Chapter 3
Richard was standing at the door.
He had Fiona Scott with him, the woman who caused the death of Mom's patient seven years ago.
As I walked over, I saw his eyes redden the instant he met Mom's gaze.
His gaze was tinged with emotion, a faint redness in his eyes as he looked at her.
"Annie, it's been a long time," he said.
Mom was stunned for a moment.
Seven years was a really long time.
So long that Mom and I had pretty much figured he was never coming back.
We'd already moved on with our lives.
But then, out of nowhere, he came back.
But Mom was only stunned for a moment.
Her expression quickly hardened, all warmth gone.
She went to shut the door.
Richard hurriedly reached out, blocking the doorway and catching her wrist.
He spoke, urgency in his voice, "Annie, I brought Fiona here to apologize to you.
"I promised you seven years ago."
Mom yanked her hand out of his grip, her face icy.
Fiona looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.
She pouted and gave Richard a shove as she grumbled at him.
She said, "We had a deal, remember?
"One apology, and you let me crash at your place for another month.
"I'm flat broke, and I don't have anywhere to stay in the country."
Richard clearly hadn't expected her to just blurt it out like that.
He looked flustered for a moment.
He hissed quickly, his voice low and full of irritation, "Alright, I get it."
Fiona lifted her chin, looking satisfied, and gave Mom a dismissive look.
"Sorry, is that good enough for you? I killed that mental case of yours," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
She muttered irritably under her breath after finishing.
"It's not my fault Richard was arguing with me back then.
"I'm not the type to put up with crap.
"How was I supposed to know that lunatic would fall apart so easily?
"I just messed with their memories a little, that's all."
Mom's hand at her side clenched tighter and tighter, her nails digging into her palm.
Before Fiona could even finish, Mom crossed the space between them.
She stepped up and slapped her hard across the face without hesitating.
Fiona had this smug, cocky look plastered all over her face.
But the crisp sound of that slap wiped the arrogance clean off her face.
For a long moment, everyone was stunned, nobody could even process what just happened.
Mom shot Fiona a cold glare.
She said, "Your apology should be made at Mr. Brown's grave.
"But maybe it isn't even worth it."
Her voice paused, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Even if Mr. Brown turns into a ghost, he'll haunt you forever.
"He'll come for you, Fiona Scott."
Mom had told me before.
Daniel Brown was an orphan, all alone in the world, never married.
Otherwise, Fiona wouldn't have been able to walk away after causing his death.
She got away with it because there was no proof that she had manipulated his memories.
And since there were no relatives to hold her accountable, she got away with it.
Fiona finally snapped out of it.
Her eyes were wide with rage, her face twisted in fury as she lunged at Mom.
"How dare you hit me!" she shrieked.
"Anna Halls, have you lost your mind?
"I'm only here to apologize because Richard let me stay at his place rent-free. I'm doing you a favor, you know."
Richard's face darkened with displeasure.
He said, "Anna, this time you've really crossed the line.
"Fiona wouldn't have done something so foolish if you hadn't provoked her first.
"I went through a lot just to get her to come here and apologize."
"Disgusting. Who the hell needs your damn apology?" Mom snapped, her voice trembling with rage.
Fiona, enraged, grabbed a fistful of Mom's hair.
The two of them got into a full-on fight, clawing at each other.
I was so furious, I rushed over, stood on my tiptoes, and sank my teeth into Fiona's arm as hard as I could.
She yelped in pain and instantly let go of Mom's hair.
Then Adrian burst out of the room.
He was holding his toy shovel in one hand and the feather duster Nicholas always used to scold him in the other.
Like a tiny hero, he went all out, whacking Fiona and Richard with everything he had.
His little body was trembling with fear.
But even though he was scared, he still lifted his chin and shouted angrily.
"Don't touch my mom.
"Don't bully my sister!"
Richard frowned and looked down, finally seeing Adrian standing there, clutching the feather duster with both hands.
He was just in his early thirties, but already a medical professor.
His memory was freakishly good.
He recognized Adrian right away, his expression darkening.
"Why is this kid still here?" His voice was cold and sharp.
He suddenly remembered something.
He glanced at Mom, then stared hard at Adrian, his eyes narrowing.
"What did you just call her?" he demanded, his voice sharp.
"What did you just call Anna?" he pressed, his tone even harsher.