Chapter 32 She Bought a Knife, Planning to Kill Margaret
Ashley strolled into the presidential suite and noticed Margaret's room was just as swanky as hers.
It was obvious Margaret really wanted to help her out.
With Emily now under Sarah's thumb, she had no way to fight back. Her only option was to take out Margaret.
Margaret shut the door behind her and asked, "What do you wanna drink?"
Ashley adjusted her mask and said, "Ms. Hughes, no need to fuss. I'm just saying a few things and leaving."
Margaret still made her a cup of tea and handed it over with both hands.
She took it, feeling the warmth of the disposable paper cup in her hands.
Ashley placed the teacup on the table and slipped her hand into her coat pocket.
Inside the pocket was a knife, which she gripped tightly.
She was waiting for Margaret to drop her guard, then she'd make her move.
Margaret sat on the edge of the bed, legs crossed, looking at her with concern. "Are you heartbroken?"
Ashley looked at her, confused.
Margaret smiled. "I saw you crying so hard on the plane. Must be a breakup, huh?"
Ashley said, "Yeah, I had a crappy boyfriend. When I got pregnant, he said he'd marry me, but after the baby was born, he denied everything. I had the kid and raised her alone. When I saw the news of his wedding on the plane, I lost it."
Ashley smiled bitterly; she was telling the truth. This was her sad story.
Margaret wasn't great at comforting people, so she kept asking, "So you don't have money for a hotel because of him?"
"Yeah, I blew all my savings on him and even went into debt." Ashley lied, playing along with Margaret.
The real reason was she had no savings and lost her income after getting fired by Raymond.
After a bit, Margaret got up to grab her bag from the sofa.
Ashley's hand tightened around the knife in her pocket.
Just as she was about to pull out the knife and stab Margaret.
Margaret turned around, holding her purse.
Ashley, halfway through drawing the knife, put it back into her coat pocket.
Margaret opened her purse and took out a stack of cash, handing it to her.
Ashley was stunned. What was this for?
She was here to kill Margaret, but Margaret was giving her money?
Margaret said, "Please don't think it's too little. I didn't bring much cash with me."
Margaret thought Ashley was being fussy and, with a calm look, shoved the red bills into her hand. "Take it, get something nice for your kid. Kids love treats."
Tears started streaming down Ashley's face.
She cried silently and desperately, clutching the red bills tight.
Margaret began to sense something was off and asked with a frown, "What's wrong? Something happen?"
Ashley cried even harder, unable to spill her suffering.
Suddenly, Ashley dropped to her knees and bowed to Margaret. "Ms. Hughes, you're a good person. I'll repay your kindness in my next life."
She planned to kill Margaret and then atone with her own death.
She had no other choice; Emily couldn't die.
"It's just a few hundred bucks, no big deal. Take care of your daughter and live well. Everyone runs into a few bad people in their life," Margaret said, pulling her up from the ground with a bitter smile. She had been betrayed by both Raymond and Sarah.
Ashley nodded, still crying. "Ms. Hughes, thanks for booking the room for me. I really like it. Good night, and sweet dreams."
What she really wanted to say was, "Margaret, the only thing I can do is wait until the last moment tomorrow to act. Enjoy the final moments of your tragic life. I'll repay your kindness in the next life."
Early the next morning, Margaret was jolted awake by her alarm clock. She got up early, left the hotel with her backpack, and then took a bus from the nearby station.
The bus was packed with elderly folks, chatting and laughing in their local dialect, which Margaret couldn't understand. She just looked out at the scenery instead.
After a four-hour bumpy ride, she transferred to a bus heading to Ironwood Lane.
Ironwood Lane was a tiny village surrounded by mountains, super backward.
There were no paved roads, just dirt paths.
Snowflakes were falling from the sky.
Margaret almost slipped off the narrow path into the vegetable fields a few times.
So this was Raymond's hometown.
The foggy sky had really low visibility.
She walked for a long time and only ran into an old woman, Susan Garcia, pulling up carrots in the field. Susan was thin and pale, wearing red clothes with a dark blue coarse cloth apron around her waist.
She had a headscarf wrapped around her head.
Margaret called out to her several times, but Susan didn't hear.
Margaret had to go down into the field, walk up to her, tap her on the shoulder, and ask, "Do you know Raymond?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
