“WHERE IS IT?!”
The voice was loud and especially angry, a kind of rage that made me quiver with fear, heart pounding as I raced up the stairs two by two till I crashed into Papa's study. The scene before my eyes killed whatever light I had in me.
That was ten years ago.
I was nineteen when I fled Zing Vineyard, my home, carrying nothing except a bruised face, torn dress and the certainty that nobody would believe me least of all the people who watched Papa die and stood by the man who had killed him while the sheriff called it “an accident”.
Now, at twenty-nine, I walked calmly into the ballroom of Zing Vineyard just as my former fiancé, Derek Vymont, raised a glass to celebrate his engagement to Abigail, the woman who had once been my best friend.
The vineyard I grew up in still looked the same except for a few touches of maintenance on the outside. Derek looked older, richer and more handsome.
I smiled as the excitement faded from his eyes while he approached me with a pale Abigail beside him. “You came,” he said, his voice carrying the faint surprise of someone who had expected his past to stay buried.
“I was invited,” I replied, glancing towards his fiancée who's smile faltered when our eyes met. Derek frowned which could only mean he wasn't aware of the invitation.
He shrugged, “Good to have you back, Ms Zing. I suppose there are no hard feelings”, and chuckled as though what happened ten years ago was nothing more than an amusing misunderstanding.
I held his gaze for a long moment, enough time to make them both squirm in discomfort. Abigail detached her hand from his arms which drew my eyes to the gold band on his finger.
“Is that a gold ring?” I asked and Derek's face changed quickly such that no one noticed. He pocketed the hand with a smile. “Yes, uh …it belonged to my father.”
“No,” I blurted through my teeth, touching the gold pendant on my neck that bore the same infinity symbol on the band. “It belonged to mine.” The music and chatter in the room slowed as guests drew close to us, their curiosity piqued.
He stared at my pendant and then at the ring, and for the first time that evening, fear entered his eyes.
I did not return for forgiveness nor apology from the man who was rescued from the gutters by Papa only to turn around, get too comfortable and greedy and stage his death and frame me for stealing the family money.
I came for an overdue revenge served on a very cold platter for the people to see.
Derek did not know about the spare key to Papa's study hidden inside the wall beside the barrel room. I had snuck inside the vineyard six months ago, took the key and searched Papa's study. I found my father's ledgers, several photographs and documents proving Derek had been stealing money from the business before he was caught.
There was also a written confession in an envelope signed by Derek where he admitted his shortcomings and promised to stay faithful to my father's business.
Oh, dear Papa. He wanted to see the good in everyone and it cost him his life.
I pulled out the envelope from my purse and Derek blanched, staggering back in shock because it was the same document he desperately asked for that night, the only evidence that could put him behind bars. But because my father refused, he pushed his knife straight into Papa's heart just as I crashed into the study.
Abigail took the envelope from me and read it just as the sheriff and three deputies strolled in. She burst into tears, covering her mouth while handing back the confession. “I’m sorry…I didn't know,” she whispered but I had nothing to say to her. She ran out of the room.
Derek watched her run out and looked at me. I smiled as the sheriff cuffed him. He didn't expect that his happy day would be ruined by the truth he spent ten years trying to bury.
Zing Vineyard was mine again and I would take care of it just as Papa wanted.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short revenge drama. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "is that a gold ring?”.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
