Her Wicked Plan, page 1
Her Wicked Plan © 2024 by Hannah Jo
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author except for brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Editing: Jaquelyn Vale at She Who Edits LLC.
Cover: Created by author using Canva.
To my husband
Who I drive crazy all the time, but at the end of the day, you still love me.
Content Warning
This story contains mature themes. If you are not 18 years or older, do not read this book. If you are not a fan of smut, then please do not read this book.
Sexual scenes, adult language, death of family member due to cancer, violence (on screen), murder (on screen), brief mention of self-harm (not the act)
This story is a work of fiction. Black Lake Asylum is not a real facility. It does not depict how mental facilities are truly run.
Character Ages
Leo Madden- 28 years old
Veronica Rollins- 26 years old
Myles Hoffman- 28 years old
Scarlet Jeane- 29 years old
Dr. Henry Bennett- 62 years old
Nurse Edith- 70 years old
Chloe Madden- 25 years old
Lucy Madden- 57 years old
Scott Madden- 58 years old
Playlist
Sweet but Pyscho – Ava Max
I Found – Amber Run
Arcade – Duncan Laurence
Drip Off – Austin Giorgio
Game of Survival – Ruelle
In the Stars – Benson Boone
Only – RY X
Who Is She? – I Monster
Love Is a Bitch – Two Feet
Satan's a Woman – Twin Temple
I'm Wicked – Twin Temple
Bad Things- Cults
Hurts Like Hell – Fleurie, Tommee Proffitt
Happy Together – Cover by FLOOR CRY
Fall in Love with You. – Montell Fish
A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant to Be – Jess Benko
Tainted Love – Cover by Kyan Palmer
Sleeping at Last – Saturn
Contents
Veronica
1. Leo
2. Veronica
3. Leo
4. Leo
5. Veronica
6. Leo
7. Veronica
8. Leo
9. Veronica
10. Veronica
11. Leo
12. Leo
13. Veronica
14. Leo
15. Veronica
16. Veronica
17. Leo
18. Leo
19. Veronica
20. Veronica
21. Leo
22. Veronica
23. Veronica
Solitary Confinement: Day 1
24. Leo
25. Veronica
Solitary Confinement: Day 2 & 3
26. Leo
27. Veronica
Solitary Confinement: Day?
28. Leo
29. Veronica
30. Leo
31. Leo
32. Veronica
33. Leo
34. Veronica
35. Veronica
36. Leo
37. Leo
38. Leo
39. Veronica
40. Veronica
41. Veronica
42. Veronica
43. Leo
44. Veronica
45. Leo
46. Veronica
47. Leo
48. Leo
49. Leo
50. Veronica
51. Leo
Epiloque: One Year Later
Acknowledgments
Veronica
PROLOGUE
I pled insanity.
There was no way I could have gotten away with pretending to be innocent, seeing as there was a witness to my crime. This means I couldn’t lie to the judge, but with my past, there was only one way to keep myself out of prison.
That was the route I took.
Since I did that, they shipped me away to Black Lake Asylum. A sanatorium in the middle of fucking nowhere, Seattle, but hey, I can’t complain.
I could be sharing a prison cell with another person, and I don’t like people. Thankfully, I get a whole room to myself here. It isn’t anything special or cozy, but it’s my space.
I’ve only been here for two weeks. I want to say I hate it, but then again, I could be rotting away in prison. I’ll just shut my mouth and deal with it. The head guy here, Dr. Bennett, assigned me a doctor to discuss my problems.
The idea wasn’t even presented to me when Dr. Bennett came up with it.
It was a decision made on my behalf. I don’t want a doctor. They are going to get inside my head. They’ll pick around my brain like a crow until they believe they have found the root of my problems.
The only one allowed inside my twisted mind is me.
No. A doctor won’t do.
I’ve had the same stuffy old woman meet with me twice a week. She thinks she can talk down to me because she has multiple years on me in age plus a degree. I can sense she doesn’t even want to deal with me at all.
If that’s the case, why the hell did you get into this profession? It doesn’t matter to me anyway, given that I don’t want her here either. I’ll just have to give her a reason to actually leave.
A little push, if you will.
Which is why I did what I did. She was running her mouth during one of our sessions, telling me all the things she thought was wrong with me. All the ways my mind is fucked up and how no one can fix me.
The words she spoke are nothing new to me, or anyone else, for that matter. I heard it my whole life, but I’m a great actor, so when she started spewing shit past her cracked, dry lips, I sat there in my chair, pretending it was getting to me.
Then I punched her.
Square in the nose.
Not only once, no. I had to convey that I was not to be messed with.
The woman cries out in utter pain as she runs from her office, her fragile hands cupping her now-broken nose. Blood dripping down her arm from how much is gushing out of her nostrils.
As she goes to tattle on me like a kid in grade school, I become comfortable with her office chair.
The premium leather under me is cool to the touch. I sigh, almost in relief from my body temperature cooling down. The cold of the leather calms the heat radiating from my body due to the anger she has provoked.
My arms drape along the armrest as my hands tightly grip the ends, my fingernails puncturing the thin material.
Waiting.
It wasn’t long until I heard footsteps from down the hall. The urgency is evident in how they rush towards the office, and when a furious Dr. Bennett enters the room, he finds me sitting in the woman’s chair—a wicked grin plastering my face and blood on my knuckles.
Hopefully, this will get the point across to him that I do not need a damn doctor.
CHAPTER 1
Leo
As I stare down at the papers splayed out on the kitchen table, my eyes slowly grow tired with every passing second. I’ve read Veronica’s file multiple times this past week to get a real sense of her.
I even took my curiosity to the internet, where I stumbled upon various articles on her. News stations and even social media blogs have written articles about this woman.
Most were utterly wrong and exaggerated the trial that was held. The words on these sites contradict everything written in her file by the medical staff. After those findings, I avoided the online articles and kept with what Black Lake had given me.
This is all new territory to me. I’ve had my bachelor’s degree for four years, but I’ve only been a psychiatrist in an office building in downtown Seattle since I graduated college.
The patients I care for at this office aren’t nearly as bad as Veronica. They don’t even come close to any patients housed at Black Lake Asylum.
I do my job well. So well that my boss took it upon himself to send in my credentials to the asylum. He wasn’t trying to get rid of me, but he knew I was destined for bigger things.
Crazier people, I guess. He knew I could handle whatever was thrown my way. At first, I was upset that he had sent out my resume without conversing with me because I love my job. I am comfortable with my patients and the people I work with.
My patients.
This news is going to be super hard to drop on them. They trust me with everything they have, and I won’t be their safe place anymore. I’d hate for them to fall back on the progress we’ve worked so hard to reach.
I still have a month to figure out how to tell them I’ll be leaving. Veronica’s current doctor will depart from the facility at the beginning of January.
I was worried when I first learned that I got the job offer—out of my mind; I was worried to the point where I was losing sleep over it. Veronica and I will only meet for two days a week.
That’s a long ass commute for only two days, as I live in the city, and Black Lake is way past city limits. However, the facility was kind in offering me a room in the doctor's and nurse’s wing.
Everything seemed to work out for me.
Running my hands throu
I desperately need a break, which is good because the front door closes as soon as the thought of stepping away forms in my mind. It doesn’t take long for Myles's footsteps to grow louder through the narrow hall as he approaches the kitchen.
“Hey, man!” He greets me cheerfully, clapping me on the shoulder. “Whatcha reading?”
“Just looking over the file for my new patient.”
“Again? Dude, you have been reading that shit for the past week.” Myles fills a tall glass to the brim with water.
We have been friends for years. We both attended the same college—me earning a medical degree and him earning a business degree. The two of us used to be the same person in college.
We both wanted to go out and party, meet girls, and hook up with them for the night. It was all fun until it started interfering with my schoolwork.
Once I found out I had been failing my courses, I completely locked it down and focused on getting better grades and finishing school. After that, I never changed back to the way I used to be.
Myles, however, is the same man who loves to get drunk and meet random women.
“Yeah, I know.” I sink back into my seat, hands rubbing down my face. I stop the movement when they brush against the stubble on my chin. I’ve been so stressed with everything that I haven’t cared to shave. “I guess I’m just nervous. Since my boss was the one who set me up with the job, I don’t want to fuck it up.”
“Understandable.” He nods, his dirty blonde hair falling into his eyes. “I mean, you will be working for an insane asylum, for God's sake! It’s different from what you are used to. I’d be shitting my pants if I were you.”
“Wow, thanks for the boost of confidence.” I state sarcastically. “If I’m being honest, I’m freaking the fuck out, but I think it’s because I don’t know what to expect.” I reach across the table, grabbing a glass of water that has remained untouched for the past hour. I hadn’t realized how dry my mouth felt until Myles came home. “Like you said, this is different from where I work now.”
“You freaking out because of the place in general or because of this patient?” He pushes himself away from the counter to stand by the table. Setting his glass back down after only a sip.
“Both, I guess,” I answer as we stare at the manilla folder in front of us.
“What’s she in for?” Myles always wants to know the dirty details of what is happening with my patients. His fingers twitch, and he wants to reach out and open the folder to read for himself.
I pat the thick file, sliding it closer to me. “Patient confidentiality. You know this man.”
“Yeah, I know.” He groans. “I always think one of these times you might fill me in.”
“Let's just say it’s pretty bad.”
“Is there a picture of her?” He asks with a sly grin. “Because, with my experiences and yours in the past, the crazy ones are always the hottest.”
A laugh escapes me. “How much longer is your car in the shop for? Key marks are pretty damn hard to get out.”
The question is meant to steer him away from what Veronica looks like. I couldn’t provide him with an answer anyway since they didn’t provide a picture.
“Another week, I think.” His hand combs through his hair, pushing the strands out of his face. Recently, Myles fucked over some girl he had been sleeping with, and she went all batshit crazy on him—keyed his car and slashed his tires. He was living the real-life song of Carrie Underwood. “When are you leaving?”
“The end of the month,” I tell him. “Her current doctor is leaving by then.”
“And how long are you working for them?” He walks away from the table, setting the empty glass in the sink before turning and leaning against the counter again.
“As long as they need me.” The time frame of the job wasn’t mentioned. I’m there until they tell me they no longer have use for me.
“Well, then... I’m heading to bed because today was long and exhausting. It's something you should also do, given that bags are forming under your eyes.” He pokes at my face, but I swat his hand away. He chuckles before he walks past me, but suddenly stops. “Can we please go out one more time before you leave? Like the old days?”
I knew he was going to ask me this. One more time going out wouldn’t hurt.
“Yeah, but that means you get to pay for everything.”
“Done!” He smiles and leaves me alone with the ticking of the clock and the patient’s file staring back at my face.
“Another round!” Myles shouts over the loud music playing overhead. I can barely hear my damn thoughts in this club. Maybe that’s a good thing. The thundering bass from the speakers, the volume that is cranked up to the max. All of it can drown out the anxiety that has taken control of my body.
Myles has four shots tucked securely in his hands and gently sets them on the table, careful not to shatter the glass or spill the liquid. One for me, one for him, and two for the women who joined us at our table.
“Tell me again why I agreed to this?” My fingers pinch the tiny shot glass, and I bring it closer to my mouth. The smell of tequila drifts to my nose, making me almost gag. The last time I had a shot of tequila was back in college, and it didn’t end well. And by that, I mean I got into a fight with some random guy on the street.
Let’s just say that tequila brings out the Hulk in me.
“Because you are leaving me for who knows how long!” Myles lifts his shot in the space between the four of us. “And we haven’t had a night like this since before you became a pussy in college.”
“I did not.” It was a lie. The girls on either side of me laugh.
He scoffs. “You went from getting pussy like every night to being one. You were ‘too cool’ to come out with me to parties.”
“Look where that got me, man!”
“Going to the craziest crazy bin this city has ever heard of!” He raises the glass higher to propose a toast. “To my best friend! Leo, may you try to enjoy this new job and not lose your damn mind!”
“To Leo!” The women shout as we all hit our glasses together.
The cool liquid slides down my throat, burning on the way down, and makes my whole body fight the urge to cringe at the strength of the taste.
I fucking hate tequila, but it’s Myles’s favorite, and seeing as he is buying all the alcohol tonight, I don’t have a choice.
“I want to dance!” The redhead’s hand circles my bicep. Half of her fingers touched the fabric of the black short-sleeve I wore, while the others squeezed my bare skin.
“I’m not much of a dancer.” I try to turn down the pretty girl, whose name I completely forgot, but she insists.
“Come on, Leo!” She begs with a pout. “You can stand there, and I’ll dance around you! They are playing too good of music to continue sitting at this table!”
My eyes search the pleading expression on her face before I look over my shoulder to find Myles and the blonde already getting their mouths acquainted.
Either I dance with the woman touching me, or I have to sit here and watch Myles and the other woman make out.
“You know what?” My eyes come back to the woman, who is still pouting. “Let’s dance.”
Her smile grows more prominent as she bounces on her feet. In the next second, she drags me onto the dance floor. People around us are dripping sweat from being close together, grinding against one another in this humid club. With the number of people visiting this club, you’d think they would at least have a better air-conditioning unit.
Really, Leo? You have a hot redhead swaying her hips against your dick, and you’re thinking about the club's air issues?
My focus returns to the music and the petite woman grinding against me. It’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman. After the college party phase, I stayed extremely focused on my career and didn’t have the time to consider dating, let alone a hookup.
No matter how often Myles begged me to go out with him, I’d come up with a lame excuse, but now... I regret hiding in my shell all this time.
Now that I will be essentially locked up in that asylum, when will I get to dance with a woman like this again? When will I ever be able to meet a woman at the bar and fuck her?
