Requiem of a Broken Heart

Chapter 324:

She left Kate sprawled on the floor, bruised and humiliated, her once-pristine clothes in tatters.

Leaning down, Rachel’s voice was like ice. “Listen to me, Kate Marsh. If you ever lay a finger on Jeffrey again—if anything happens to him—I swear I’ll drag you down with me. And don’t even think about tattling to your mom or my dad. If they find out about today, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Kate, stubborn as ever, clenched her jaw.

Rachel wasn’t worried. She crouched lower, her gaze drilling into Kate’s. “I know what you’re thinking. You’ll run to your mommy, cry to her, and have her punish us.”

Rachel tilted her head, smiling darkly. “But here’s the thing, Kate—I don’t care about life or death. I have nothing to lose. You, on the other hand? You’re a pampered little princess with everything laid out for you. You have a future.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Are you really ready to throw that away?”

For the first time, Kate looked scared. Real fear seeped into her wide eyes as she nodded frantically. “I won’t! I swear, I won’t do it again. I don’t want to die!”

Rachel gave her one last cold look. “You’d better mean it. Because if I go down, I’m taking someone with me.”

had scurried away, Rachel let out a slow, trembling breath. And then, as if all the strength had

had once heard Moira say—threats meant to strike fear. Back then, she had thought Moira was cruel

once shattered Jeffrey’s heart, and even now,

memories and brought her thoughts back to the present, feeling

softly, “promise me you’ll

I’ll stay with you forever. When you and Brian marry and have children, I’ll play with them endlessly. I’ll create paper airplanes and draw pictures with

????: ga l no v

to his description of this imagined future, countless words Rachel yearned to express became lodged in her

it you want

several attempts, Rachel still couldn’t bring herself to voice

will also grow old, pass away, and leave

won’t happen. You won’t die. Rachel…” His voice had diminished to a whisper,