Page 18 - The Houseguest

looks and sexual prowess to keep herself in jewelry and cars, but the gradual graceful aging many women experience seemed to elude her. She knew she had to find another instrument to use to manipulate. That’s when she honed her wickedness, learning to destroy others with the 21st century’s most damaging secret weapon, the Internet. When people would bring accusations against her for various reasons, she would secretly wiretap authorities who came to investigate and then post those videos online. When she was challenged, she would search for vulnerabilities on those who questioned her, turning their email and social media information over to porn hustlers. She would post and attach the most egregious accusations to her target’s name in cyberspace. When confronted, she would claim her actions were protected by her right of free speech. Survivors of wars and family members who had lost loved ones felt the twisted irony...how could April Spence’s annihilation of free speech, used as a tool to destroy innocent people, be a freedom for which their family had sacrificed? Rachel’s father came to believe that April had been born without a conscience, but because of the money, he was trapped. If he left her, she would undoubtedly destroy his character and take every penny he had. He watched helplessly as April’s greed and apathy transformed his daughter’s spirit into something nasty and selfish.
Rachel was an impressionable 11-year-old when her stepmother’s heartless influences began to shape her childhood. Together, they spent all their time performing vain and meaningless tasks. They would shop regularly, always including a trip to the spa complete with all the trimmings. Their entire existence was based on how they looked, what
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The Houseguest by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life