The Stray Cat I Fed Warned Me About My Two Faced Best Friend Chapter 09

The Stray Cat I Fed Warned Me About My Two Faced Best Friend Chapter 09

Vanessa cried harder, curling into herself as her thin shoulders shook.

The courtroom remained silent for a long time.

Derek was convicted of hiring people to vandalize my parents’ restaurant and causing more than fifty thousand dollars in property damage.

Sentencing and restitution were set for a later date, and Derek remained free on bond until then.

Vanessa would face separate charges for filing a false police report and fabricating evidence once she was medically cleared.

By the time I left the courthouse, night had fallen.

But I knew it wasn’t over.

Three days later, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.

It was Vanessa.

Her voice was weak and tearful.

“Natalie… they’re transferring me to county jail tomorrow. Could you come see me before I go? There’s something I need to tell you.”

I almost hung up.

Then I remembered she still had the old iPhone I’d lent her the year before. I still had files on it that I’d never backed up, and I wanted the phone back before she was moved.

“Fine,” I said. “Three o’clock.”

Vanessa lay in a hospital bed, her face almost as white as the sheets.

The moment I walked in, her eyes lit up. She struggled to sit up.

“Natalie… you came.”

Her eyes reddened.

“I know I was wrong. You and your parents were always so good to me. I never should’ve done this to you. I was just scared.”

She twisted the blanket between her fingers.

“When Derek hit me, he didn’t stop. I couldn’t get away. I panicked, and I made a terrible mistake.”

Tears slid down her face.

“Can you forgive me this once? When I get out, I’ll change. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

I looked at her pale face, her swollen eyes, and the helpless expression I’d seen countless times since childhood.

Once, it would’ve worked.

Not anymore.

“Vanessa, answer me honestly. If I hadn’t worn that camera, and if those cats hadn’t warned me, would you have stopped?”

Her crying faltered.

“No,” I answered for her. “You wouldn’t have.”

I stepped closer.

“You would’ve watched my parents lose everything, watched Grant walk away, and watched me break down until I ended up dead. Then you would’ve taken the settlement money and walked away.”

The color drained from her face.

I looked out the hospital window.

An orange stray cat sat beside the flower bed below, licking one paw. It raised its head, amber eyes fixed on me.

A line of text appeared above it.

[Human, don’t fall for it. Stay away from this parasite, or you’ll live the same nightmare again.]

I nodded toward the cat.

“Thank you.”

Then I turned back to Vanessa.

“Don’t contact me again. Whatever friendship we had is over.”

I took the old phone from the bedside table and walked out without looking back.

The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the hall as I headed toward the elevators.

A few steps later, I realized I’d left my own phone beside Vanessa’s bed.

I turned around.

Just as my hand touched the door handle, a sharp slap cracked through the room.

Then Derek’s voice followed, low and vicious.

“You lying bitch. You killed my son and got me convicted. Are you trying to destroy my life?”

Vanessa began pleading.

“Derek, please listen. I know I was wrong. Once I get out, I’ll find a way to get the money.”

“With what? You don’t have anything!”

“Natalie will give it to us. She always gives in eventually. I just have to keep begging.”

Her voice grew frantic.

“Her family has money, and Grant has even more. She’ll lend it to us. I know she will.”