Chapter Two
Susan
I had a plan and no one—no one—was going to stand in the way of my following it through to completion. I had been through too much in my life, and I wasn’t going down now without a fight. Kidnapping Janelle had been a brilliant plan, and it had been my idea. Embezzling the money from Jason may have been Edward’s bright scheme, but where had that gotten us other than getting caught and fired? Now we didn’t have jobs, and most of the money we’d stolen had already been spent.
My plan had been perfectly executed, and the best part was that Jason had no idea that we were behind the kidnapping. He was a fool, just like the rest of the rich people who obliviously swam around in their money while they walked all over the people who worked for them. It made me absolutely sick to my stomach. No, someone was going to pay for all my suffering, and they were going to pay in a big way. It had all started with Jason, and it would all end with him. By the time I was finished with him, he would rue the day he ever decided to mess with my life and regret the day he ever hired Edward. Jason was a fool if he thought he could fire us and we would just go away quietly—nothing but a fool.
I once had a joy for life, but the years of working for Jason had left me bitter. Now, I wanted to be a rich socialite and live out my big dreams. I wanted to have people waiting on me hand and foot, and not the other way around. My days of taking orders were over. I planned on taking Jason for as much as we could, leaving the country, and then living on a beach somewhere without a care in the world. I would not be beaten down anymore. I was about to start living the good life, and it was going to be on Jason’s dime.
Despising Jason had become a full-time job for me. My hatred for him and his family had been brewing for many years. I wanted to destroy them all for what they had done to my Edward. I barely recognized him anymore as my husband—he’d become a dim shadow of the virile man he used to be. And I blamed all of it on Jason. Serving Jason had sapped Edward of his vitality, and that had led to a gambling addiction that had cost us our life savings. Our entire nest egg—gone. We were ruined.
That was when Edward became obsessed with money and started embezzling funds. I told him he’d never get away with it, but he never expected Jason to notice millions being siphoned out of his bank account. Men were fools, especially when it came to money or taking care of their wives. Edward was supposed to take care of me. He wasn’t supposed to make a mockery out of our life together. And even after stealing the money from Jason, he continued to gamble away our embezzled funds as if they would never run out. So, once again, we were ruined. Or we would have been without my plan. I would be rich and have everything I ever wanted, with Jason paying dearly for it all. Maybe then other rich folks would take notice and treat their staff like gold.
Standing in the kitchen with Edward, I knew it was time to execute the plan that would get us our giant payday. There were two things resting on the sink counter—a cheap cell phone and a knife. Both would be used to get me what I so badly wanted and needed.
“I just don’t understand why we have to hurt her,” Edward complained.
I rolled my eyes. “Edward, so help me God…you’d better start acting like a man—and start real soon. This kidnapping has to look authentic, or we won’t see a dime.”
Janelle was sitting tied to a kitchen chair with a gag in her mouth. She was blindfolded and had headphones on, so she had no idea what was going on around her. My first order of business was to make sure that Jason experienced all the pain and heartache I had felt all those years. That’s where Janelle came in. I would use her as much as I wanted to in order to hurt Jason—and I wouldn’t feel bad about it for one moment. She was just another rich socialite, and who needed another one of those around? You couldn’t feel bad for the rich—they had everything they wanted, and they got whatever they wanted. They knew nothing about suffering, but I was going to change all that for Jason.
“Look, I just don’t see why we have to hurt her. She’s done nothing wrong. That isn’t Jason sitting in the chair.”
“They’re all the same, Edward. I thought you hated Jason.”
“I do,” he said angrily.
“Then prove it. Take that knife and carve a nice scar down that pretty little face. Then I’ll send a picture to Jason, and believe me, he’ll be throwing money at us.”
“But Susan—”
“Do it!” I screamed.
I was starting to lose my temper with Edward. This was all his fault, so why couldn’t he just step up and take responsibility? If it hadn’t been for his gambling, I wouldn’t have had to kidnap someone and send out ransom demands.
He stood there, looking stricken, but he picked up the knife. He’d always had a soft spot for that twit Janelle, but I didn’t care how he felt about her. He needed to prove his commitment to the plan. I smiled as my dear husband went over to Janelle, held her face, and sliced a line down her cheek while she struggled and screamed into the gag. I smiled wider as I watched the blood trickle down, mixing with her tears. I was glad she was terrified. She’d never had a hard moment in her life. Maybe now she would understand how the other side felt.
“I’m sure she has a plastic surgeon on speed dial. They all do,” I told Edward. “If not, I’m sure her precious brother will find her one.”
Edward set the knife down and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He twisted the cap off and took a long swig. I rolled my eyes. Men were definitely the weaker sex. I picked up the cheap phone, took a picture of Janelle’s bloody face, and immediately sent the image to Jason’s phone. I smiled at the thought of the pain it would cause. He was going to lose his mind. I wished I could be there to see him crumbling to the ground in agony. I hated him that much. Maybe if I was lucky, he’d have himself a heart attack.
Now it was time to sit back and watch the puppets dance.