A Vicious Vendetta

"I don't know about this, Hannah."

Shelly Simms had trepidations about attending a college party with Hannah Snow, who was not only Shelly's best friend, but she was also her stepsister. "Come on, Shel," said Hannah, "it's only a little party."

"A college party," said Shelly.

"Well, we're college girls, are we?" asked Hannah.

"Well...yeah, but...," said Shelly.

"Come on, why are you so worried?" asked Hannah. "Is it your mom? She won't know about this. I mean, yeah, she's a cop..."

"Captain," corrected Shelly. "She's the captain of the department, and you know that. It's all she says as she's trying to get me to join the 'family business'."

"Look, your mom will come around eventually," said Hannah. "She'll realize that you need to do your own thing, and that's being a video game designer."

Shelly gave a big hug to Hannah, who she saw as her true sister, rather than a stepsister. The girls had been friends since they were in fourth grade, and for Shelly, she was so elated to have Hannah in her life, because Hannah always gave her words of encouragement in everything she did. They became stepsisters when they were in eighth grade, when Shelly's mother married Hannah's father after a year of dating. After Hannah's latest words calmed Shelly's worries, the pair left for the party, along with Hannah's boyfriend, Zach Riley.

The party started at around 10PM and went on past one in the morning, but Zach and Hannah spent a good bit of the party in each other's company. However, the couple ended up interrupted by the sound of glass breaking, prompting Hannah to exit the bedroom to see what was going on among the rest of the party noises. What she saw as she entered the living room stunned her: it was Shelly--dancing on top of a table while making out with one of the boys.

"Shelly, what are you doing?" asked Hannah, though all she received was a slurred response from her sister. It was clear to Hannah that Shelly was drunk, and even though she knew that this was the most fun she ever had in her life, she had to cool Shelly down from the inebriated high she was feeling.

"Come on, Shel, we're going home."

Hannah later grabbed Zach, and planned to drive Shelly home, but there was one problem:

"My keys! Where are my keys?!"

"You don't think?" asked Zach, before he and Hannah heard the sound of rubber burning. Zach and Hannah were too late; Shelly had driven off, and she was not alone, as the same young man she was making out with served as her passenger in Hannah's car. With no other alternative, Hannah called her father, Donovan Snow, who was sure to inform the police, including and especially his wife and Shelly's mother, Justine Simms. With the entire family together, Justine received a call that no parent wants to receive.

The call came from a hospital, and the family was informed of the devastating news. Shelly crashed her car--she and her passenger, revealed to be named Mike Haslett, didn't survive.

It was a devastating loss for everyone, but as heartbroken as Justine and Donovan both were, Hannah was truly crestfallen. Shelly wasn't just her best friend, and she wasn't a "stepsister," she was her sister. Losing Shelly hurt Hannah deeply, to the point that at Shelly's funeral three weeks later, Hannah had trouble finding the words to properly eulogize Shelly, as she simply walked off in tears. Zach found Hannah crying, which was followed by Hannah actually throwing up, an act that continued on for about a week. Hannah figured that the sickness was due to her heartbreak, as she missed Shelly badly. While that may have played a factor, Hannah also realized something else: she missed her period.

30 Weeks Later

It had been eight months, but Hannah still couldn't believe it.

"Congratulations."

Those fifteen letters changed things for both Hannah and Zach. Though she figured that it would happen further down the line than it did, Hannah was still happy over the news she received so many months ago: she was pregnant! Zach shared his girlfriend's happiness, and when Hannah called Donovan with the news, he was happy to hear that he would become a grandfather. Unfortunately, someone was not happy for Zach and Hannah, as the last few weeks have seen a barrage of harassing emails sent towards Hannah, all of them video messages from a mysterious masked person threatening her. She never told Zach out of fear that she would be worrying him; however, while Zach and Hannah were asleep in their bedroom that very night, they heard the sound of shattering glass, prompting Zach to get out of bed to inspect the commotion. As Zach would discover, a rock was thrown towards the living room window of their apartment, and attached to the rock was a note, which said:

"YOU NEED TO PAY!!!"

Police were called, and they arrived at the apartment on the following morning, led by a familiar voice heard by Hannah.

"Hannah? Are you OK?"

The voice Hannah heard belonged to Justine, who raced toward her stepdaughter and gave her a big hug before driving her and Zach back to Hannah's former home with Donovan. It felt like forever since they had seen each other, but it had only been close to nine months--the day of Shelly's funeral.

"Your father has been worried about you," said Justine. "Especially since you're now...expecting."

"I'm sorry you had to hear it from Dad," said Hannah. "It's just...I discovered this so soon after...after..." Just as Hannah started to break down, Justine grabbed Hannah's hand and consoled her.

"I know," said Justine. "I know you're still taking Shelly's death so hard. We all have. I was happy for you when Donovan told me; I still am, and I know Shelly would be too." After some emotional bonding, which was a long time in the making for both of them, Donovan entered and hugged his daughter, a long and deep hug between father and daughter.

"I'm so glad you're OK, honeybug!" exclaimed Donovan. "I heard about what happened. You and Zach are staying with us, at least until this whole thing blows over."

"Are you sure, Dad?" asked Hannah.

"I insist!" Donovan declared. As planned, Zach and Hannah moved in with Donovan and Justine, with possible plans to move out either when the baby is born, or when their tortuous ordeal was over, whichever came first. As for Hannah, she stopped receiving the emails once she moved in with her father and stepmother, and while Zach was working, Hannah was shopping for things for the baby--a girl, as Hannah and Zach learned months ago. She had a clear head for the first time in weeks, but after purchasing clothes and other adorable products for her upcoming bundle of joy, her cellphone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Hannah. Did you think you could hide from me?"

"How did you get my number?!" exclaimed Hannah.

"I know a lot about you, Hannah. I know everything about you. I'm watching you right now." Hannah looked all over the parking lot for her mysterious caller, but couldn't find them.

"Where are you?!"

"You will pay, Hannah," her caller replied. "You...will...pay!"

This was the last thing Hannah needed, this horrible cycle of harassment continuing, especially this close to the due date. She informed Zach about the ominous phone call, and they both went to the police station with their report. Once the couple arrived, they were surprised to see Donovan inside with Justine.

"Dad?" said Hannah. "What are you doing here?" Before Donovan could answer, Justine chimed in.

"Hannah," said Justine, "your father's here because I called him. Earlier today, I received a strange video in my inbox." Hannah and Zach walked with Donovan and Justine to the latter's office, and it was there that Justine opened her laptop and presented the video from her inbox: which happened to star Hannah's masked stalker.

"Hannah Snow, your time will come! A life for a life...an eye for eye! You will pay, Hannah Snow!"

The rant was followed by a maniacal laugh, which is where Justine paused the video. "Is this your stalker, Hannah?" asked Justine.

"Yes, that's him," answered Hannah.

"Him?" asked Justine. "We actually do have a person of interest, but that very person is a woman."

"Who is she?" asked Zach. Justine presented a photo of a young blonde woman, who looked quite familiar to the young couple.

"Is that...Beth?!" asked Zach.

"You know her?" asked Justine.

"We both do," said Hannah. "Beth Turner. She was Mike's ex. She didn't really take the break-up well."

"We know," said Justine. "She has a history of stalking and harassment, and we also have more evidence against her." Justine later presented surveillance footage from the parking lot of the very store where Hannah was shopping, and both she and Zach were shocked to see Beth in a hooded disguise outside the store.

"Oh my God!" Hannah shouted in horror. "She was the one who called me?! I need to see her!"

"I don't think that's a good idea, hon," said Zach. "Your condition..."

"Don't talk to me about my condition!" shouted Hannah. "She threatened us and our baby!"

"Sweetie, please head back home, for your own safety," said Donovan.

"Listen to your father, Hannah," said Justine. "This woman is dangerous. We can't have anything happen to you and your unborn baby." The last statement managed to calm Hannah down, and with that realization, she and Zach left the station and returned home. Even so, Hannah would have nightmares about the harassment, and Hannah's dream often involved Beth appearing and abducting her. After three nights of the same nightmare, the fourth night saw something different. In this dream, Hannah sees a familiar face:

"Shelly?"

"Be careful, Hannah. You're in danger. Things aren't what they seem."

Hannah woke up before she could get any clarification on the message, and it was the ringing of her cellphone that woke her up. The call came from Donovan, who told Hannah to turn on the news. What she saw was Justine giving a press conference about Hannah's stalking case, and it was a stunning statement from her stepmother.

"Yesterday, Beth Taylor, the prime suspect in the stalking and harassment case involving Hannah Snow, was found dead in her home. Evidence suggests that she committed suicide, but shortly before her death, Ms. Taylor left a written confession to the crimes committed against Ms. Snow, as well as a manifesto where she expressed bitterness and jealousy of her victim due to the fact that she was starting a family while she lost someone who was near and dear to her for so long."

The press conference also included Justine introducing one of her officers, Simone Gersh, who presented the mask that was worn by the culprit, though Hannah's attention to detail caught something.

"That's not the same mask."

Hannah had informed Zach about the newscast before voicing her statements about the evidence to Donovan during a phone call later in the day, with Justine's entrance into their house interrupting the conversation.

"Was that Hannah?" asked Justine.

"Yeah, it was," Donovan replied after he hung up.

"What did she want?" asked Justine.

"She watched your press conference," said Donovan, "and she told me that the mask that your officer showed wasn't the same as the one she saw in the video message."

"With all due respect," replied Justine, "she's not a police officer. Beth's DNA was all over the mask, plus she basically confessed on her suicide note."

"Hannah mentioned the note," said Donovan. "From the way it was read, it didn't sound like a woman losing her ex-boyfriend. As Hannah said, it came across more like someone losing a family member."

"Honey, come on," protested Justine. "You're going to believe your daughter's random theories over actual police work and DNA evidence?!" Donovan simply looked at his wife with a combination of stern assurance and fatherly concern; an expression that drew a deep sigh from Justine.

"Of course you are," said Justine. "Of course you are. I mean, you had no problem moving Hannah into our home once she got knocked up, right? You even allowed her to drag my daughter to that party!"

"Justine, what are you talking about?" Donovan asked, before suddenly hearing a noise from inside the house. He asked Justine about it, but received no answer before he was suddenly attacked by a hooded and masked assailant, who injected a drug into his shoulder.

"Justine...call the police..."

"Oh, but I am the police, dear," Justine said coyly. "In fact, I am the law. See, your precious daughter was right. That letter was from someone who lost a family member...me! Your daughter took my Shelly from me, and the way I see it--the way the law sees it--you're every bit as guilty as she is." Donovan collapsed after Justine's rant, and she gave a twisted smile at the masked attacker, who revealed herself as Simone Gersh, the same officer from the press conference. Upon seeing some movement from Donovan, Simone was set to take out her gun, only to be stopped by Justine.

"Not yet," ordered Justine. "Go out the back and bring Hannah to me. It's time for her to finally pay her debt to me." Simone left to carry out the order, while Justine walked past her incapacitated husband, and headed to a room that was padlocked, with Justine unlocking the front door and entering. The room was revealed to have various photos of herself and Shelly plastered over a mirror, and while some of them actually featured Hannah, her face was actually scratched off. Not only did the setting serve as a mother's demented shrine to Shelly, it was a stepmother's display of hatred towards Hannah, and as Justine sat in front of her mirror, she took out a lucha-style black mask and put in on. After damaging Hannah's face in another photo, Justine cackled maniacally and made the following proclamation:

"The final piece of my revenge will be completed! Hannah, you will give back what you took from me!"

A half an hour later, Zach suddenly returned to his apartment, only to find that it was ransacked. He and Hannah had returned to the apartment a day prior, but Zach quickly searched for Hannah, with the search seeing him suddenly knocked out from behind by Simone, who was hiding in ambush. She later entered the bedroom where Hannah was tied up and gagged, as Simone had subdued Hannah prior to Zach's arrival.

"Come, Hannah," Simone said while holding Hannah at gunpoint, "it's time." Simone struck Hannah with the pistol, knocking her out, and when she woke up, she found herself still tied up, but groggy over the attack, while seeing Simone standing over her.

"Where am I?" Hannah asked.

"Why, you're home, of course."

Hannah heard the familiar, deepened voice of the true bane of her existence--the masked stalker who had been featured as the centerpiece of the threatening videos. It was Justine in her full costume, but as she walked closer to her captive stepdaughter, she decided to drop her deep-voiced facade.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll use a tone that's more familiar to you." Once Justine removed her mask, Hannah was stunned to see that her stepmother had been behind her psychotic stalker, and the shock increased once Justine and Simone suddenly kissed each other.

"Justine?!" exclaimed Hannah. "You're behind this?!"

"I can't take all of the credit," Justine said with an evil smirk. "I mean, it was my dear sweetheart, Simone, who was on the phone with you and had been following you, but the videos? That was me. So was the deepfake I created to point our fellow officers in the direction of that pathetic simp Beth."

"You killed Beth, didn't you?" asked Hannah.

"What do you think?" was Simone's sadistic reply.

"What do you want, Justine?" asked Hannah.

"You know what I want!" snarled Justine. "I want my daughter! And you're just about a few days away, give or take, from giving her back to me. It's the least you could give me. After all, you took Shelly away from me!"

"You can't have my baby!" shouted Hannah, only to be slapped hard by Justine in response.

"You want to know a secret?" said Justine. "I never liked that you were always around my Shelly. You were always a bad influence on my daughter, yet in spite of you, I ended up falling in love with your father and marrying him, the biggest mistake I ever made in my life! Shelly was a perfect girl, she was going to follow in my footsteps and have a good life, but you ruined that with your influence. Even worse, your pathetic father always took your side, even when you took her to that party!"

"I loved Shelly, she was my sister," said Hannah. "And I even saw you as a mother for me after I lost mine, even though all you did was control Shelly and not even consider what she wanted to do with her life."

"Enough!" Justine shouted as she slapped Hannah again. "You owe me a daughter, and you will give me yours! It'll be perfect. Once the baby's born, your father will be taken care of, and then once you're gone, I'll enjoy retirement as a stay at home mother to my baby girl, while being married to the very woman who will take my place as captain--once she breaks the case of the murders of a father, his daughter, and his daughter's boyfriend."

"A murder-suicide," said Simone. "We'll say the boyfriend did it; realized he loved his crazy ex following her 'suicide'." As both villainesses cackled, they suddenly heard the front door bust open, and it was followed by Hannah hearing a familiar and welcoming sound: her boyfriend, Zach, calling for her.

Six Months Later

It was hard to believe that a half a year passed since Hannah and Zach's ordeal, but it was long over. The police department remained shocked that not one, but two of their own had fallen from grace and resorted to committing a murderous and vengeful plot masterminded by their captain. It was five days after Hannah was freed that she gave birth to her and Zach's daughter, while Donovan had fully recovered from the attack and welcomed his granddaughter with open arms.

As for Justine and Simone, they were tried separately on trial, though it was a speedy process. As part of a plea deal, Simone confessed to killing Beth Turner under the orders of Justine, who had despised Hannah even as a child and had blamed her for Shelly's untimely death. Both women were convicted; Justine received a life sentence with no chance for parole, while Simone received a 20-year sentence, with parole eligibility after 10 years. Hannah emerged from her terrible ordeal like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and as a result, she has a loving boyfriend, she has her father with her, and she has a baby girl, named Shelly Marie Snow.

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