Dark Illusion: A Psychological Thriller Novel (24 page)
Read Dark Illusion: A Psychological Thriller Novel Online
Authors: Dana V. Moison
March 18, 2007
S
he felt as if
her entire world were crumbling down on her. Things she had believed in
wholeheartedly had turned upside down and crushed her soul.
She marched quickly in the hopes
of getting home as soon as possible; maybe she could still catch her before she
left.
She inserted the key into the
lock with trembling hands but turned the doorknob with a firm grip. When she
entered, she didn’t see anyone. She was all alone, just her and her thoughts.
Kelly went up the stairs of the
lavish house and entered the room of her best friend, her mortal enemy, her
greatest savior, the one who had betrayed her and lied to her for years.
“Hi, honey, you’re back from
school early. Is everything okay?“
And there she stood, applying
with grand gestures, red lipstick across her lips. Her platinum blonde hair was
brushed back. Sparkling diamond earrings adorned her earlobes.
“My class was canceled,“ Kelly
muttered.
“Well, some free time never
killed anyone.“ Vicky smirked as she surveyed her reflection in the mirror.
“Yes . . .“ Kelly felt sick to
her stomach. She wanted to throw up everything that was inside of her. The
tremendous rage for the wrongful act that had been done to her all those years
ago; her heartache after that awful betrayal; the frustration of having been
denied the truth all this time; the regret for all of the things that could
have been different . . .
Gloria
.
“Hey, are you sure everything is
okay?“ Vicky turned around and looked at Kelly, but she only stared back with a
vacant expression. Kelly’s skin was pale and grayish, and it looked like she
could barely stand on her feet. “Maybe you should sit down, get some rest.“ She
gestured with her hand toward the canopy bed. Then she turned her back to face
the mirror and applied mascara on her eyelashes.
“Yeah . . .“ Kelly stumbled over
to the bed. She was exactly behind Vicky, who was absorbed with her own
reflection in the mirror. She wanted to jump at her from behind and end this
whole thing, here and now.
Kelly clenched her fists and took
a deep breath. For the first time since that dark day, in fact for the first
time in her life, she decided not to stay silent while others trampled over
her.
“I know,“ she said quietly.
“Know what?“ Vicky asked.
“I know,“ Kelly raised her voice.
“What do you know, honey?“ Vicky
turned from the mirror and faced her. Kelly’s stare stung her like a whip. It
was cold, hostile, and disgusted. Vicky became engulfed with a horrifying
feeling.
Does she know the truth?
I’m panicking about nothing, she
tried to reassure herself. No one but her really knew what had happened that
day almost seventeen years ago.
“I met with Gloria McIntyre
today,“ Kelly dropped a bomb.
Any hope that Vicky had managed
to gather crashed in a split second.
“
What
?“ she gasped. “How?
You’ve kept in touch with her?“ Vicky didn’t even try to conceal her anxiety.
“No. We just happened to run into
each other today.“
“Oh . . .“ Vicky mumbled. “Well,
isn’t that nice,“ she tried to crack a smile.
“I
know
.“
“What are you talking about?“
Vicky decided not to show her hand before she absolutely had to. Perhaps this
was all a big misunderstanding.
“I want to hear you say it.“
Kelly rose from the bed and approached her. “I want to hear you say that it was
you
who wrecked my life. That it was you who made
them
come after
me.“ Even after all this time, Kelly still couldn’t bring their names to her
lips. Tears flooded her eyes. “That it was you who wanted to hurt me so badly.
That it’s you who has lied to me for all these years without even batting an
eyelash!“ She picked up the mascara tube Vicky used beforehand and chucked it
at the floor.
Vicky looked at her in stunned
silence. Her lips quivered, but no voice emerged from them.
“How could you do this to me?“
Kelly asked in a broken voice.
“I’m sorry. I’m
so
sorry.“
“I don’t think that two lousy
apologies really compensate for an eternity of betrayal,“ she hissed at her. Kelly
almost didn’t recognize herself. She had never spoken like that to anyone, let
alone her best friend.
“Don’t you know how much I love
you?“ Vicky sobbed. “You mean the world to me! Haven’t I proven that in all our
years of friendship?“ she demanded. “I changed my name to feel closer to you. I
was the one who suggested that we tell your parents that ‘
Kelly Danes
’
is actually you, so they wouldn’t be worried, and in the process of doing that
I had to give up the relationship with my own parents,“ she reminded her. “I
haven’t spoken to them since I left to find you in New York. They probably
think I ended up in some drug den.“ Her face contorted with disgust. “They will
never learn about my accomplishments.“ She narrowed her eyes at Kelly. “They
will never be proud of
me
.“
“I didn’t ask for all that! You
were the one who wanted to get a fresh start. You were the one who wanted to
run away from your family, your town, and everything you had ever known. So
don’t you dare blame me,“ Kelly slammed at her.
“I gave up my identity,
everything I was,
for you
. Everything I’ve done has been for you,“ Vicky
insisted.
“Even what happened at the house
of mirrors was
for me
?“
Vicky looked at Kelly through a
curtain of tears; the image in front of her became blurry.
For the first time in a long
time, she was lost for words.
“If you hated me that much, why
did you look me up in New York?“ Kelly continued. “Why did you offer to let me
stay with you? Why did you help me get back on my feet?“ Tears were gliding
down her cheeks. “Why did you pay for med school? Why didn’t you just let me
die in some godforsaken alley and put an end to the agony I’ve felt every
single day, all because of what you did to me?“ At this point Kelly was
screaming at Vicky, though she was only a few inches away from her.
“Because I love you, Kelly, with
all my heart. Can’t you see that I’d do anything for you?“
Kelly shook her head vigorously.
“Maybe because you’re so full of guilt. If you truly loved me, you wouldn’t
have done this to me.“ She gave her an empty look and left the room.
“Kelly, wait. Don’t do this.“
Vicky followed her.
“I never want to see you again!“
Kelly picked up her pace and headed to the staircase.
“No, don’t go.“ Vicky grabbed her
arm, preventing her from going down the stairs.
“Don’t touch me!“ Kelly tried to
shake her off, but her mousy body structure had never been useful in physical
conflicts.
“Enough! Don’t let something that
happened seventeen years ago ruin what we have now!“ Vicky implored.
“What we
have
?“ Kelly
looked at her in astonishment. “What we have is a pack of lies. Total
deception.“
Vicky felt as if a knife had
stabbed her right in the heart.
“What if I hadn’t happened to
meet Gloria today?“ Kelly continued. “Would you have ever bothered to tell me
the truth?“
That name caused currents of the
strongest hatred Vicky had ever felt to pass through her body. The bitch had
ruined her life. After all these years, she had finally done it. Gloria had
gotten what she’d wanted all along; she had taken Kelly away from her.
“Don’t say that name,“ she
commanded.
“What name?“ Kelly got confused
for a split second. “Gloria? You want to tell me that this was all about
her
?“
“I was about to lose you!“ Vicky
cried. “She tried to snatch you away from me. I saw the way you looked at her.“
“Wait, you did this to me because
you were
jealous
?“
“Girls like her get what they
want, when they want it; and when they’re bored with it, they simply throw it
away like yesterday’s newspaper.“ Loathing dripped from Vicky’s voice.
“I don’t know about girls like
her, but
she
is the loveliest person I’ve ever met,“ Kelly declared
defiantly and sent her an icy glare.
Vicky could feel the exact same
sparks of jealousy and rage that had surfaced on that dreadful day all of those
years ago once again surging within her.
“Take it back,“ she strengthened
her grip around Kelly’s arm.
“Let go! You’re hurting me!“
Kelly tried to release from her clutch. “No matter what you do, I won’t say
anything bad about Gloria. One thing is for sure, though; she was a better friend
than
you
.“
“Take it back! Tell the truth!
What has she done to you? You’re not Kelly!“ Vicky shook Kelly as if she were
trying to exorcise a demon from her body.
“Let me go, you maniac! Let me
run far away and never come back!“ she cried.
“No!“ Vicky exclaimed.
The two were fighting an ancient
battle: one was trying to escape, while the other one was not ready to set her
free.
“
Let – me – go!!!
“ Kelly
roared, and with a sudden twist, with a force that she didn’t know she
possessed, she managed to shake off Vicky’s grip.
But in doing so, Kelly lost her
balance and tripped, falling down the stairs, tumbling like an old rag dull.
“
No. No.
Nooo
.
Nooooo
!!!
“ Vicky screamed.
It took Kelly a few seconds to
hit the ground, producing the most horrendous smashing sound against the
hardwood floor. A puddle of blood encircled her head like a halo, staining the
polished floor.
Vicky ran down the stairs, almost
tripping herself, and leaned over her body.
“Kelly? Can you hear me? Please,
say something. Please?“
Kelly didn’t answer. The
vermillion circle surrounding her head gradually grew.
All of a sudden, Vicky noticed
she was dripping with the blood of her beloved friend.
The purest blood
there could ever be
. She gazed down at her bloody hands and smeared them
across her face.
“You’re not dead, Kelly.
You
are not dead
.“
The blood was still warm. She
stared at the lifeless corpse and realized that this was it.
Kelly Whitesporte was gone.
But Kelly Danes was still here.
I would like to thank three
special people, who with outstanding amounts of patience, acted as my trusty
advisors. To Lyndsey Senet, Sonny Cohen and
Leron
Cohen, I will be forever grateful.
I would also like to thank
the rest of the Cohen clan, Uncle Moshe, Laurie and
Edan
,
my dear family residing in New York City. Your warm hospitality allowed my
frequent visits to The Big Apple. This amazing city has become an inseparable
part of me and of this book.
A special thank you goes to
my dear friend,
Nir
Vidas
,
who believed in my vision for the cover and helped me design it to perfection.
You are exceptional in taking mere ideas and turning them into reality.
Jacky
Lowell, I was incredibly lucky to have you as my editor. Thank you from the bottom
of my heart. Carol Kay, thank you so much for your outstanding precision and
delicate touch in proofing this Novel.
Last, but not least, is my
mother,
Galia
Cohen. I am dedicating this book to
you. Without your insightful remarks and never-ending support, my book would
have ended up as just another Word file on my laptop. Thank you for helping me
pursue my dream. You are the best mother a daughter could ask for.