Rotten To The Core

Confession

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Tegan's Confession

Integration room C. September sixth. Two thousand and twenty-two. Those present ar Detective Kayleigh Tance and Detective Nina Katerji.

It took me five years to plan how I would make those who pushed Penny to kill herself pay. My need for vengeance consumed me day and night. But I was patient. Patience is the key to being successful at most things.

Sandy Stepoke was the first person I killed. Why her first? It wasn't because she played a role in Penny's death more than the others.

Although, she was the one who started it all. I chose her first because she would be the easiest.

At twenty-two, Sandy was a new wife and doting mother. She'd met the love of her life at a bus stop in the pouring rain.

At seventeen, she was a cold-hearted bitch. People change and grow, but no matter how much they do, they can't undo the damage they did in the past.

Sandy was named after the character in Grease because her parents loved that old film. Her mum was a teacher and had taught me maths when I was in year five at school. I liked the woman. She was nice to Penny and me.

Her dad was a police officer. I heard he's in this station somewhere. Desperate to talk to his daughter's killer.

On her seventeenth birthday, she got tickets to go and see the live version of Grease on stage. Not that she wanted to go. By that point in her life, she loathed every song and every character but to appease her parents, she went.

While she was listening to Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee. Her then-boyfriend was having sex with Penny on his parent's sofa.

It was a mistake. Penny told me multiple times she wished she could undo it, even more so when Sandy found out about the whole thing.

They fought outside McDonald's like wild animals over an average-looking boy with the personality of a wet towel. He didn't deserve either one of them.

That day. The day Sandy found out. It started everything. When the fight was over, they were both left with busted lips, scratched faces and chunks of hair missing. But that wasn't enough to quell Sandy's anger over Penny sleeping with Tyler.

Sandy and her friends wouldn't leave Penny alone.

They text her abuse non-stop. She changed her number twice. They somehow got a hold of it.

The group posted about her on social media.

She'd block them. They would make new accounts.

Penny deleted social media. She broke her phone and refused to buy a new one. We both hoped they'd eventually get bored when they couldn't contact her.

The worse thing Sandy did was take Tyler's phone and text everyone the one nude photo Penny had sent to him to everyone. Her parents even saw it.

Even back then. Before Penny killed herself, I knew I'd make Sandy pay for it.

And I did. After five years of watching Sandy, I knew every move.

My first attempt was on a Tuesday night. It was the one night of the week her husband would stay home and care for their baby.

Sandy would go out drinking with her friends. Once she was drunk enough,  she'd get a taxi home. That night she got into my car so drunk she could barely say her name let alone figure out she wasn't in a taxi.

She fell asleep in the back seat. I planned to kill her there and then, but at the last minute, I changed my mind. I dropped her off at home. Not because I had chickened out but because I knew the bar CCTV would have picked up my car.

I dropped her off at home. And I waited again.

I waited for two weeks when her husband made his monthly overnight trip to see his parents.

Sandy and his parents had a big argument on their wedding day, and she refused to see them anymore.

I didn't need killing her to be a drawn-out affair.  It was quick and easy.

I slit her throat. I did it while she slept. It was more peaceful than she deserved.

Then I stripped her naked and took photos on Sandys's phone. I text pictures of her nude dead body to her loved ones.

When I left, her baby was crying.

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