The Woman From Hell

To summarise, he had done everything evil a child was capable of doing-as well as things children should have been incapable of doing-and I had been his target. The only thing in my favor was that he would always remember to call my mother to look for me after one of his pranks.

I was probably extremely fortunate to have managed t o survive every time.

My mother felt very guilty about all of this. She was constantly crying and always hugging me, but she could not do anything about Tyler since she had already accepted the money from the supplier. She could not throw him out.

I grew up in a harsh environment under the shadow of Tyler's torment, which took a toll on both my physical and mental state. It was the root cause of my future illness.

When I was 15, Tyler graduated from high school. At that time, he was gaining popularity due to his computer skills. He had taken part in a competition at school and had gotten first place nationwide. I remember he said that he would become the best hacker in the country.

However, an accident crushed his dreams. It also

granted me an escape.

That year, Tyler’s father’s factory was reported to have been producing counterfeit products. When the Industry and Commerce ministry sent someone over t o investigate, the accountant of the factory, on his own accord, gave the authorities evidence of Tyler's father evading taxes, his corruption, and his involvement with bribery. He also gave them proof of his money laundering.

This accountant was my best friend and classmate's father-Cecilia's father.

With concrete evidence, Tyler’s father was found guilty and sentenced to prison. His wife, who was in Whaldorf City, filed for a divorce to prove her innocence. The loss of his career and family was a

double whammy, and it broke the camel’s back.

Tyler's father could not take it, and he chose to end his life in prison.

When the news came, Tyler locked himself in his room for three days.

Three days later, it was stormy and rainy in the afternoon. My mother had gone to the city to sell eggs, and I was alone at home, so I had gone over to Cecilia’s house to finish up some homework.

When it came nighttime, Tyler barged into the house abruptly and questioned Cecilia’s father about his intentions behind reporting Tyler's father. They got into a huge quarrel. Before Tyler left, he left three words behind-"Just you wait."

The ruthless malice and evil that had been in his eyes had made him look like a demon from hell. Till today, I could still clearly remember what he had looked like.

That night, Cecilia and I went to bed without dinner as we were too terrified. Who could have guessed that the next morning when we woke up, both Cecilia's parents would both be sickly in bed? They passed away soon after they reached the hospital. The conclusion that the doctors drew was that it was due t o food poisoning.

The policeman found poisonous mushrooms in the leftovers in Cecilia’s home. Since cases of food poisoning like Cecilia’s parents were very common in the village, no one said anything more about it besides expressing their condolences. It was treated like any other accident.

Cecilia and I were very sure that this was no accident. That night, her parents had not eaten any dishes with mushrooms, so this was definitely related to Tyler. In her sorrow and fear, Cecilia decided to go to the police station to present her case.

I was accompanying her to the police station when we were intercepted by Tyler on the way there. He locked us in a cellar for 20 days straight, the most terrifying period of my life.

Cecilia and I were locked in the damp, dimmed cellar. We could not even see the light of day.

Tyler would bring us food every day. He would say that he would release us when the time was up. He also added that when we got out of the cellar, we would live together forever, and we would never be able to get rid of him for the rest of our lives.

However, if we managed to find a way to escape, he would be more merciful. He would not go looking for u s of his own accord, but he would only give us one chance.

After God knows how many days in the cellar, Cecilia and I found an opportunity to break free on a rainy night. We did not dare to stay in the village, so we took my mother and moved to Salt City that night.

From then on, we never saw Tyler again, until we met him the other day.

After coming to Salt City, Cecilia had decided to drop out of school due to physical and emotional damage. She started working at a cafe. By my mother's request, I also started taking up several jobs, but it was still barely enough for us to scrape by with as a family.

My mother had fallen extremely sick due to worry when I was locked up by Tyler. Her health had deteriorated ever since then. She could no longer walk on her already-injured legs.

When I was in the first year of my university days, my mother was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I had to leave the university that I enjoyed studying in and begin to work so my mother could be treated.

After my mother learned about my sacrifice, she bawled and fell even sicker. On her deathbed, she brought me to meet Theo Grant's grandmother. I had had no idea what they were talking about at that time.

After that, Grandmother took me in and gave me an opportunity to re-enroll in university.

My mother's health rapidly declined and she soon left me.

Over all those years, my mother was the only motivation and support I had. After she left, the sorrow that had been in my heart for many years finally exploded, and I fell very sick myself.

Thankfully, Grandmother took care of me and stayed b y my side, and I was able to claw my way out of my sorrows. After I graduated from university, I was accepted into Grant Corporation, and I married Theo.

All these measly words told of the deepest, darkest, most hopeless memories of my life. In my memories, Tyler was the cast of shadows I loathed and feared.

I hated him, and I was terrified of seeing him again.

No longer wanting to talk, I moved aside, dodging him. I was about to leave when he hugged me from behind.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.