Hell stalking E-Book

Jacqueline Padberg

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 260

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

René gets to know Steffi. After the wedding, Steffi is stalked by her ex-boyfriend Ronny. He calls anonymously at all hours of the day and night. He rings the doorbell at night to get Steffi back. He lies in wait for her, stalks her, and one day even sits in her apartment and threatens her. It takes several moves, always in the hope of finally getting rid of her stalker Ronny. It is in vain. Her mother-in-law Gundula also makes her life hell. She constantly interferes in Steffi and René's lives. One day, while the couple are at a funeral, Gundula takes away their two dogs. When René finds out what his mother has done to the animals, the couple's world collapses. What has Gundula done with the animals, and how will their lives continue?

Leseprobe

Jacqueline Padberg

Hell stalking

René part 4

Biography

What has happened so far

After René's release from juvenile prison, he meets Susi. She becomes his first wife. He goes from the frying pan into the fire. She is a schemer and just wants to be taken care of. Susi marries my half-brother. She is fourteen years older than him. After the marriage, he experiences hell on earth with her.

Susi regularly beats up her husband and hurts him several times, leaving him hospitalized. She breaks one of his fingers and throws objects such as an ashtray and a coffee cup at his head. She cheats and brings her flings home with her. One day, she pushes her husband down the stairs. René is seriously injured. Will René escape from his wife?

In this book

René gets to know Steffi. After the wedding, Steffi is stalked by her ex-boyfriend Ronny. He calls anonymously at all hours of the day and night. He rings the doorbell at night to get Steffi back. He lies in wait for her, stalks her, and one day even sits in her apartment and threatens her. It takes several moves, always in the hope of finally getting rid of her stalker Ronny. It is in vain.

Her mother-in-law Gundula also makes her life hell. She constantly interferes in Steffi and René's lives. One day, while the couple are at a funeral, Gundula takes away their two dogs. When René finds out what his mother has done to the animals, the couple's world collapses.

What has Gundula done with the animals, and how will their lives continue?

Jacqueline Padberg

Hell stalking

René part 4

Biography

Table of contents

1Delusions of persecution?

2All coincidence?

3Fear of death

4The telephone terror

5Imminent danger

6Everyday life in isolation

7Permanent terror

8Legal guardianship

9The funeral

10The bad news

11Robbery in the cellar

12Unwanted visit

13Encounter with Susi

14Disputes

15Further disputes

16Diabetes

17The heart attack

18Gundula's whining

19The stroke

20The shrew

21Family reunification?

22René's low point

23René today

Epilogue Emilie

1 Delusions of persecution?

Steffi hoped that she had imagined it all and that her ex wasn't standing outside the door watching her. René was already fast asleep. His wife brooded all night and didn't sleep a wink. But she couldn't imagine that she had only imagined that she had seen her ex. She was absolutely convinced that Ronny, her ex, had been standing outside the window on their wedding night and that she had not been mistaken. She slipped out of bed again and went into the kitchen. Steffi paced back and forth restlessly, biting her nails. She pushed back the curtain from the kitchen window a few times to make sure that Ronny, her ex, wasn't standing outside the house. She didn't see anyone, made herself a calming tea and went back to bed two hours later. Her thoughts were all about her ex-boyfriend. Her eyes closed in the middle of the night.

When she woke up the next day, René had already got up, kissed her and poured her a cup of coffee. Steffi felt exhausted in the morning and couldn't get going. She told her husband that she wanted to call in sick because she felt tired. René was worried. He felt her forehead and was sure that she was coming down with something. He also thought it would be better if she stayed at home. He assured his wife that he would call her during the lunch break. She should call the company if she wasn't feeling better. Then he put on his jacket and drove to work.

Steffi sat in front of her coffee cup for over an hour, lost in thought. It worried her that she was sure she had seen Ronny the night before. After coming out of the bathroom and rubbing her hair dry with the towel, she distracted herself with housework. It took her over two hours to get the apartment spick and span. When she finished, took out the garbage and looked into a car parked on the side of the road, she dropped the two garbage bags she was holding in her right hand in shock.

I wasn't mistaken. What does he want from me? Has he been here all night, standing outside the house? What am I supposed to do now?

Her ex-boyfriend Ronny was sitting in his car watching her. Steffi didn't dare go to the car and ran towards the front door. The bunch of keys fell out of her hand as she tried to open the front door. Her hands were sweaty and shaking. She quickly picked it up and put the front door key in the keyhole. Something was stuck. Damn it! She grumbled as an elderly neighbor suddenly yanked open the front door. He looked over at the bins and admonished Steffi.

"Rubbish belongs in the garbage can! You don't put it on the lawn! Please go back and throw your garbage in the garbage can! Where will we end up if everyone puts their garbage on the lawn now? ... Don't you hear me? I saw that these are your garbage bags. I just saw it from the window. So come on! Why are you standing here looking at me like I'm a ghost? Do what I told you to do!"

The neighbor pushed Steffi outside. She pushed the old man back, fled past him and wanted to go into her apartment. She was too scared to go back to the garbage cans. The pensioner grumbled, shook his head and threw the two bin bags away himself. He had shouted after Steffi that he would report the outrageous behavior to the building management and that the incident would have consequences. She hadn't even heard that. She was already in the apartment. Her heart was beating fast as she stood in the kitchen and carefully looked out of the window. Her hands were shaking. She had no idea what to do now. She thought about it and called the company. René was on his way. That frightened Steffi. Her fear grew even greater.

He told me to call if there was anything wrong! I did and now I can't reach him. I'm in such a panic and don't know what to do.

Her tremendous anxiety did not improve over the course of the morning. She called the company a second and a third time. René could not be reached. He didn't get in touch with her during the lunch break either. Steffi almost went mad that day and cursed. Her ex, this stalker, stood outside the house until late afternoon. But she didn't dare go to Ronny to ask him what else he wanted from her?

That evening, René came in the front door beaming with joy. In the hectic rush, he had forgotten to call his wife. It was a busy day at the company. When he entered the kitchen, Steffi was sitting at the kitchen table, upset and crying. He immediately went to her and asked what had happened.

"Hey, honey, what's wrong with you? Why are you shaking like that? Why are you crying? Is something wrong with your parents? Why don't you say something? Why are you so sad?"

Steffi took a handkerchief and blew her nose. She was annoyed.

"What's going on, do you want to know? My ex was here again. He's been parked outside the house all day. I didn't imagine it. I spotted him this morning when I was taking out the garbage. He only left an hour ago. I have no idea what he wants from me, but he knows where we live. He's stalking us! ... Why didn't you call me? You promised me you'd get back to me during the lunch break at the latest. I was so scared and couldn't reach you. When I need you, you're not there. That's unbelievable."

He apologized to his wife. René explained to her that there was a lot to do at work and that he had only found out at the office at the end of the day that Steffi had tried to phone him three times. He was sorry that he hadn't called her. He comforted his wife and then went outside. He looked around and walked a little way up the street. There was no one to be seen for miles around. He rang the neighbors' doorbell and asked if anyone had noticed that a car had been parked outside until late afternoon with a man in it? No one could confirm this. The neighbors were much more concerned about the garbage that René's wife had brazenly dumped on the lawn. Steffi was angry when her husband came back into the kitchen and told her about it. She wondered whether at least he believed her or whether he thought she was crazy too? René assured her that he was sure Steffi hadn't made it up and that it was true. But he thought otherwise, and she sensed that. She pondered how she could prove to her husband that she was being stalked by Ronny. An idea came to her over dinner. She asked her husband for the camera and had him explain it to her. René gave it to her and thought the idea of photographing her ex in case he turned up again was brilliant.

But Ronny didn't show up the next day. Over the next few days, he didn't show his face in the area, as if he had suspected something. That annoyed Steffi. Now it looked as if she had imagined everything. She went back to work a few days later and stopped thinking about the incident.

René had to run a few errands at the DIY store at the weekend. He had arranged with his wife that he would drop Steffi off at the discount store beforehand. She was to go shopping in peace and he would pick her up again in an hour. His wife agreed. She looked at her note and drove through the aisles of the supermarket to get everything done quickly. Steffi stood in front of the flour, checked her shopping list and put two packages in her shopping basket. She was just about to push her trolley through the aisle when she realized that someone was tapping her on the shoulder from behind and asking.

"Well, my angel, do you want to bake me a cake? Is that why you need so much flour? I'd be delighted if you learned to bake after all. You couldn't do it before. The cakes you baked tasted awful. You couldn't do it at all, to be honest, and you were always a bad housewife. I would be delighted if that has changed and they taste better now. I'll come and try them, I promise."

Steffi couldn't say anything back. She was perplexed. She left her shopping cart in the middle of the aisle and quickly ran away. She ran to the checkout and told the cashier that she was being followed. The employee called another employee to come to the checkout area. After hearing from his colleague why the customer was worried, the man went to the shelf with Steffi. Ronny had disappeared and could no longer be found in the store. The employee looked at her sympathetically. He was convinced that he was dealing with a confused woman. Steffi could see that in his expression. He asked her to calm down and assured her that nothing could happen to her. She should go shopping in peace, he would keep an eye on her. But she didn't. She felt stupid and ashamed. She ran out of the store.

René arrived a few minutes later and wondered why his wife wasn't carrying any shopping bags. She didn't explain it to him. Steffi just wanted to go home. But he wanted to know what had happened. His wife sat down at the kitchen table and told him that she had had an encounter with her ex in the supermarket. René wondered why she hadn't taken a photo of him? Steffi looked at him puzzled and freaked out.

"Are you joking now? I'm not taking the camera you gave me to the supermarket. I couldn't have known that I'd bump into Ronny today. I haven't seen him for days. So why should I have taken the camera into the store? That doesn't make any sense, René. ... He's following me, I realize that now. I was so scared. You can believe me. I honestly don't understand why you think we met by chance. He's stalking me, so stop putting lipstick on the pig! It wasn't a coincidence. He wanted to see me and he's stalking me."

René reassured his wife. But he asked her not to read too much into the meeting. That upset Steffi. It made her angry that her husband didn't believe her. He wasn't in the mood for a marital quarrel. He drove to the supermarket and bought the groceries himself. When he came back, he cooked something delicious and wanted to make up with his wife. Steffi had lost her appetite. She was still angry with her husband.

The whole weekend was ruined. She kept thinking about her encounter with Ronny and couldn't imagine that it was a coincidence. She was plagued by stomach pains. On Sunday evening, her husband asked her to go to the doctor the next day because of her complaints. He also suggested that she take the camera with her. Steffi agreed. She still couldn't shake off the feeling that René thought she was crazy. She lay awake in bed half the night again and was only preoccupied with Ronny. Then, in the middle of the night, she heard a strange noise that she couldn't place. She flinched and woke her husband. René got up immediately, looked around the apartment and even went to the front door in his pajamas. There was nothing there. Steffi must have made a mistake. He went back to bed and turned towards her. René held her hand, stroked his wife's cheek and sighed.

"Honey, you don't have to be afraid! There was nothing there. And no one is following you. I think you're imagining things. You know, I don't want to argue with you, but you should know that panic can sometimes make people believe things that don't exist. You've been through a lot with your ex. Maybe that's why you keep imagining that he's stalking you? ... Please don't get upset again! It's quite possible that your brain is playing tricks on you because you've been traumatized by your experiences with him. I've been there. As a child, I sometimes saw my stepfather Bert, even though I had been living with Gundula and Josef for a long time. That's what the psyche does to you, it's nothing unusual. That's all I want to say. Please tell your doctor about your delusions tomorrow when you see him again!"

Steffi sat up straight and wanted to know what her husband meant by his statement.

"Are you saying I'm crazy? You don't believe me, do you? He was there! I didn't imagine it, René. Ronny wasn't in the supermarket by chance. And I didn't make myself believe that loud rumble I just heard. I'll take the camera tomorrow and you'll see that I wasn't lying. I'm sure he'll follow me to the surgery and then you'll have your proof. That's enough for me now! Good night!"

René didn't believe it. But he didn't feel like arguing with his wife. Steffi stared at the window and wondered if her husband was right after all and she was going crazy?

The next morning, she was woken by a loud noise and startled out of her sleep.

2 All coincidence?

Steffi got up immediately and searched every room in the apartment. She also looked under the bed and in the closet to see if anyone was hiding there. Then she looked out of the bedroom window and realized that it was the garbage truck that was making such a racket outside the house. The garbage truck was just driving up the street and the men were emptying the nearest garbage cans. She flopped down on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she went into the kitchen and made herself a coffee. She calmed down again and thought about it.

There was nothing there! You're really starting to see ghosts, Steffi. You're going completely crazy. Maybe you've experienced too much violence in your relationship with Ronny and you're going crazy? Every time you hear a noise, you're instantly wiped out! And talk to the doctor about it later, like René suggested! I'm sure he'll have some advice for you and can help you not to be so jumpy.

After her second cup of coffee and morning toilet, Steffi got dressed and drove to her GP. When she got out of the car, her heart sank to her boots. She saw that her ex had followed her! She wondered why she hadn't noticed sooner. Ronny was standing on the opposite side of the road on the sidewalk and didn't make a face. It looked as if he was waiting for something. Steffi quickly ran up to the surgery. Her ex sprinted after her. He caught up with her in the stairwell and held her by the jacket. She tore herself away from him, threatened to call for help and hissed at him.

"What do you want from me and why are you stalking me? So, I didn't imagine it. How do you know where we live and that I have to go to the doctor today? Talk to me and stop looking at me so stupidly! Why are you stalking me and following me everywhere I go? I'll scream really loudly, Ronny, if you hold me down again or do anything to me."

Her ex-boyfriend laughed at her. He let go of her jacket and played clueless.

"What am I supposed to do in front of your house? You're getting crazy! I'm not stalking you. You'd like me to. Do you honestly think I need to chase after a lousy bitch like you? It's pure coincidence that we're meeting here. I need a prescription from the doctor and you're telling yourself I'm chasing you? ... What about the supermarket? ... Yeah, sure, a coincidence too! What else could it have been? Surely you're still allowed to go shopping? And now I can't even go to the doctor to pick up a prescription without you telling yourself that I'm spying on you? You're dreaming! We've had the same GP for years, in case that's slipped your mind. And you also know that I have neurodermatitis. Am I supposed to go to another town to see a doctor now because you cow imagines that I'm stalking you? It's getting ridiculous. Come on, move aside, you silly goose, and leave me alone!"

Ronny went to the registration desk. Steffi stood behind him and felt like she had been beaten over the head after these vulgarities. She was unsettled and didn't know what else to think. As she sat in the waiting room and her ex waited for his prescription, Ronny fixed her with his gaze the whole time and gave her a dirty grin. He must have enjoyed humiliating and insulting her like that. Steffi was very uncomfortable to be stared at by him. She felt like a pile of misery and had doubts. She wondered whether things were really as her ex-boyfriend had claimed. Was she really worth nothing and didn't he need to chase after Steffi? Maybe he was telling the truth, she mused. She didn't give Ronny a second glance and was glad when she was called in. She followed the receptionist into the treatment room and took a seat in a chair. She kneaded her warm, damp hands, swayed her legs and looked around the room. Shortly afterwards, the doctor came in and asked what her current complaints were. As she sat in front of her GP, she told him what had happened in the last few weeks and what had just happened in the stairwell. She also said that she was afraid to go outside after the doctor's appointment and meet Ronny again. The doctor suspected that the patient had a panic disorder. He calmed her down after Steffi had described everything to him.

"I don't think your ex-boyfriend is stalking you. It's not a crime that you have the same doctor and that he comes here when he needs a prescription. It's quite possible that the encounter was pure coincidence. You shouldn't overestimate this, or the meeting in the supermarket! I'm not sure why you claim to have seen him more often when you looked out of the window at home. Maybe it was your imagination. You said that your ex humiliated and beat you for years. This often leads to panic attacks and can cause anxiety. I have patients who assume they see their ex long after a break-up. For most of them, it turns out afterwards that it was only in their imagination. They are still too afraid of their ex-partner and have probably convinced themselves of this. There are even women who don't go outside for months because they convince themselves that their ex is on their doorstep. Domestic violence does something to people. I think you are severely traumatized by the years of beatings you have had to endure. I'll prescribe you a tranquilizer and you can tell me in two weeks whether your anxiety has improved. I'll also write you a prescription for your stomach pains. Please take one of these tablets three times a day. Any more questions? … Great, then I'll see you in two weeks at the latest. I wish you a speedy recovery."

The doctor shook her hand to say goodbye. Steffi said goodbye and left the surgery dejected. She looked around outside first. There was no one in the parking lot. Ronny had disappeared and no one followed her on her way home. The words her ex had thrown at her had hurt her. They kept Steffi busy all day. She cried. In the evening, when her husband came home from work, she tearfully confessed to René how upset she was about what Ronny had said to her. He comforted his wife. He also assumed that she and Ronny had met by chance. He was also sure that Steffi's ex wanted to put her down and insult her, as that was typical of him. He had never treated her well in the past. So, what did she expect from Ronny now? He certainly hadn't changed just because they were no longer a couple, René explained to his wife. The behavior was not atypical for her ex-boyfriend, especially since Steffi had left him. That was an extremely bitter pill for a narcissist like Ronny, who considered himself irresistible and considered himself the ultimate in women's world. It was to be expected that he would call her names and insult her in order to belittle her and enhance himself with this behavior. René was not surprised at the vulgarities Ronny had thrown at his Steffi. He had expected nothing less from her ex. He suggested that his wife listen to the doctor and take the tablets he had prescribed for her.

Steffi had the feeling that everyone wanted to misunderstand her. She stopped discussing things with her husband and withdrew. She remained on sick leave and no longer left the house. This worried her husband. He suggested that she take her anxiolytic. With a heavy heart, Steffi agreed. However, she only took the medication for four days. The sedative didn't agree with her. After taking these tablets, she felt like she was in a state of tranquillization, was listless and tired. She slept half the day and told her husband that she would stop taking the pills and that she would be fine without the medication. It was probably as René had said. Ronny was probably not following her, she said to her husband.

"Basically, what my ex-boyfriend says is true, darling. He doesn't need to follow me around. That's the truth, even if it hurts me. I have to face reality. I'm ugly, fat and stupid. He can always meet a much smarter and prettier woman than me. That's true. So why would someone like him chase after a stupid cow like me?"

It gnawed at Steffi's self-confidence that her ex had belittled her like that in front of the practice. She hardly went out the door anymore. René did all his errands when he got off work or had time off. That didn't bother him. He tried to build his wife up and often complimented her. For him, Steffi was his dream woman and he wasn't interested in what Ronny said about her. She shouldn't take that to heart. Her ex was just jealous of the two of them and didn't begrudge them their happiness, he always told his wife.

Then one morning she felt better. She didn't want to hide any longer and wanted to go out again. Steffi grabbed her shopping basket and made her way to the supermarket to do some shopping. After a few meters, she suddenly noticed that someone was following her. She turned around carefully and realized that it was Ronny! She was annoyed that she hadn't taken the camera with her. She ran home, picked up the camera and went outside. Her ex was still standing outside the house. She pointed the camera at him and tried to take a quick photo of him. It didn't work. She was too nervous. Her hands were shaking and the camera slipped out of her hands. Her ex ran towards her. He kicked the camera and took the film out. Steffi panicked and wanted to know why he had run after her? She confronted him. Ronny just laughed at her, put the film in his jacket pocket and exposed his ex-girlfriend again.

"What are you shouting about here? You're acting like a fury. It was pure coincidence that I was in the neighborhood. You don't have to make such a fuss. This is a free country and you're not the only one living in this city. I have the right to go for a walk in the sunshine. You can't forbid me to do that. How was I supposed to know, Steffi, that you live around here? Surely I don't need to chase after a woman like you? What do you think you're doing? You're really nothing special, Steffi. In fact, the opposite is true. You're the last piece of dirt and scum. I think your husband will soon realize that too, and then he'll leave you again. Nobody lasts long with a woman like you. He'll realize that. Now let me pass and don't get on my nerves anymore, you stupid old bitch!"

Steffi let him go. Ronny had managed to humiliate her again. The harsh insults had worked. She was very hurt. She had certainly lost her desire to go shopping. René was allowed to do that in the evening after he got home from work.

He now had his doubts. He could no longer imagine that the encounter was another coincidence. What if his wife wasn't imagining the stalking after all? Her ex ran into Steffi several times over the next few weeks.

The two of them got a larger four-legged friend from the animal shelter. The animal was supposed to give Steffi a sense of security when she was out and about. And it did. But getting the dog didn't change the fact that she kept running into her ex. Ronny wasn't afraid of dogs. He even fed the animal with treats when he met his ex.

At some point, René and Steffi considered moving away. Steffi was convinced that the encounters with her ex would stop if they left the city. They looked around for another apartment and found one that also allowed a dog. However, they couldn't afford the deposit for their new place. Steffi's parents were very poor and were unable to help the young couple financially, although they would have liked to. This left René's adoptive mother Gundula as the only person they could ask. René called her in the following days and asked her for help. Gundula was furious and had no understanding at all for the fact that he and Steffi wanted to move again and that he was begging his adoptive mother for money. She became angry and shouted into the phone.

"Why do you want to move? You haven't been living in your apartment that long. Haven't you paid your rent? ... What? Just because your wife imagines that her ex is constantly stalking her, you want to change your neighborhood? Why don't you just move to another city? Then you can be less worried that he won't follow you around. I think it's ridiculous what you're planning, René, to be frank. It's normal to bump into each other occasionally when you live in the same small town. That's why your wife doesn't need to imagine that she's being followed. I don't want to offend you, but she really isn't that pretty that a guy has to run after her. I think she's just saying that to make herself important to you. ... In any case, I'm not giving you any money. You earn enough yourself. I have no idea why you can't manage with your wages. Steffi must be squandering everything, isn't she? … Be that as it may! If I were you, I'd tell her off and not move. You're the master of your house! Make it clear to her that you're in charge and don't let her dance around on your nose as a husband after just a few months. Otherwise, your marriage will be like Susi's. I told you straight away that marrying Steffi was a mistake, but you couldn't listen to your mother. Now you've got that pile of misery sitting there. She just doesn't want to go back to work. That's all. She's being persecuted, she claims. That's ridiculous, son. No guy goes after someone like her except you, you stupid sheep."