‘So, he’s sleeping with the bloody staff, is he?’ she spat.
Then, to Emma’s horror, Anika bent down to pick up the neck of the broken wine bottle from the floor and advanced threateningly in her direction.
‘Stop, please—’ begged Emma.
‘Shut up, you slut!’ shouted Anika, then raised the sharp glass in the air. Emma screamed as she watched it high in the air, right above her head. Then, as it was about to come down, suddenly Anika fell forward with force and was pushed through the cellar door, down the steps. ‘Aargh!’ she shrieked.
Emma’s eyes widened and suddenly Madeleine was there, standing where Anika had just been standing.
‘Quickly, Emma,’ she urged, pointing to the cellar door. Without delay, Emma bolted it. They could hear Anika groaning in pain as she crawled back up the steps.
‘Let me out!’ she roared, hammering on the door.
‘I’m calling the police,’ said Madeleine, ‘you go and wake Felix.’
Emma ran at breakneck speed up to Felix’s bedroom. Shaking him awake, she was hyper by now.
‘Anika’s broken into the house,’ she gabbled.
‘Wh—what?’ Felix rubbed his eyes.
‘Anika. She’s here,’ hissed Emma.
That was enough to rouse him. Anika, here? In his house? He quickly dressed and followed Emma back downstairs into the kitchen. By now Anika too was hysterical, ramming on the cellar door.
‘Let me out, you bitch!’ she yelled.
Madeleine was remarkably calm.
‘The police are on their way,’ she said in a cool voice.
Felix took in the scene – the open window, the smashed bottle of wine and a very shaken Emma.
‘She… was about to stab me,’ she whimpered in a strangled voice, then burst into tears. Felix pulled her into his arms.
‘Shush, it’s all right.’ He rocked her whilst looking over her shoulder at his mum with alarm.
‘I came in the nick of time,’ said Madeleine, crossing her dressing gown around her. ‘I heard something smash and made my way downstairs. When I came into the kitchen, Anika was holding a piece of glass over Emma’s head.’
‘Oh, my God.’ Felix closed his eyes in utter horror and clutched Emma tighter. ‘She’s going down for this,’ he choked in a thick voice.
The police arrived and arrested a very subdued Anika. Having fallen down the steps, plus ranting, raving and hammering on the cellar door for over half an hour, she had worn herself out. Two burly police officers bundled her into a van, where she was taken to the station. It looked like Anika was going to be spending time behind bars, adding attempted murder to her previous convictions.
Way too alert to sleep, Emma, Felix and Madeleine sat in the drawing room drinking coffee. Felix had laced Emma’s with whiskey to help with the shock of her encounter with Anika.
‘I’m so, so sorry, Emma,’ Felix apologised once more.
‘But it’s not your fault,’ replied a very pale-faced, traumatised Emma.
‘Emma is right. Anika is one crazy woman, who needs locking up,’ stated Madeleine.
‘You’re not wrong there,’ replied Felix.
‘It is over now,’ continued Madeleine. ‘It was a pleasure to push her down the cellar steps.’ Indeed the satisfaction it gave her was immense. Her son was no longer to be haunted by this woman any longer, or Emma for that matter. They could all rest easy.
‘I’ll need to get the kitchen window fixed,’ said Felix, once the police established how Anika had broken it to gain entry.
‘Don’t worry about that for now,’ replied Madeleine. ‘We have had quite enough excitement for one night.’
They all slowly made their way upstairs, each heading to their own bedroom. As Felix’s head hit the pillow, he had a lot to contemplate. What a night. Just when he’d finally made his move on Emma Anika had decided to break in and… it didn’t bare thinking about. Even so, the fact Anika was finally in police custody gave him some gratification. That and knowing the absurd stalking had at last ended.
Emma too was processing the eventful evening. Eventually, as the early hours came, her mind surrendered to sleep.
Madeleine, however, didn’t have any trouble sleeping at all. She was soon out like a light, in the satisfying knowledge she had sorted out that hideous ex-girlfriend of her son’s. As usual, mum to the rescue. Not a lot had changed.
