After Hearing the Snakes Talk, I Gave My Husband's Cursed Necklace to a Pig

My husband rescued two large snakes.

He couldn't get through to animal control right away, so he kept them in our basement.

After that, he grew colder toward me by the day. And there was always a strange smell clinging to him, something sickly sweet with a metallic edge.

I didn't think much of it at first. Not until I brought my daughter downstairs to help feed the snakes, and I heard the vivid red one speak in a woman's voice, low and seductive.

My man works overtime every single day, and this bitch gets to lounge around...

A child's voice piped up from the other snake: Mommy, when can you and Daddy finally be together for real? I'm so sick of this bitch feeding us!

The woman's voice dropped to a soothing murmur: Don't worry, baby. In a few more days, this bitch and her daughter's bodies will be ours...

...

The blood drained from my face. The plate of raw meat nearly slipped from my hands.

Inside the glass tank, the black-scaled snake stretched its neck toward me, its eyes flat and vicious. Goosebumps crawled up my arms.

Stupid woman can't even feed us properly. I want to bite through her throat.

The larger red-scaled snake coiled its tail around the smaller one: Easy, sweetheart. Once you've taken her daughter's body, you'll have all the time in the world for revenge.

The black snake lowered its head slowly. Its pupils narrowed to vertical slits.

Once I become her daughter and her daughter becomes me, I'll chop her up and make snake-meat soup out of her!

I stared at the black snake. Every hair on my body stood on end.

It seemed to sense me watching. Its head tilted up. Mommy, why does this bitch keep staring at me? Do you think she knows something?

The red snake flicked its forked tongue lazily. The Spiritual Master said she can't hear us...

A flicker of smugness crept into its cold, glassy eyes. After all, who could possibly imagine that the two of us, killed in that car accident, could be reborn inside a pair of snakes? And in just a few more days, we'll use these bitches' bodies to come back to life.

The black snake whipped its tail in excitement, its gaze locked on my daughter with a hunger that made my stomach turn. I can't wait to have everything that's hers...

Shock and terror tangled inside me. I squeezed my daughter's hand without thinking, so hard she yelped.

"Mommy, that hurts..."

I snapped back to myself and let go. "I'm sorry, Virginia Fox. How about Mommy buys you a little cake later, okay?"

Virginia tugged at the necklace around her own neck, then stared at mine. "I don't want cake. I want to trade necklaces with you, Mommy. Yours is redder and prettier than mine!"

My hand went to the jade pendant at my throat. In the large mirror behind the snake tank, I saw it clearly for the first time: the pendant, originally a pale pink, had turned a deep, unnatural crimson across nearly its entire surface. Only a sliver of pink remained.

Something was very wrong. I spoke deliberately, loud enough for the snakes to hear: "No, sweetie. Daddy had a Spiritual Master bless these necklaces for us. He told us we can never take them off, or the good luck won't work."

Virginia didn't fuss. She just grinned and teased me. "Mommy and Daddy are so in love! You do everything Daddy says!"

Right on cue, the red snake let out a shrill, hissing laugh. That's hilarious. This necklace is a death charm my man had made specifically for her, and she actually thinks he loves her? In my man's heart, I'm the wife. She's nothing but a concubine.

The black snake wound itself around the red one again. Don't be mad, Mommy. Once the pendant turns completely red, everything here will be ours...

I handed Virginia off to the nanny and went to Clement Sanchez's study alone.

The moment the door clicked shut behind me, my legs gave out and I sank to the floor.