The tension had been building.
Henry hadn't slept in days. Not since Samantha's name went viral, not since he started seeing his daughter's face in every dream—not as a baby... but as a mirror of who he used to be.
He knew.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0vOUPeqoN
He knew this was Trina's doing.
And for the first time in years... he cared.
He found her in their cramped apartment—papers everywhere, printed screenshots of the gossip, a laptop open to another burner account.
"Stop it," he said, voice low but sharp.
Trina didn't look up. "I'm helping you."
"No, you're destroying a woman I already destroyed once. You're dragging our names to hell."
She laughed bitterly. "You think you get to be the hero now?"
"I'm not the hero," Henry whispered. "But I won't let you ruin her again."
She finally stood, trembling with rage. "You're defending her now? After everything? After choosing me?"
"You were never a choice," Henry snapped. "You were a mistake I kept living with out of guilt."
Trina's face twisted.
Something in her broke.
And then... she reached into the kitchen drawer.
The first stab came fast.
His ribs.
He gasped, stumbled back.
Then another. And another.
Fifteen times.
Screams rang through the hallway.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡful6Ex3r2i
Blood smeared across old tiles.
But he didn't fight back.
He just whispered her name.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzLFCJAzNu
"Sam... tell her I'm sorry... tell Angelique..."
His voice faded.
The neighbors had already called the police.
He lived.
Just barely.
The emergency surgery took hours.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3EzYc11Xh
When he woke, tubes in his mouth and IVs in his arms, his parents were crying at his side.
He couldn't speak, but he blinked twice.
Alive.
Ryan stood outside the hospital room with Samantha, holding a small USB drive the investigators had found.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGMwx0ALDG
It contained messages, drafts, and emails—all of Trina's work.
"Henry admitted everything," Ryan said. "She's going to jail, Sam. This time... it's real."
Samantha just nodded.
A strange, heavy calm settling over her chest.
Not peace.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciMjZmhylT
But closure.
Meanwhile, Trina sat in a cold interrogation room.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwikpYjQmJ
Blood still under her fingernails.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScNn7vzuBs
Blank.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eawBSw6BA
Empty.
No more rage.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8b5RwjzeV
No more fight.
Just a hollow girl who lost to her own hate.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUNi0MZ4VP
