doctors couldn't find a suitable heart donor for you? Me again!"

She continued, "Alfred really loved you, you know. For you, he gave up his position as the Andrews family heir, and then he chose to end his life."

Abigail was crazy about Alfred, but he had gone and sacrificed his life for Lea. At the thought of that, Abigail was eaten alive by jealousy over Lea's place in Alfred's life.

She swiped the blood off her ring, glaring down at Lea with pure disdain. "Unleash the hounds," she ordered her flunky. "Clean this up quick and make sure there's not a trace left behind." "Yes." The man nodded.

With her last breath, Lea whispered, "Abigail, you always wanted to know the combination to my safe, didn't you?"

Abigail's eyes lit up as she crouched down. "Tell me, and I'll end your suffering quickly."

"1-7..." Lea's voice was barely audible, so faint that Abigail had to lean in, bringing her ear close to Lea's trembling lips.

"173..." Lea began, her gaze fixed on Abigail as the other woman inched closer. Mustering a final burst of strength, Lea suddenly sank her teeth into Abigail's cheek.

"Ah!" Abigail screamed, staggering backwards as blood began to gush from the vicious wound Lea had inflicted on her face.

Lea's laughter rang out, harsh and mocking, as she glared at Abigail with pure contempt. "Look at you, Abigail - you're nothing but a snake in the grass!" she spat. "You got everything you wanted by using me like a doormat. But you know what they say - what goes around, comes around. And honey, karma's about to bite you right where it hurts."

Lea had wanted to snap off Abigail's throat, but she realized letting Abigail live would be the best revenge. She knew that Milton would eventually betray Abigail just like he had betrayed her. When that day came, Abigail would experience the worst pain in the world. "Kill her, dammit! Right now!" Abigail shouted at the man in fury.

The night was as dark as a starless sky, the bitter winter wind howling through the shadowy alley. Snowflakes swirled and danced, caught in the gale's icy grasp.

In this desolate, garbage-strewn backstreet, near the looming presence of Iverton Psychiatric Hospital, a scene of horror unfolded. Lea lay crumpled on the ground, her body battered and broken, like a marionette with its strings cut. Her limbs twitched feebly as the hounds began to gnaw at her flesh, ripping and tearing with unbridled ferocity.

Lea's eyes were wide open as if refusing to accept the grim reality unfolding around her. Deep down, she couldn't imagine that this would be the way her life would meet its end - not like this, not at the jaws of these feral beasts in this wretched alley. She repeated Alfred's name over and over in her mind.

"I've secured this floor, so no matter how loud you get, no one will come, and no one will know what goes down here. Have fun, but go easy- my sister's still a virgin."

Hearing the familiar voice, Lea felt her whole body heat up. She opened her eyes to see a fat hand reaching for her.

This was the scene she could never forget.

At that time, she was nineteen years old. At her grandfather's 70th birthday party, just a month before her SAT exams, Helen Berry, her sister, had slipped something into her drink. Within minutes, she felt that the world began to spin and her consciousness slipped away, her body betraying her. Then, she succumbed to the blackness, her mind and body no longer her own.

Helen then presented her like a gift to Shawn Bowen, a director and jury president of the Golden Shadow Awards, along with his companion, Chandler Jesen, a film investor, actor, and jury of the Golden Shadow Awards.

These two men were notorious sexual predators in the showbiz, responsible for the deaths of many actresses. To protect herself, Lea had killed them both.

Helen had recorded the whole incident and played the video at Lea's grandfather's birthday party. Helen and her mother testified that Lea was a murderer, leading to Lea's imprisonment and death sentence. This was the beginning of her misfortune. Shawn and Chandler were eyeing Lea, full of admiration.

"Oh, wow, good looks run in the Berry family. I mean, everybody knows Helen is a total stunner - that's how she skyrocketed to fame in showbiz as soon as she hit the scene. But get this - her sister Lea, an average Joe, somehow manages to be even more of a knockout."

"I've seen so many cuties, but it literally took my breath away when I saw her."

Hearing this, Helen frowned slightly. But then she thought she shouldn't let it get to her. No matter how beautiful Lea was, she was still a bastard taken from an orphanage. 'She'll never beat me!' Helen thought silently.

"So, the Golden Shadow Awards for Best New Artist will go to..." Helen asked.

"You, of course!" Shawn said.

"Alright, then I'll leave you guys alone. Enjoy." Helen, satisfied, walked towards the door, dragging the train of her golden dress.

Lea stared hard at Helen's back. Helen had killed her three-month-old son right in front of her and then told everyone that Lea had gone insane and killed her own child, getting her sent to the psych ward.