The Poolside Incident
I was on vacation with my mother-in-law, Katherine. After checking into the hotel, we went for a swim in the pool.
That’s when a woman, dressed to the nines even in her poolside attire, pinched her nose in disgust.
“This is a luxury resort. What is with the class of people they’re letting in these days? I bet they just snuck in to use the pool.” Her voice dripped with contempt. “Sharing the same water with you people… I’m afraid I’ll catch something.”
The mood was instantly ruined. “This is a public pool for hotel guests,” I said, my voice cold. “If you can’t handle that, build one in your own backyard.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “How dare you speak to me like that? Do you have any idea who I am? My husband owns this hotel. The penthouse suite is mine, year-round.” She jabbed a finger at us. “I’m ordering you to get out. Now. The stench of your cheapness is fouling the water. It’s disgusting.”
Katherine and I exchanged a look. I saw the same icy fury in her eyes that I felt in my own heart.
This hotel was one of dozens owned by Terence McMurray. Since when was he someone else’s husband?
…
We’d wanted to keep a low profile on this trip, checking in without revealing our connection to the McMurray hotel empire. So much for that. Our relaxing getaway had just turned sour.
Katherine, a titan of industry her entire life, wasn’t about to be intimidated. She scoffed. “And who are you to order us around? You’re the one who should get out. It’s the stench of your bad manners that’s truly disgusting.”
Ignoring the woman, who was now sputtering with rage, Katherine turned to me. “Amelia, let’s just swim. Pay her no mind. When we get back, you and I will have a little chat with Terence and find out what in the world is going on.”
Being ignored sent the woman into a full-blown tantrum. A vicious smile twisted her lips. “Fine. If you love the water so much, you can stay in it all day.”
She made a call. A moment later, a young, athletic-looking man appeared, fawning over her. “Rose, what can I do for you? Ready for that swimming lesson?”
She pointed at us with a perfectly manicured nail. “Marco, teach these two ignorant women a lesson for me.”
Marco understood immediately. “You got it, Rose,” he said with a greasy smile. “I’m a swim coach. I know all the tricks for handling people in the water.”
He dove in. Before we could react, he grabbed Katherine by the head and shoved her under the water with all his strength. She was no match for him; she started choking instantly, thrashing wildly.
“Stop it!” I lunged at him, but he was agile, twisting away and pushing my head under, forcing a lungful of chlorinated water down my throat. I came up sputtering and, in a blind panic, I sank my teeth into his arm. Hard.
He yelled and let go. I immediately pulled Katherine to the side of the pool. Her eyes had rolled back, and she was coughing so hard it sounded like she was trying to hack up a lung. She was a woman who had commanded boardrooms and built an empire that spanned the country. She was treated with reverence everywhere she went. When had she ever been subjected to such humiliation?
Her voice, when she could finally speak, was steel. “Do you realize you could have killed me? This is criminal!” she raged at Rose. “I’ll have my legal team sue you into oblivion!”
Rose just laughed. “So what if you died? My husband owns hundreds of hotels. He makes enough in one day to buy your pathetic lives a thousand times over. You should have found out who you were messing with before you started something. Lawyers? Please. You can’t even afford the filing fee.”
This hotel was just one of many Katherine had entrusted to Terence’s management. This woman’s possessive, arrogant attitude made no sense. Did Terence have a second wife?
I rubbed Katherine’s back, trying to soothe her. “Is your husband’s name Terence McMurray?” I asked, my voice dangerously calm.
Rose preened. “That’s right. At least you’re not completely clueless. Now, if you kneel and apologize, then scrub this entire pool clean, I might consider letting you go. Otherwise, when he gets here, you’re in for a world of hurt.”
Ice flooded my veins. Terence. The man who had sworn his undying love and loyalty to me… was he really cheating?
Then, my eyes locked on the tattoo just above her collarbone. A single, perfect rose.
I had seen the exact same tattoo on his chiseled abs.
He’d told me he got it because I loved roses. I was so touched at the time. What a fool I’d been. It was a couples’ tattoo. If we hadn’t run into her today, I never would have known he was keeping a mistress in a gilded cage.
The angrier I got, the calmer I became. “As far as I know,” I said, my words sharp enough to cut glass, “Terence McMurray’s wife is named Amelia. And she looks nothing like you. You’re the mistress, yet you have the audacity to be this arrogant? You have no shame.”
I raised my chin. “Go on. Call him. I’d love to see how he plans to make us hurt.”
The word “mistress” struck a nerve. Her face contorted with hatred. “In love, there’s no first or second. The one who isn’t loved is the other woman,” she spat. “My husband is on his way over right now. You just wait.”
She dialed a number, and her voice instantly transformed into a sickly sweet, baby-talk purr. “Jules, darling, when will you be here? There are these two old hags bullying me at the pool. I’m so scared. You have to come and stick up for me.” She giggled. “And you should reserve the pool just for me from now on. I’ve learned a few new tricks in the water… and I can’t wait for you to enjoy them.”
Hanging up, her face was a mask of smug triumph. “He’ll be here in thirty minutes. You’re dead. He has a million ways to deal with people like you.”
The thought of Terence, acting the part of the doting husband with me while carrying on with this woman, made me want to throw up.
Katherine saw the look on my face and understood everything. She gritted her teeth. “Terence. That bastard. He’s just like his father.” Her voice was laced with a lifetime of pain. “Everything I gave him, I can take away.”
Katherine despised infidelity. She had divorced Terence’s father years ago after he’d had an affair with a young model, and she’d raised Terence on her own while building her business empire. To think her own son would betray her in the same way… it was a knife to the heart.
Katherine Kingsley was the true power behind the McMurray hotel chain. And I, Amelia Davenport, came from a family whose standing was every bit the equal of his.
Terence McMurray, I thought. Let’s see you explain this.
Just then, I saw Katherine’s face go pale. I quickly tried to help her out of the pool to get changed.
But Rose waved a hand. Marco leaped onto the pool deck and, as Katherine was climbing the ladder, he kicked her squarely in the back.
She tumbled back into the water. I scrambled to get to her.
On the deck, Rose was laughing hysterically. “You look like a pair of drowning ducks! You love the water so much? Then stay in it!” She turned to Marco. “Don’t let them out until my husband gets here.”
“You got it, Rose,” the lapdog said. “Just put in a good word for me with Mr. McMurray when he arrives.”
Every time we tried to climb out, he would kick us back in. Our strength was fading fast. Katherine was clutching her chest, struggling to breathe.
I held her up, trying to keep her head above water. “Are you trying to kill her?” I screamed at the deck. “My mother has a heart condition! Let us out, now! You will regret this when Terence gets here!”
Marco hesitated, a flicker of fear in his eyes. But Rose just scoffed. “Nice try. Old women like you are full of tricks. Faking a heart attack? You were swimming just fine a minute ago.” She turned to Marco with a wicked grin. “Go turn off the pool heater. Let’s see how long she can keep up the act.”
“I’m telling you, if she dies, the police will be here, and you’ll both go to jail!” I yelled, my voice raw with fury.
Rose simply picked up a glass of red wine and took a leisurely sip. “Stop the drama. If you want out, beg me. Weren’t you so tough a minute ago? What, you’re scared now that my husband is coming?”
Katherine did have a heart condition. The stress, the shock, and the near-drowning had taken their toll. She was in real trouble. I bit my lip. I had to get her out of there. I would swallow my pride, do anything to keep her safe.
But as I was about to speak, Katherine gripped my arm. Her voice was a ragged whisper. “I have never bowed my head to anyone in my life. And I will not start by begging a classless creature like her. Amelia, I can hold on. When Terence gets here… I will never forgive him. Don’t you worry. A man ruined my life once. I will always be on your side.”
Seeing our defiance, a cruel glint appeared in Rose’s eyes. “Marco, go to the kitchen. Bring back two buckets of ice. Let’s cool them down a little more.”
The ice cubes plunged into the water, and the temperature dropped immediately. I was already shivering uncontrollably. Katherine’s lips were turning blue, and her eyes were becoming unfocused.
“Katherine?” I patted her cheek, but she barely responded. I gathered what little strength I had and tried to swim for the edge, but each time, Marco used a pool skimmer to push us back.
I was frantic, my eyes burning with tears. “My mother is dying!” I screamed. “Let her out! If she dies, this hotel is liable! Terence will never let you get away with this!”
Marco, as a swim coach, could see Katherine’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. “Rose,” he said nervously, “that older one… she doesn’t look so good. Maybe we should let her out. I mean, if she dies in the pool, it’s not like you’ll want to use it anymore. And I don’t think Mr. McMurray would be happy if you actually killed someone. I could lose my job.”
Rose thought for a moment, then sneered. “Worried about your job, are you? I’m not trying to kill anyone. But some people are just stubborn. I told them, if they beg, I’ll consider it. Clearly, they’re not at death’s door yet. Let’s just see how long they can last.”
Marco puffed out his chest, emboldened by her. “Let me make this clear,” he said, looking down at me. “Rose is Mr. McMurray’s woman. This whole hotel is basically hers. Everything revolves around her. You shouldn’t have even been allowed in here today. If you want to live, you’ll apologize and beg her. If not, nobody can help you.”
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. Looking at Katherine, so fragile and fading, I knew I had no choice. Pride was a luxury I couldn’t afford.
“Please,” I choked out, the words tearing at my throat. “I’m begging you. Let my mother go. She has a heart condition. She’s going to die.”
A triumphant smirk spread across Rose’s face. “Didn’t you call me a shameless mistress earlier?” she purred. “I want you to say it again, but differently. I want you to say, ‘That bitch Amelia is the mistress, and you are Terence McMurray’s wife.’”
She had no idea that I was Amelia, but in a stroke of cruel irony, she had found the one thing that would humiliate me the most.
My fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and forced the words out, one by one. “That bitch Amelia… is the mistress. You are Terence McMurray’s wife.”
“There. Are you satisfied? Now let my mother out!”
Rose laughed, a delighted, wicked sound. “I said I’d consider it. And I have. I’ve decided… no.”
Pure rage surged through me. I wanted to tear her apart with my bare hands. I had one card left to play. “You’ve gone too far! She is Terence McMurray’s mother! If anything happens to her, he will destroy you!”
But Rose just howled with laughter. “You pathetic liars will say anything! A minute ago, you called her ‘Mom.’ Now she’s Terence’s mother? You ruined my swim today, and I’m going to make sure you learn your lesson. Next time, watch who you cross!”
In my arms, Katherine began to tremble violently. Her breathing grew shallow. It was a full-blown cardiac episode. If she didn’t get her nitroglycerin pills, she would die.
“Help!” I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. “Somebody help us! It’s an emergency!”
But the pool area was deserted.
Even Marco was starting to panic. “Rose, what if…”
“It’s fine,” she cut him off, utterly unconcerned. “Old ladies like her are tougher than they look. She’s faking it. My husband will be here any minute. We’ll let them out then. A few more minutes won’t make a difference.”
A few minutes was all it would take to lose her.
Despair washed over me, cold and absolute.
Suddenly, the hotel manager came running over. “Help!” I shrieked. “My mother is having a heart attack! Get her out of the water! Call an ambulance!”
The manager had met Katherine once, years ago, but he didn’t recognize the pale, shivering woman in my arms. He had heard there was trouble and had come to kiss up to Rose. Now, seeing the reality of the situation, he quickly weighed his options: piss off Rose, or have someone die on his watch and lose his job.
He chose his job. “Miss Rose,” he said with a practiced smile, “perhaps it would be best to let them out. If something… unfortunate… were to happen, this pool would be unusable for you in the future.”
Rose glanced at him, then shrugged haughtily. “Fine. For your sake, I’ll let them out.”
The manager and Marco quickly pulled us from the water. Katherine was limp, unresponsive. I didn’t even stop to catch my breath. I scrambled to the locker room, grabbed my bag, and fumbled with the vial of emergency heart pills.
Just as I was about to put one under her tongue, a designer heel flashed out and kicked the vial from my hand. The pills scattered across the wet tiles and into the pool.
Rose looked at my face, twisted in anguish, and laughed. “Alright, the show’s over. We let you out. Now get lost, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of my way from now on. I’m feeling generous today.”
Something inside me snapped. I lunged forward and slapped her across the face with all my might. “If anything happens to my mother,” I seethed, my eyes blazing, “I will make you and Terence McMurray pay!”
She shrieked, stunned that I would dare touch her. “You psycho! I should have just let you both drown!”
I tried to go for her again, but Marco and the manager grabbed my arms. Rose, freed, slapped me again and again, more than a dozen times, until my face was numb and burning. The stinging pain cleared my head. Katherine was running out of time.
I wrenched myself free, found my phone, and dialed Terence’s number.
“Terence, it’s Mom. She’s having a heart attack. We’re at the pool at the resort in the Hamptons. Get the nearest medical team here now!” My voice was shaking. “If you’re late, she’s not going to make it!”
His reply was impatient. “Your mother has a heart condition. Doesn’t she know how to take care of herself? I’m in a meeting. Call an ambulance yourself.”
He hung up.
I trembled with a rage so profound it left me breathless. My mother? Did he really not know whose mother had the heart condition?
Just then, Rose’s face lit up. “Terence, darling! You’re finally here!”
She flew into the arms of the man who had just walked in, melting against him. “Jules, what took you so long? Those two women were horrible to me.” She tilted her head, showing him the red mark on her cheek. “Look, that bitch even hit me. You have to make them pay. And then you have to stay and comfort me for a few days.”
The man stroked her cheek, his voice hardening with anger. “Who had the audacity to lay a hand on you? Don’t worry. I’ll make them regret it.” He smiled down at her. “And of course I’ll stay. I cleared my whole week for you.”
This was the man who had just hung up on me. The man who, just last night, had been complaining about how much he would miss me during his week-long “business trip.”
It was all a lie. The vows, the promises… they were worth less than dirt.
Rose wrapped her arm around Terence’s waist and led him toward me like a trophy. “That’s the one who hit me,” she said, pointing. “And that’s her mother on the ground. Teach them a lesson they’ll never forget.”
I slowly raised my head and stared directly into his eyes. “Terence,” I said, my voice like ice. “How, exactly, are you going to teach me a lesson?”
That’s when a woman, dressed to the nines even in her poolside attire, pinched her nose in disgust.
“This is a luxury resort. What is with the class of people they’re letting in these days? I bet they just snuck in to use the pool.” Her voice dripped with contempt. “Sharing the same water with you people… I’m afraid I’ll catch something.”
The mood was instantly ruined. “This is a public pool for hotel guests,” I said, my voice cold. “If you can’t handle that, build one in your own backyard.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “How dare you speak to me like that? Do you have any idea who I am? My husband owns this hotel. The penthouse suite is mine, year-round.” She jabbed a finger at us. “I’m ordering you to get out. Now. The stench of your cheapness is fouling the water. It’s disgusting.”
Katherine and I exchanged a look. I saw the same icy fury in her eyes that I felt in my own heart.
This hotel was one of dozens owned by Terence McMurray. Since when was he someone else’s husband?
…
We’d wanted to keep a low profile on this trip, checking in without revealing our connection to the McMurray hotel empire. So much for that. Our relaxing getaway had just turned sour.
Katherine, a titan of industry her entire life, wasn’t about to be intimidated. She scoffed. “And who are you to order us around? You’re the one who should get out. It’s the stench of your bad manners that’s truly disgusting.”
Ignoring the woman, who was now sputtering with rage, Katherine turned to me. “Amelia, let’s just swim. Pay her no mind. When we get back, you and I will have a little chat with Terence and find out what in the world is going on.”
Being ignored sent the woman into a full-blown tantrum. A vicious smile twisted her lips. “Fine. If you love the water so much, you can stay in it all day.”
She made a call. A moment later, a young, athletic-looking man appeared, fawning over her. “Rose, what can I do for you? Ready for that swimming lesson?”
She pointed at us with a perfectly manicured nail. “Marco, teach these two ignorant women a lesson for me.”
Marco understood immediately. “You got it, Rose,” he said with a greasy smile. “I’m a swim coach. I know all the tricks for handling people in the water.”
He dove in. Before we could react, he grabbed Katherine by the head and shoved her under the water with all his strength. She was no match for him; she started choking instantly, thrashing wildly.
“Stop it!” I lunged at him, but he was agile, twisting away and pushing my head under, forcing a lungful of chlorinated water down my throat. I came up sputtering and, in a blind panic, I sank my teeth into his arm. Hard.
He yelled and let go. I immediately pulled Katherine to the side of the pool. Her eyes had rolled back, and she was coughing so hard it sounded like she was trying to hack up a lung. She was a woman who had commanded boardrooms and built an empire that spanned the country. She was treated with reverence everywhere she went. When had she ever been subjected to such humiliation?
Her voice, when she could finally speak, was steel. “Do you realize you could have killed me? This is criminal!” she raged at Rose. “I’ll have my legal team sue you into oblivion!”
Rose just laughed. “So what if you died? My husband owns hundreds of hotels. He makes enough in one day to buy your pathetic lives a thousand times over. You should have found out who you were messing with before you started something. Lawyers? Please. You can’t even afford the filing fee.”
This hotel was just one of many Katherine had entrusted to Terence’s management. This woman’s possessive, arrogant attitude made no sense. Did Terence have a second wife?
I rubbed Katherine’s back, trying to soothe her. “Is your husband’s name Terence McMurray?” I asked, my voice dangerously calm.
Rose preened. “That’s right. At least you’re not completely clueless. Now, if you kneel and apologize, then scrub this entire pool clean, I might consider letting you go. Otherwise, when he gets here, you’re in for a world of hurt.”
Ice flooded my veins. Terence. The man who had sworn his undying love and loyalty to me… was he really cheating?
Then, my eyes locked on the tattoo just above her collarbone. A single, perfect rose.
I had seen the exact same tattoo on his chiseled abs.
He’d told me he got it because I loved roses. I was so touched at the time. What a fool I’d been. It was a couples’ tattoo. If we hadn’t run into her today, I never would have known he was keeping a mistress in a gilded cage.
The angrier I got, the calmer I became. “As far as I know,” I said, my words sharp enough to cut glass, “Terence McMurray’s wife is named Amelia. And she looks nothing like you. You’re the mistress, yet you have the audacity to be this arrogant? You have no shame.”
I raised my chin. “Go on. Call him. I’d love to see how he plans to make us hurt.”
The word “mistress” struck a nerve. Her face contorted with hatred. “In love, there’s no first or second. The one who isn’t loved is the other woman,” she spat. “My husband is on his way over right now. You just wait.”
She dialed a number, and her voice instantly transformed into a sickly sweet, baby-talk purr. “Jules, darling, when will you be here? There are these two old hags bullying me at the pool. I’m so scared. You have to come and stick up for me.” She giggled. “And you should reserve the pool just for me from now on. I’ve learned a few new tricks in the water… and I can’t wait for you to enjoy them.”
Hanging up, her face was a mask of smug triumph. “He’ll be here in thirty minutes. You’re dead. He has a million ways to deal with people like you.”
The thought of Terence, acting the part of the doting husband with me while carrying on with this woman, made me want to throw up.
Katherine saw the look on my face and understood everything. She gritted her teeth. “Terence. That bastard. He’s just like his father.” Her voice was laced with a lifetime of pain. “Everything I gave him, I can take away.”
Katherine despised infidelity. She had divorced Terence’s father years ago after he’d had an affair with a young model, and she’d raised Terence on her own while building her business empire. To think her own son would betray her in the same way… it was a knife to the heart.
Katherine Kingsley was the true power behind the McMurray hotel chain. And I, Amelia Davenport, came from a family whose standing was every bit the equal of his.
Terence McMurray, I thought. Let’s see you explain this.
Just then, I saw Katherine’s face go pale. I quickly tried to help her out of the pool to get changed.
But Rose waved a hand. Marco leaped onto the pool deck and, as Katherine was climbing the ladder, he kicked her squarely in the back.
She tumbled back into the water. I scrambled to get to her.
On the deck, Rose was laughing hysterically. “You look like a pair of drowning ducks! You love the water so much? Then stay in it!” She turned to Marco. “Don’t let them out until my husband gets here.”
“You got it, Rose,” the lapdog said. “Just put in a good word for me with Mr. McMurray when he arrives.”
Every time we tried to climb out, he would kick us back in. Our strength was fading fast. Katherine was clutching her chest, struggling to breathe.
I held her up, trying to keep her head above water. “Are you trying to kill her?” I screamed at the deck. “My mother has a heart condition! Let us out, now! You will regret this when Terence gets here!”
Marco hesitated, a flicker of fear in his eyes. But Rose just scoffed. “Nice try. Old women like you are full of tricks. Faking a heart attack? You were swimming just fine a minute ago.” She turned to Marco with a wicked grin. “Go turn off the pool heater. Let’s see how long she can keep up the act.”
“I’m telling you, if she dies, the police will be here, and you’ll both go to jail!” I yelled, my voice raw with fury.
Rose simply picked up a glass of red wine and took a leisurely sip. “Stop the drama. If you want out, beg me. Weren’t you so tough a minute ago? What, you’re scared now that my husband is coming?”
Katherine did have a heart condition. The stress, the shock, and the near-drowning had taken their toll. She was in real trouble. I bit my lip. I had to get her out of there. I would swallow my pride, do anything to keep her safe.
But as I was about to speak, Katherine gripped my arm. Her voice was a ragged whisper. “I have never bowed my head to anyone in my life. And I will not start by begging a classless creature like her. Amelia, I can hold on. When Terence gets here… I will never forgive him. Don’t you worry. A man ruined my life once. I will always be on your side.”
Seeing our defiance, a cruel glint appeared in Rose’s eyes. “Marco, go to the kitchen. Bring back two buckets of ice. Let’s cool them down a little more.”
The ice cubes plunged into the water, and the temperature dropped immediately. I was already shivering uncontrollably. Katherine’s lips were turning blue, and her eyes were becoming unfocused.
“Katherine?” I patted her cheek, but she barely responded. I gathered what little strength I had and tried to swim for the edge, but each time, Marco used a pool skimmer to push us back.
I was frantic, my eyes burning with tears. “My mother is dying!” I screamed. “Let her out! If she dies, this hotel is liable! Terence will never let you get away with this!”
Marco, as a swim coach, could see Katherine’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. “Rose,” he said nervously, “that older one… she doesn’t look so good. Maybe we should let her out. I mean, if she dies in the pool, it’s not like you’ll want to use it anymore. And I don’t think Mr. McMurray would be happy if you actually killed someone. I could lose my job.”
Rose thought for a moment, then sneered. “Worried about your job, are you? I’m not trying to kill anyone. But some people are just stubborn. I told them, if they beg, I’ll consider it. Clearly, they’re not at death’s door yet. Let’s just see how long they can last.”
Marco puffed out his chest, emboldened by her. “Let me make this clear,” he said, looking down at me. “Rose is Mr. McMurray’s woman. This whole hotel is basically hers. Everything revolves around her. You shouldn’t have even been allowed in here today. If you want to live, you’ll apologize and beg her. If not, nobody can help you.”
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. Looking at Katherine, so fragile and fading, I knew I had no choice. Pride was a luxury I couldn’t afford.
“Please,” I choked out, the words tearing at my throat. “I’m begging you. Let my mother go. She has a heart condition. She’s going to die.”
A triumphant smirk spread across Rose’s face. “Didn’t you call me a shameless mistress earlier?” she purred. “I want you to say it again, but differently. I want you to say, ‘That bitch Amelia is the mistress, and you are Terence McMurray’s wife.’”
She had no idea that I was Amelia, but in a stroke of cruel irony, she had found the one thing that would humiliate me the most.
My fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and forced the words out, one by one. “That bitch Amelia… is the mistress. You are Terence McMurray’s wife.”
“There. Are you satisfied? Now let my mother out!”
Rose laughed, a delighted, wicked sound. “I said I’d consider it. And I have. I’ve decided… no.”
Pure rage surged through me. I wanted to tear her apart with my bare hands. I had one card left to play. “You’ve gone too far! She is Terence McMurray’s mother! If anything happens to her, he will destroy you!”
But Rose just howled with laughter. “You pathetic liars will say anything! A minute ago, you called her ‘Mom.’ Now she’s Terence’s mother? You ruined my swim today, and I’m going to make sure you learn your lesson. Next time, watch who you cross!”
In my arms, Katherine began to tremble violently. Her breathing grew shallow. It was a full-blown cardiac episode. If she didn’t get her nitroglycerin pills, she would die.
“Help!” I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. “Somebody help us! It’s an emergency!”
But the pool area was deserted.
Even Marco was starting to panic. “Rose, what if…”
“It’s fine,” she cut him off, utterly unconcerned. “Old ladies like her are tougher than they look. She’s faking it. My husband will be here any minute. We’ll let them out then. A few more minutes won’t make a difference.”
A few minutes was all it would take to lose her.
Despair washed over me, cold and absolute.
Suddenly, the hotel manager came running over. “Help!” I shrieked. “My mother is having a heart attack! Get her out of the water! Call an ambulance!”
The manager had met Katherine once, years ago, but he didn’t recognize the pale, shivering woman in my arms. He had heard there was trouble and had come to kiss up to Rose. Now, seeing the reality of the situation, he quickly weighed his options: piss off Rose, or have someone die on his watch and lose his job.
He chose his job. “Miss Rose,” he said with a practiced smile, “perhaps it would be best to let them out. If something… unfortunate… were to happen, this pool would be unusable for you in the future.”
Rose glanced at him, then shrugged haughtily. “Fine. For your sake, I’ll let them out.”
The manager and Marco quickly pulled us from the water. Katherine was limp, unresponsive. I didn’t even stop to catch my breath. I scrambled to the locker room, grabbed my bag, and fumbled with the vial of emergency heart pills.
Just as I was about to put one under her tongue, a designer heel flashed out and kicked the vial from my hand. The pills scattered across the wet tiles and into the pool.
Rose looked at my face, twisted in anguish, and laughed. “Alright, the show’s over. We let you out. Now get lost, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of my way from now on. I’m feeling generous today.”
Something inside me snapped. I lunged forward and slapped her across the face with all my might. “If anything happens to my mother,” I seethed, my eyes blazing, “I will make you and Terence McMurray pay!”
She shrieked, stunned that I would dare touch her. “You psycho! I should have just let you both drown!”
I tried to go for her again, but Marco and the manager grabbed my arms. Rose, freed, slapped me again and again, more than a dozen times, until my face was numb and burning. The stinging pain cleared my head. Katherine was running out of time.
I wrenched myself free, found my phone, and dialed Terence’s number.
“Terence, it’s Mom. She’s having a heart attack. We’re at the pool at the resort in the Hamptons. Get the nearest medical team here now!” My voice was shaking. “If you’re late, she’s not going to make it!”
His reply was impatient. “Your mother has a heart condition. Doesn’t she know how to take care of herself? I’m in a meeting. Call an ambulance yourself.”
He hung up.
I trembled with a rage so profound it left me breathless. My mother? Did he really not know whose mother had the heart condition?
Just then, Rose’s face lit up. “Terence, darling! You’re finally here!”
She flew into the arms of the man who had just walked in, melting against him. “Jules, what took you so long? Those two women were horrible to me.” She tilted her head, showing him the red mark on her cheek. “Look, that bitch even hit me. You have to make them pay. And then you have to stay and comfort me for a few days.”
The man stroked her cheek, his voice hardening with anger. “Who had the audacity to lay a hand on you? Don’t worry. I’ll make them regret it.” He smiled down at her. “And of course I’ll stay. I cleared my whole week for you.”
This was the man who had just hung up on me. The man who, just last night, had been complaining about how much he would miss me during his week-long “business trip.”
It was all a lie. The vows, the promises… they were worth less than dirt.
Rose wrapped her arm around Terence’s waist and led him toward me like a trophy. “That’s the one who hit me,” she said, pointing. “And that’s her mother on the ground. Teach them a lesson they’ll never forget.”
I slowly raised my head and stared directly into his eyes. “Terence,” I said, my voice like ice. “How, exactly, are you going to teach me a lesson?”
First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "247100" to read the entire book.
MotoNovel
Novellia
« Previous Post
The Accidental Sugar Daddy
Next Post »
The Million-Dollar Penalty