Duplicity (4 of 4)
Resolution.
Chapter six
Are they already in the house? She said between eleven and twelve, which means I still have time. She didn’t say it aloud, but what difference does it make? Should I call the cops right away? And tell them what? That I overheard my wife’s thoughts? Plotting to murder me? I could tell them about the pills, but Chang said the tech was new. What if the cops never heard about it? They might think it’s a stupid joke. Or that I'm a lunatic.
The panic room! The only place I can be safe. But it’s upstairs, one floor above me.
Once more, I check the cameras. Nobody’s outside. Nor inside. But if they’re pros, I wouldn’t see them, right?
I have no choice. With a trembling hand, I unlock the door and creep outside, trying to step as soundlessly as possible. I head toward the stairs. I keep my Glock in the panic room.
The damn floor creaks beneath my feet. I freeze in place.
“Honey?” Lily calls from the living room. “That you? I’m waiting here, you know. I found something fun to watch. Remember that movie where they break into a house and the family hide in the panic room?”
Fucking hell! She must know I can hear her thoughts. It’s her twisted sense of humor. It doesn't mean the killers are not real. I can't risk it.
The stairs seem to blur beneath my feet as I race upward, driven by the force of my rage mixed with fear. I reach the secret entrance and key in the code. The door slides open. I get in. It locks behind me. Now I can breathe again.
I see two options. She knows about the mind-reading and she’s toying with me, thinking about the killers and her lover to make me mad. Or it’s real. And they’ll come to get me soon.
Real or not, it had to be her who deactivated the alarm. I shouldn’t have given her the code. I’m so stupid. But why? Why is she doing this to me? I’m good to her. I give her everything. All she needs.
Is it just a play? Or does she really want me dead? Does she want a divorce? Like Linda? Fine. I won’t be as stupid as Linda’s husband. I’ll sign the papers. It’s obvious she doesn’t love me anymore.
Unless it’s just a stupid joke.
What if it isn't?
Did she ever love me at all? She can take half of my money and go. What if she wants everything? Or to be famous because they murdered her husband in her bed? It was her thought.
I must talk to her. I need to understand. What if I grab my gun and confront her? If the killers are real, maybe she can call off the attack. And I can lock us inside the panic room and demand an explanation from her here.
Enough. I have to act. Now.
I unlock the safe and remove my Glock. Then I check the cameras again, making sure nobody’s in the house. If they are, at least I’m armed.
Chapter seven
Five minutes later, I’m downstairs, holding my Glock, ready for anything.
“Finally! What took you so long?” She pats the seat beside her. “Come on, you’ll love the movie. It’s incredibly realistic.” <Especially when the bullets hit your head.>
How can she be so heartless? It’s as if she hates me. What did I do to deserve this? “Lily?” My voice falters a bit.
Her beautiful eyes meet mine, but now I see the emptiness within them—devoid of emotion or care.
“I know your plan,” I say with confidence, despite the tremor in my hand gripping the gun.
“What plan?” She feigns surprise.
“You hired some goons to kill me tonight.”
Her eyes dart to the TV, likely checking the time left until their arrival.
It’s real… I have no doubt now.
“Between eleven and twelve?” I taunt, mustering up the courage to smile.
She looks surprised. It’s so authentic. No wonder she wants to go back to acting. She’d be a star. Her eyes narrow. “Are you completely deranged?”
“Am I deranged?”
“You think I want you dead and hired someone to kill you? I mean, I know you have problems, but this?”
She tries to stand up, but I aim the gun at her. “Not so fast. Sit down!”
<A gun? Where did he get the gun?>
Fake amusement bubbles in my throat. “Do you remember our session with Chang when he mentioned the special pills?”
“Pills?” Her eyes narrow. “What pills?”
“I can hear your thoughts. That’s how I know about the men coming after me.”
<He won’t shoot. He’d go to jail for that.>
“I’m aware of the repercussions,” I answer her unspoken thoughts. “But you know what? I don’t care. I just want to know why. Why would you arrange something like that? What is your goal? Unless…” I hesitate, clinging to the remnants of hope. "Unless this is just a stupid joke?”
I expect a flurry of thoughts inside her head, but either the pills stopped working or her mind is empty.
“I gave you everything,” I continue. “I loved you. And you—“
“You’re confused. Or it’s some type of nervous breakdown. Maybe both. I don’t know, I’m not a specialist. And If you’re so scared, someone will come and kill you, why don’t we call 911?”
“And tell them what? That I can hear your thoughts?”
She sighs. “Honey, you’re sick. You hardly ever leave the house, you lock every door, and activate the alarm even during the day. I took you to Dr. Chang under the pretense of dealing with our marital problems, but the real issue isn’t us. It’s you.”
She looks so innocent, but I know she can act.
“You’re forgetting I can hear your thoughts. I know about the assassins. And… Walt.” I have to force myself to say the name.
“That’s just nonsense. Part of your delusions. You can’t hear my thoughts. Nobody can. The special pills you’re talking about don’t exist. It’s all in your head.”
“I can hear you in my head. Chang gave me the pills. I still have the empty container somewhere. I can show you.”
“And what will that prove? If you can hear my thoughts, tell me what I’m thinking right now.”
I focus on her, trying to hear. But I get nothing.
“See? You’re sick.”
“No.” I raise the gun higher, my voice cold. “You’re going to tell me everything, and right now. Or I will shoot.”
<Did he even remember about the safety switch?>
I laugh. “It’s a Glock, which means no safety switch. It’s all automatic. When I pull the trigger, it will fire. And you will be dead.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just wondered if I switched the safety off.”
“I didn’t.”
“Clever. You’re playing with my mind. You want me to believe I’m crazy. But I know what you’re doing. You’re stalling. Waiting for your guys to come.”
She gestures to her cellphone on the coffee table. “Let me call the cops. If you’re right, they’ll protect you.”
I hesitate only for a moment. “Fine. Call them.”
She picks up her phone and dials the number.
“Put it on speaker. I want to hear.”
After getting through the automated recording and reaching a human operator, Lily responds to the standard “what’s your emergency” question: “Someone’s breaking into our house. Right now. And we’re inside.”
“Can you leave the house? “ the police dispatcher asks.
“We can’t.”
“I have your address. Hide somewhere for now. I’m sending a patrol car right away.”
I check the time on the TV. It’s almost eleven. If her goons come earlier…
“Let’s go,” I say.
“Go where?”
“To the panic room. I don’t want to risk your guys coming before the cops.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t want to be locked up with a lunatic inside.”
“You have to.” I aim the gun at her head.
“Do it.” She looks fearlessly into my eyes. “You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
I hesitate. “Why did you do it? Why did you hire these guys? Couldn’t you just… leave?”
“Leave?” She laughs. “You’re babbling.”
“Why?”
“Honey… I’m not planning to kill you. You’re paranoid.”
“But—“
“Did you hear that? The car engine? That was fast. The cops must have been nearby.”
Someone bangs on the front door.
“Satisfied?” she says. “Let them in. You’ll feel safe.”
Does she really think I’ll go to the door and leave her here alone?
“Use your remote thingy,” she says, as if now she were reading my mind.
I reach for my phone with my free hand, check the camera outside the front door to make sure these are the cops, then deactivate the alarm and remotely unlock the door.
The footsteps grow louder, closer to our room. I position myself so that I can keep my eyes on her and still be able to glance at the door.
Lily smirks. <Right on time. He even opened the door for them. Idiot. And the fake 911 call?>
Terror overpowers me, but I’m still able to glance at the door.
Two figures in police uniforms burst into the room. Time seems to slow down.
<Did they steal these uniforms or borrow them?>
I would’ve thought they were real cops if Lily hadn’t just exposed them to me. In what feels like slow motion, they raise their guns.
I have seconds to decide what to do.
“Drop it!” one of them yells.
My heart races. Doubt erodes my will.
A sudden wave of powerful emotions awakens a fierce predator within me.
These are the killers who want to shoot me in my house!
A booming voice inside my head gives me even more confidence.
<You can do it! You can take them both!>
A primitive drive to fight back forces my hand to raise the gun.
A barrage of bullets hits my chest. Strangely, I feel no pain.
I hear Lily’s voice inside my head. <Oh, Eric. You’ve always been such a fool. So easy to manipulate. Of course, with the pills Daniel gave you, I had the edge. These are the ones he never explained to you. The third version. They let you manipulate the other person’s thoughts and feelings—if you know how to do it. I’ve been practicing with him for weeks. I can feel your emotions. Surprise. Disappointment. Regret. Beginning of hate? Wow! Raising your gun at two armed and very real police officers was especially moronic of you. Of course, I helped. You said you loved me—you don’t even know what it means. But I don’t want to be cruel. I don’t want hate to be the last thing in your mind when you die. It’s not fair. We had some good times together. Even if I’m with Daniel now. By the way, he doesn’t like when I call him that. He prefers his second name—Walt. I can feel how you’re fading away. You’ll be dead in a moment. So consider this a parting gift. I’ll let you feel now what you have never felt in your life. What I feel all the time with Daniel.>
In my mind, I try to form a desperate ‘why’ to send to her, but I have no strength to do that. Instead, I receive Lily’s final gift.
A thrilling yet delightful feeling washes over me, envelops me in ecstasy and leaves gasping for air.
Or is it the slow suffocation from the bullet wounds?
Complex emotions tinge the world with vibrant hues, making the ordinary seem extraordinary.
While my vision fades to black.
Could this be love—this fire inside me, making me feel more alive than ever before?
Or am I just close to death?
Why has this love evaded me until now? I cling to it as it fills my very being.
In this last breath, I’m forever changed.
THE END
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