The next morning, as I was about to go downstairs for my child’s funeral, Maya stopped me. She wore a nightgown and pulled open her collar to reveal a fresh kiss mark, her eyes filled with disdain.
“Hannah, don’t think you’ve won. You may never know that Carlos never loved you.”
“He just couldn’t bear to see me suffer with him, so he needed someone to take the burden and that’s why he chose you.”
“Now that you’ve lost your child, why are you still holding on here?”
I stopped, my eyes growing colder. “What did you just say?”
“I said, you’re only my replacement.”
Maya dragged out the word “replacement,” her face full of pride.
I froze for a moment, then saw Maya, her face twisted and grim, pull a dagger from behind and rush at me. “Hannah, pay with my child’s life. Go to hell.”
Carlos ran after her, but he was still too late. I dodged and Maya stumbled out of control, tumbling down the stairs as the dagger clattered on the steps.
I stepped forward, seized the dagger and struck toward Maya. By the time Carlos caught up, the blade had already cut across her neck. His face darkened and he quickly stood in front of her, his eyes filled with turmoil.
“Hannah, this ends here.”
“Carlos, she said I was your stand-in. Tell me, is that true?”
Carlos hesitated at my words and I used the moment to drive the dagger into Maya’s chest again.
My wrist was caught in a tight grip, but I clenched my teeth and ignored the tearing pain. A scream rang out as the blade finally sank into Maya’s chest.
Before I could pull it out, I was kicked hard to the ground, my already broken wrist crushed under a leather shoe and I gasped from the pain.
“Hannah, let’s divorce.”
How ridiculous. He had always said only death could part us, yet now he agreed so easily for Maya’s sake.
The divorce papers were thrown at me carelessly and then Carlos tried to carry Maya away. But she resisted, forcing herself to stand in front of me as she dropped the lighter.
Flames quickly devoured the things prepared for the funeral, books Carlos and I had once read to our children and toys we had chosen together.
I tried to grab them back, but my fear of fire pinned me helplessly to the floor.
She leaned against Carlos’s arms and sneered at me. “Hannah, that fire ten years ago should have taken your life.”