I Traded Three Years of Love for One Perfect Revenge Chapter 08
I made it to the major regional medical center that night.
The moment I rushed into the hospital, I saw several relatives gathered outside the critical care unit, their faces grim.
“Nora, where have you been?”
One of my older relatives stormed over and slapped me hard across the face before I could say a word.
The slap left me stunned, my ears ringing.
“The money was sent, wasn’t it? Why didn’t they do the surgery?”
She was shaking with rage as she jabbed a finger in my face and screamed at me.
“Money? What money?”
“Your mom finally woke up a little last night. A nurse helped her get her phone so she could listen to some music and relax.”
“The second she turned it on, her screen was flooded with notifications.”
“They were all videos of you admitting you were a thief and a plagiarizing fraud!”
“You were on your knees in the video!”
The words hit me like a blow.
The video was everywhere?
—
Brielle hadn’t just posted it. She had paid to boost the video across social media.
“Your mother has always cared more about your character than anything else.”
“She saw you disgrace yourself in front of the whole campus and get down on your knees in front of them.”
“She got so upset she vomited a mouthful of blood! Every monitor started alarming!”
I scrambled toward the doors of the critical care unit.
They opened just as I reached them.
A doctor stepped out, exhausted, pulled off his mask, and shook his head.
“I’m sorry. The shock was too much for her. She suffered another massive brain bleed.”
“We did everything we could.”
“She didn’t make it.”
My entire world collapsed.
I stumbled into the room.
A white sheet covered the familiar figure on the bed.
I didn’t cry.
It was as if every tear inside me had dried up at once.
—
I stood quietly beside the bed, pulled back the sheet, and wrapped my hand around my mother’s cold, stiff fingers.
Only a few months earlier, she’d carried my Aldercrest acceptance letter around and shown it to anyone who would look.
She’d told everyone, “Nora is the pride of our whole town.”
Now she was gone.
She had died disappointed in me, ashamed of me, and heartbroken.
It was all because of me.
I hadn’t protected myself.
And I hadn’t protected her.
My phone began vibrating furiously in my pocket.
I answered numbly.
Cole’s impatient voice came through the line.
“Hey. I did send the seventy grand.”
“But I just checked, and it looks like your mom died?”
“So I guess you don’t need the money anymore.”
“I already contacted the hospital and had the payment refunded.”
He paused.
I could hear the smile he wasn’t even trying very hard to hide.
“Since you didn’t end up needing the money, consider that little
—
kneeling apology video a freebie.”
“Brielle says the video did great. She’s already gained over a hundred thousand followers from it.”
“At least you managed to contribute something before you leave.”
“Finish your withdrawal paperwork and stop bothering us.”
The line went dead.
I stood there gripping my phone, staring at my mother’s lifeless body.
Something inside me went cold.
The grief was gone.
In its place was a hatred so deep it felt carved into my bones.