"James, don't talk like that. Poppy wasn't all bad. If she hadn't threatened to expose you after everything you did for her, maybe she'd still be alive." Sarah tried to sound righteous.
James's jaw ticked. Sarah was far too soft on Poppy and it irritated him.
"Everything that happened, she deserved it, and even worse. That ungrateful, ugly bitch threatened to ruin me when all I ever did was make her pathetic life worth living."
He sneered. "Do you know how exhausting it was to pretend to enjoy touching an oversized ogre every night?"
The way James spoke about Poppy made her smile. "Well… she was too clingy and paranoid for someone so unattractive. But you handled her for so long, baby. I'm proud of you."
"You know the only reason I tolerated her was because her father's shares were supposed to be transferred to me, and the document only becomes valid if she stays alive for three years. It's a good thing she found out about us on our third anniversary," he said coldly.
Suddenly remembering, "What about the shares?" Sarah asked. James hadn't spoken about it since he'd been more concerned with getting rid of Poppy's body.
"We'll deal with that later," he said. "Even if she had no living family or friends, we need to stay low for a while. We'll finish the process when the time is right."
Sarah nodded. "Well… at least we're finally free. It's almost over."
From where Poppy hid, her entire body froze. Her chest felt tight, but her eyes turned ice-cold.
Everything finally made sense.
All this time, she kept wondering why James went through all the trouble of marrying her, then killing her, when he had a perfect life and Sarah.
But hearing the truth so plainly, it hit harder than she expected.
In her past life, she'd lost her mother and siblings in a plane crash at sixteen. Then finally her Father to Cancer at twenty-one. The endless funerals made her detest living until James came along.
He had been her light, her comfort, and the one safe place after losing everyone, so it felt nice sharing everything she owned with him, including her inheritance.
He knew she loved him and clung to him because she had no one else, but all these while, he'd been using her for her father's shares, and when it finally entered his hands, he'd killed her.
Poppy's fists trembled from rage. There was no way she was going to let him take the only thing her father left her!
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps, until a hand gripped her wrist.
She turned sharply to see a guard towering over her with a frown. "Who the hell are you?!" His deep voice echoed through the hallway.
Her heart stopped. "I-I..."
Inside the room, James and Sarah's head snapped to the door.
While James's face went white, Sarah's eyes widened in horror.
"Who's there?!"
"James... Someone's listening!" Sarah clutched his arm, already panicking.
The guard dragged Poppy inside the room, and the moment she stepped in, they both froze.
"...Bella?" James's voice cracked as he whispered.