At that moment, I could only thank myself for that single thought of caution. When I saw Blake’s car downstairs, I quietly asked the cleaning lady: if I didn’t come out within thirty minutes, she must call the police.
He had hounded me endlessly for money, and when I denied him, his slap had landed with brutal force.
My mom had lived as a slave to her brother for years. Whenever I was beaten, she would put on a show of holding him back, only to later cry and cling to me, saying her heart ached, vowing that if Blake raised his hand again, she would kill him.
But never once did she stand in front of me.
The only thing she ever fretted over was whether her brother’s hand hurt after striking me.
All these years, I had endured her suffocating moral blackmail, just to honor my father’s dying wish that my mother and I should live well.
I had meant to sever ties cleanly once I moved out.
Yet I never thought that my offhand reminder to call the police would become my one chance at survival.
If I genuinely had AIDS, I could not even imagine whether I would live.
The tears I had swallowed for so long turned into frozen hatred. “I won’t let you off, not a single one of you!”
Because of the gravity of the case, Blake, Anne, Kiersey, my mother, and Hayden were all detained and taken away.
My mom clung to the doorframe, shrieking, “Millicent, I’m your mother! How dare you let the police arrest me? Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning? Tell them it was you, cheap and shameless, seducing Hayden into bed on your own!”
The final trace of warmth in my heart broke. My lips curled into a cold sneer. “I’d rather not have a mother like you.”
After two days of rest, I went to the hospital for a complete examination. Only when the results showed I wasn’t infected did I finally let out a long, steady breath.
I gathered every piece of evidence and hired a lawyer, relentless in demanding the harshest punishment.
My mom had always sworn to Blake and Anne that I would never let her go to jail.
When the indictment was filed, she stood dumbfounded.
Even after being kicked twice by my furious uncle, she still forced on a fawning smile.
“Brother, don’t be angry. Your sister will never let you go to jail. If that bitch Millicent dares to
take this seriously, I have plenty of ways to deal with her.”
My mom kept making a fuss inside, demanding to see me.
I finally made time, and we faced each other through the glass window.
“Millicent, are you crazy? Over such a small matter, you want to sue us and send us to prison?
2/2 70.0%
6:43 pm Fay as me, manung
To act me,
iviy
I finally made time, and we faced each other through the glass window.
“Millicent, are you crazy? Over such a small matter, you want to sue us and send us to prison?
Your uncle and Kiersey haven’t eaten or slept well these days, all because of you, you ungrateful bitch!”
“I order you to withdraw the lawsuit immediately and tell the police yourself that you and Hayden are legally married, and that what you were doing before was nothing more than a husband–and–wife game.”
6:43 pm D
