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It went for the other,but a wolf reappeared.
The bear chased it,their roars fading.
I stayed in the car for two hours.Dawn was four hours away.
I set my phone down,ready to sleep.
Suddenly,moonlight dimmed outside.
A bear’s muzzle flattened against the window.
It had returned.
I froze,sinking into the dark.
It didn’t sense me,moving to Chloe’s car.
Her screams pierced the air.
By 6 a.m.,the bear was gone.
I saw its reluctant shadow leave.
I slept,exhausted.
Two hours later,police arrived.
They pulled me from the car.
My bruises,clearly human-made,stood out—no animal marks.
Chloe was rescued,traumatized,vomiting at Mom’s mangled body,passing out.
Derek,half-dead on the tree,lost a leg,clinging to life in the ICU.
Pity he didn’t die.
The police,seeing my injuries,thought I’d been lured here.
I clung to a female officer,“crying”at my parents’remains,fainting.
When I woke,Chloe refused to speak,in therapy.
Derek lingered in critical care.
I was the“stable”one.
The police asked what happened.
“Derek’s my boyfriend.He got drunk,hit me.I locked myself in the car and fell asleep.I woke to screams—a bear!Dad’s gone,Mom’s…I was too scared to leave.The bear kept banging on the car!”
I sobbed.“I suggested the trip,but Chloe picked the spot.A local warned us,but she insisted.I’m so sorry!”
“Officer,have you found my dad?I’ve lost Mom—I can’t lose him!”
The officer pitied me.“We found your father’s body.”
I“collapsed”again.
Days later,I left the hospital,arranging my parents’funeral alone.
Chloe didn’t show,her mental state worsening.
Relatives grumbled.
My parents never flaunted wealth to kin or me.
After the funeral,they left.
Close ones gave me money for school.
I sighed—some people were just better.
I got a three-month deferral for college,approved fast due to the wolf-bear attack news.
My parents’visible estate was small.
Chloe knew the real wealth.
She played crazy to hoard it,but I wouldn’t let her.
I took her home,“caring”for her.
I casually mentioned Derek’s kindness and his parents’offer of company shares.
Derek,now legless and volatile,was undesirable.
I visited him,playing the loyal girlfriend.
His mom liked me,genuinely offering shares—money was all that could tie a girl to him now.
I gushed,“I don’t want it.Our love’s too pure for money.”
Chloe smirked oddly.“Keep an eye on him.”
I shrugged.“Who’d want him now?”
She hinted,“You never know.”
I changed the subject,suggesting we attend Derek’s mom’s birthday party.
Chloe agreed eagerly,buying gifts online.
At the Holt house,she was overly warm.
Derek,now a worse monster,was indulged by his family.
I said I’d check on him;Chloe insisted on coming.
Soon,his mom called me to greet guests.
Chloe stayed upstairs,“exploring.”
I warned,“Be careful.Derek hates people near his space.”
That night,guests left.
Someone remembered Derek and Chloe.
I went up,finding them naked in bed.
I“sobbed.”“You’re my sister!You stole my man?”
Mrs.Holt stormed in,furious,beating Derek.“Sarah’s my only daughter-in-law!”
No,thanks!
