Chapter 2

Sonny set his bowl down and instinctively reached for his neck.

He let out a few rough coughs.

His coughing fit only got worse, each cough more violent than before.

"What's wrong?" My mother-in-law asked, her smile still lingering, though a hint of confusion crept in.

"Did you eat too fast and choke? Slow down, nobody's going to snatch your food." She tried to pat Sonny's back.

Sonny didn't respond.

His face began turning red at a visible pace. It wasn't a healthy flush, but an alarming, blotchy redness.

He coughed violently and struggled to force out a single word through his tightening throat. "Water..."

My mother-in-law scrambled to pour him some water.

I stood there, unmoving, like an indifferent bystander.

My heart was pounding, but my hands were steady.

Sonny's coughing changed in tone. It was no longer a simple cough, but a hoarse, wheezing sound, as if air were struggling through a blocked bellows.

He squeezed his neck harder, his fingernails scratching out pale streaks across his skin.

"Drink, Sonny, drink!" My mother-in-law urged, holding the glass to his lips.

Sonny suddenly shoved it away, and the water spilled everywhere.

He opened his mouth wide, desperately trying to breathe, but it was like there was an invisible wall blocking the air. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get any in.

His eyes bulged, bloodshot and filled with fear as he stared at me.

His lips swelled rapidly, becoming thick and purplish red.

"Sonny, what's wrong? Please, don't scare me." My mother-in-law finally realized something was seriously wrong. Her voice trembled, and panic washed over her face.

She reached out to steady Sonny, but he pushed her away hard.

He couldn't stand anymore, his body swayed, and he collapsed onto the sofa, his limbs starting to twitch slightly.

"Help! Somebody help!" My mother-in-law screamed, her voice so shrill and desperate.

She rushed to Sonny's side, shaking him. "Sonny, wake up!"

Austin was so scared by what he saw that he let out a loud wail and started bawling.

I walked over, scooped him up, shielded his eyes, and carried him back to the kids' room, closing the door behind us.

Just like that, the whole world fell silent.

In the living room, all that was left was my mother-in-law's heart-wrenching cries and Sonny's breath, growing weaker and weaker.

I walked back into the living room and stood in front of my mother-in-law.

She looked up at me, her eyes brimming with tears, her gaze full of desperate pleading. "Camela, please, call an ambulance! Please, hurry!"

"Call an ambulance?" I tilted my head, my voice so calm it was almost scary. "Mom, didn't you say there was nothing in the egg custard?"

"I..." She was at a loss for words, her face draining of all color.

"Didn't you say I was just making a fuss? That I was being paranoid?" I pressed.

"No, I didn't know I really didn't know it would turn out like this," she babbled, panic making her words come out all jumbled.

"You didn't know?" I let out a cold laugh. "Well, now you do, don't you?"

Sonny's face had turned a sickly purple, and he was making a gurgling sound in his throat, like a fish gasping for air as it dies.

My mother-in-law's emotional defenses finally collapsed.

She dropped to her knees in front of me with a heavy thud. "I was wrong. Camela, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have doubted you. I shouldn't have added that thing to the egg custard. Please, save Sonny. He's your husband and Austin's father!"

She clung to my legs, sobbing uncontrollably.

I looked down at her.

I looked at this woman who had always used "it's for your own good" as an excuse to push my boundaries, even going so far as to gamble with my son's life.

I felt utterly disgusted.

I slowly pried her fingers off my legs one by one,

Then, I turned and strolled over to the entryway cabinet.

I opened the drawer and pulled out a blue box from the first aid kit hidden in the very back.

It was an epinephrine auto-injector.

We kept one for Austin and one for Sonny, just in case.

I walked back over to her, holding the medicine.

She crawled toward me like she'd just seen her savior, desperate and wild-eyed. "Medicine. Quick, give him an injection!"

I held up the small injector like a scepter of judgment.

I stared her down, making sure she heard every word. "Mom, do you finally believe me?"

She nodded like crazy, bawling her eyes out, tears and snot everywhere. "I believe you. I believe you. I won't ever do it again, I promise. Please, I'm begging you."

"That's all I wanted. As long as you believe me now." I nodded, crouched down, and pulled up Sonny's pant leg.

Just as I was about to press the injector against him, I stopped.

I looked up, locking eyes with my mother-in-law, and asked again. "You only put a little bit in, right?"

My mother-in-law's face went ghostly pale, and she couldn't get a single word out.