Plot: Mila escapes her abusive husband. But when he is found dead, she becomes the prime suspect.
Her hands trembled as she pulled up the blanket over her.
The door suddenly opened and she jumped.
"Mila?" Her sister Ravina poked her head in and smiled. But the minute her eyes rested on her face, it changed. She pushed open the door wider and went up to her.
"It's okay. You are safe now," she said and sat beside her on the bed. Putting an arm around her, she kissed Mila on the side of her head. "He's not here. He doesn't know this place. Ranko and I will protect you."
Ranko was Ravina's bodybuilder husband. He also owned a gym and trained boxers.
But he was a nice man who was no match for Hugo, the man Mila had unfortunately married.
Hugo had been tough, persuasive, and what she believed, protective about her. After her parents died, she felt unsafe, and Hugo made her feel safe.
Ravina did warn her she was too young to get married. She had only been eighteen and terrified of living on her own. Ravina's invitation to come live with her had been a kind gesture, but Mila wanted to feel safe. She wanted to belong to someone.
Hugo was fourteen years older than her and ran a successful restaurant.
She knew he had been married twice before. His first wife had died. The second marriage had ended in a bitter divorce.
Marly, his ex-wife, contacted Mila a week before the wedding, cautioning her about Hugo. He was the wrong man for her and an abuser. Mila ignored that warning because Hugo had told her Marly wanted to come back into his life and would try to play tricks.
Three months into the marriage, Mila realised Marly had been looking out for her.
She was beaten every day for small mistakes she made. Sometimes it was only because he was drunk and there was nothing good on TV.
Mila had taken the beatings in her stride until she had become pregnant. She pleaded with him to show mercy as he risked harming the child.
Hugo responded with a promise that he wouldn't hurt her stomach. He desperately wanted an heir, and so he would not hurt the baby.
But the promise excluded her arms, legs, and face.
Fearing for her unborn child, she fled when he had thrown a book at her, and it had almost hit her pregnant belly. That was when it hit her that Hugo was violent, and if she didn't escape him soon, he would not only hurt her child but end up killing her.
Ravina had taken her in instantly.
"He will find me. He wants this child," Mila said tearfully.
"It's not his," Ravina told her. "He will never be a good father if he has been such a violent husband."
Mila clutched the blanket tighter and winced. The bruises on her fingers were from yesterday. The cuts on her legs were from the day before.
The bruises on her face were from three days ago.
"Just get some sleep."
"I can't. He will come for me. I know he will."
"Well, then he will have to deal with Ranko and me first." Ravina sighed. "Look, there's this video I put on that helps me fall asleep on stressful nights." She reached for her phone. "Just listen to it and try to relax, okay? It's not good for the baby if you are all tensed up."
Mila nodded and slid down. She put her head on her pillow and closed her eyes as Ravina played the soothing sounds in the video. She found the sounds of crackling, odd at first, but she decided not to say anything. She was tired. Ravina was probably exhausted, too. If she thought this would help her, then she would give in.
Moments later, she felt Ravina get up. She must have thought Mila had fallen asleep. The door closed softly.
Mila was all alone in a room filled with sounds that were actually soothing her to sleep.
Right before she let herself sink, she thought she heard a woman's whisper right by her ear.
Ravina shook her gently. "Wake up, Mila."
Mila snapped her eyes open and immediately cowered. Realizing it wasn't Hugo standing over her with a hardcover book, she eased.
She looked at her sister's face and expected to see a comforting smile. Instead, she saw it contorted in worry.
"What's wrong?" Mila asked, and her hand immediately went to her belly.
"The police are here to see you." Ravina was about to say something else but closed her mouth.
"Why?"
Ravina took a deep breath. "Last night, Hugo was...murdered."
Mila sat up straight and stared into her sister's eyes. It couldn't be true. The most terrifying man she had ever known hadn't just died in one night.
Ravina must have guessed what she was thinking because she put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's true."
"I'll let you get ready. Then you can come out and talk to the police."
Fifteen minutes later, Mila emerged from her room, having just showered. She wore Ravina's dress that she had lent.
Slowly, she came to sit across the stern looking detective who had streaks of white in his hair.
"How are you today, Ms. Boragass?"
She winced at the name. She didn't want to use Hugo's last name anymore.
"You can call me Mila." Her voice was hardly a squeak.
"Where were you last night between the hours of 11 pm and 2 am?"
"Here. Sleeping." She was trembling, and that wasn't going to help her if the detective was suspecting her. But she couldn’t help it.
"Your husband, Hugo, was stabbed to death last night. He was stabbed fourteen times at his house. There was no forced entry."
"Are you implying my sister had anything to do with it?" Ravina was livid. "Look at her. Look at her bruises. The man scared her to death. She couldn't hurt a fly. He terrorised her to the point that she couldn't even sleep properly. I had to make her hear to soothing tracks just to calm her."
"If Mr Hugo Boragass was abusing her, then Mrs. Boragass has motive to want to see her husband dead," the detective said.
"She was sleeping when I left her," Ravina argued.
"Did you sleep her between 11pm and 2 am?"
Ravina grew quiet. "When I left her at 10:30pm, she was sleeping. And then my husband and I went to bed."
"So you wouldn't know if your sister left in the middle of the night?"
Ravina was stunned. "I would know," she said, collecting herself. "We have an alarm system. Mila doesn't know the code."
The detective nodded.
"We live miles away from Hugo's house. Mila doesn't drive. If you are implying she took a cab, there would be records," Ravina reasoned.
"Do you drive?" The detective turned to Mila suddenly.
She shook her head. It was the truth. She hadn't learned, and Hugo never encouraged her to take up lessons.
The detective got up. "There will be an investigation conducted. Don't go anywhere, Mrs. Boragass."
As soon as the detective left, Mila turned to her sister. "Ravina, I don't know what happened last night. But when I woke up, there was blood on my dress."
Ravina took her hands and smiled. "I know. It had to be done."
"What are you talking about?" Mila asked, fear mounting in her chest.
"The track I made you listen to, was a hypnosis track." Ravina stood and made sure to lock the door. "You woke up fifteen minutes later. I gave you the knife. Hugo and I drove you to Hugo's house. If you hadn't killed him, you would have never been rid of him."
"What did you make me do!" Mila cried out.
"I made you take revenge. That was the only way for you to move on. Hugo was a monster. He hit his first wife until she died from internal bleeding. His second wife barely escaped him. If you hadn't run away, he would have killed you."
"You made me a killer!"
"I made you stand up for yourself. Hugo had to pay for what he did." Ravina took a numb Mila in her arms. "You have us. I will always protect you."
Mila nodded in her arms.
"Hugo would have come after you. Now he never will. You are free now."
Mila held on tight to her sister and wept. "I am free now."
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