The Joy of Revenge

Chapter 105

CHAPTER 105 Play The Angel
Joy
My expensive acting lessons were finally paying off. I had the people at a standstill. Everyone looked on, seemingly frozen in time, eagerly awaiting my response.
If only my acting coach could see me now, he’d probably be impressed. It was such a pity I couldn’t send him a video of this to show him how much progress I have made. Maybe after all of this was over, I could come over and we could laugh about it over a bottle of his favorite Italian red.
During the first four weeks of our almost four month acting course, I believed Francesco, our instructor, was a hack. That was until one of his beloved students, an A-list celebrity, came knocking on his door, interrupting our private lessons at his posh Beverly Hills estate.
For the first time, Xavier sat starstrucked, blushing to the roots of his hair, while mustering the courage to meet the female celebrity. She politely waited for him to say something,
noticin
e moving, however nothing seemed to come out of his mouth. I smiled
r while I took Xavier by the elbow to urge him to his feet so we could
e famous actress.
ntinued to struggle with his words, I nudged him gently with my elbow, hoping provide him the small push that he needed. It worked. He finally said hi. As much as ed to laugh at his reaction to her, I didn’t want to embarrass him. Plus, I knew acesco wouldn’t approve especially when such an important person was with us.
So, I continued to smile politely instead and waited for introductions.
“She is one of my masterpieces,” Francesco exclaimed in his thick Italian accent and high- pitched voice, obviously proud of what the actress has accomplished. “Just like you, she did not know how to act. But look at her now, an award winner.” He picked up a paper bound screenplay from a table nearby. “Come. Let us give them a sample.”
“Of course, Francesco, but there is no need for a screenplay,” the female actress said, waving off the paper bound manuscript. “I’m guessing this one needs some encouragement?” She eyed me with interest.
“Si,” Francesco answered in his native Italian, the disdain apparent in his voice. I was having trouble from the very beginning. “This one is not interested in movies. She wants to learn. how to lie.” The actress nodded her head, acknowledging the situation.
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CHAPTER 105 Play The Angel
“You’re an honest person,” she said. “In my line of work, I appreciate honest people, however Francesco here hates your type. He believes honest people have difficulty playing pretend.” She sat down on the couch across from Xavier and I, gesturing to Francesco with one hand for something to drink while with the other, she motioned for us to sit back down. “You have
to see it in a different perspective. Pretend isn’t a lie, it’s imagination. As we all know,
imagination is conjured by our psyche and whatever is created by our mind can’t all be a lie.
Because if it were all a lie, than all of it would be impossible to achieve. Right?”
“Right,” Xavier answered quickly, without even taking the moment to think. I turned to stare at him, my eyebrows raised in shock. Xavier was obviously captivated by her, hanging on to her every word. I actually felt a bit jealous.
Unlike Xavier who was eager to please, I paused and contemplated her words. After several moments, I finally nodded my head in agreement to her argument. What was impossible decades ago was possible now. Thanks to innovation and little imagination.
you want to learn to lie?” She asked, leaning back against the cus hions.
nce,” I told her honestly while trying to lie. I kept a straight face and made sure my
vas devoid of all emotion. Her eyes scrutinized my appearance while I gazed at her,

ty praying she would think I was lying.
ou almost had me, but I can see the iciness in your eyes. It’s an improvement nonetheless.
What did he do to you?” She asked.
“They,” I corrected her. “They raped me.” I tried to control my anger as I answered her, but I
felt my face heat up.
The actress shook her head in disbelief, not expecting the answer I gave her.
“I would want vengeance too,” she said apologetically as Francesco came with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses in his hands. “Francesco, she has deep-seated anger.”
“I know, but she must learn to control some of that anger if she is going to face them,”
Francesco said.
“What’s your name?” The actress asked.
“Joy.” The actress smiled, amused.
“You are such a contradiction. You have such a beautiful face and you are blessed with a
name which means immense happiness, but in reality, you have so much anger and hate
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CHAPTER 105 Play The Angel
inside. Tell me, Joy, what will make you feel happy again? She asked nonchalantly.
“All of them dead by my hand,” I said, smiling warmly. This time she clapped her hands.
“Now that sounded like a lie, because you used your attributes to shield your true intent,” she remarked. “I guess now you know why I’m here. Francesco called me over to show you
your the necessary tricks to fool your audience. But to tell you frankly, your pretty face and pleasing voice should be enough to fool anyone. All you have to do is play the angel, Joy, and they will never suspect that you’re the devil.”
“Play the angel?” I asked.
“In slasher films, the killer is usually the one who everyone least suspects. The goody two shoes, the innocent virgin, the prettiest girl, the cool guy. All of them share one distinct characteristic… they are perceived by the audience as either perfect, naive or angelic…. intrinsically good. And that, Joy, is what you need to portray. To be the one who everyone least suspects. An angel.”
The actress’ words echoed as I looked down at Liam’s pleading gray eyes. He didn’t know I killed those men at Marla’s. No one knew. Truly, I am the one who everyone least suspects.
An image of Liam’s dead body seated in front of his desk flashed through my mind, blood. dripping from a wound at the back of his head inflicted by his own gun held tightly by one of his limp cold hands. On his desk his tablet lay showing the headline of the town’s newspaper announcing his involvement in the rape of Joy Taylor as well as the death of young Joan Summers via documents found from the coroner’s office. Liam Cohen’s death would be deemed a suicide, wiping the last of the Cohen bloodline from this earth.
With him and his father gone, I would inherit everything.
Just thinking about it made me very happy. So happy, tears began to well up in my eyes
again.
Now all I had to do was say yes.
Say yes, Joy.
“Y-yes, Liam… I’ll marry you.” My voice was barely audible, but as soon as the words came out of my mouth, everyone erupted in an ear-splitting applause.
Liam slipped the diamond ring on my finger. It was a perfect fit. I could see the smug
satisfaction in his gray eyes as he stood up and twirled me in the air.
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CHAPTER 105 Play The Angel
When my feet finally hit the pavement again, I glanced at Xavier, Sebastian and Cristos. Xavier looked on like a proud mentor while Sebastian and Cristos looked extremely happy.
The three of them, including Dan, congratulated us to the absolute joy of everyone.
*Engagement party at my house later,” I told each of them as they kissed me on the cheek.
That’s right… Play the angel….
The angel of death.
Noah
While everyone cheered, I froze. I didn’t know how to react to what I just heard.
It wasn’t possible. Virtue said yes?
“Well, she said yes,” Jack said, sounding defeated. “We better go over and offer our congratulations. That’s what friends do in situations like this. We hope for the best.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t be happy for them. No, this was all a lie.
“This is probably a farce… just to get Liam votes for his re-”
“You think Virtue of all people would agree to take part in a ploy so Liam can get reelected?” Jack asked, cutting me off. “Liam ask
her to marry him and she said yes in front of so many witnesses. There is no way that this is a scam,” Jack argued.
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