The Price of Blind Trust and Cruel Coldness Chapter 04
It was not me standing on the doorstep. It was my mom.
She carried a thermos of soup, confusion etched across her face. “Thomas, what nonsense are you talking about? Where’s Jennifer? I brought her soup. I’ve been calling her nonstop, but she never picks up. Where could she be?”
She stepped inside, slipped off her shoes, and hurried into the living room.
Thomas stood frozen, stunned. “I thought she went to your place.”
Mom staggered backward, setting the thermos down heavily. Panic flooded her features. “She never showed up! I haven’t heard from her in days. I came over to check on her. Is she not home?”
Before Thomas could answer, footsteps sounded from the staircase. Willa appeared wearing one of Thomas’s oversized button-down shirts, collar askew, hair messy, looking freshly woken.
She gasped and covered her mouth in feigned shock the moment she spotted my mom.
The color drained from my mom’s face. She straightened up abruptly, her hands shaking as she pointed at Willa. “Thomas! Who is this woman? Why is she wearing your shirt, walking out of the master bedroom you share with my daughter? Have you cheated on Jennifer?”
Thomas had no time to reply before Antony sprinted down the stairs and shoved my mom hard. “Willa isn’t a bad woman! Grandma’s mean, and Mom’s mean too! I hate both of you!”
My mom stumbled backward. She stared at her grandson defending Willa, then at Thomas, trembling with rage. “Is this how you raise my grandson, Thomas? Jennifer runs this household for you every single day, and you bring another woman into our home? Have you lost every ounce of decency?”
“Mom, there’s no need for such cruel accusations.” Thomas’s frown deepened in annoyance. “You started insulting her first. Willa stayed over to keep Antony company. What is this all about?”
Willa’s eyes glistened instantly. She moved to Thomas’s side, dabbing fake tears away. “Ma’am, I respect you as an elder, but you can’t attack me out of nowhere. I’m sure Jennifer sent you here.”
“Yesterday during the magic show, she pretended to die to ruin my performance. Now she’s gone missing and sent you to pick a fight with us.”
Thomas seized on Willa’s words. All his earlier unease vanished, replaced by boiling anger. “Unbelievable, Jennifer! She sent you here to lie and stir up trouble? She’s setting a terrible example for Antony.”
My mom stared blankly, shock twisting into terror. “What?”
She grabbed Thomas’s arm and shook it violently. “Thomas, what is she talking about? Pretended to die? Missing? What have you done to my daughter?”
Thomas ripped his arm free, cold and unyielding. “Cut the act, Mom. Jennifer put you up to this, didn’t she?”
The words had barely left his mouth when my mom clutched her chest, gasping for air. I watched helplessly, an agonizing pressure crushing my chest.
No. She’s having a heart attack.
I rushed toward her, desperate to steady her, yet my hands passed through her body every single time.
Willa huffed, unimpressed. “Ma’am, that trick is so outdated. Jennifer uses it constantly—do you really need to copy her?”
Thomas watched Mom collapse against the wall, no hint of sympathy, only irritation. “Quit faking it, Mom. Did Jennifer teach you this stunt? It’s pathetic.”
Antony stood beside them, staring coldly. “Grandma, stop pretending. Nobody believes you.”
I screamed until my phantom throat felt raw. “Thomas! She’s genuinely sick! Find her medication now! Antony, dial 911. Save your grandma!”
They couldn’t hear me. I watched helplessly as Mom slid slowly to the floor, her breaths growing weaker and weaker.
Despair swallowed me whole.
Just then, the doorbell rang once more.
Thomas stomped over to open it. Two uniformed police officers stood on the porch.
“Are you Mr. Thomas Black? We need you to come with us to answer questions regarding a homicide investigation.”