Chapter 4
The police went through the formalities, checking my ID and questioning me.
I handed over my phone and showed them a detailed log of my movements and timeline from the day before.
The visit to the old house had lasted less than ten minutes, and I hadn't left the living room or my old bedroom the entire time.
It was a fact easily verified by the building's security footage and the car's dashcam back at the house.
More importantly, the bottle of sedatives in question was a prescription medication. There was no record of me ever purchasing it.
After verifying the facts, the officers concluded there was insufficient evidence.
They wrote the incident off as a misunderstanding stemming from a family dispute, offered a few stern words to everyone, and left.
But their departure did nothing to ease my family's suspicions.
Logan stood by the bed, his face like thunder. "Don't think you're off the hook just because the police are gone. We don't have such a vicious daughter."
Miranda pointed a rigid finger at me, her voice sharp. "Listen to me, Mia. Unless you go to that hospital right now and apologize to Emily at her bedside, we will never forgive you. And don't you ever call me 'Mom' again."
Alex stood with his arms crossed, his gaze full of pure disappointment. "You can walk back through our door when you've learned how to be a decent human being."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I fought back the bitter taste rising in my throat.
I opened the bedside drawer, pulled out the slip of paper with the bank card PIN, and held it out toward Miranda along with a screenshot of the successful transfer.
I said, meeting her eyes, "Here's 30 thousand dollars. Plus the 40 thousand I just sent you. The deposit for my surgery back then was 25 thousand. Consider the rest repayment for all the years of support. As of today, I owe you nothing."
Miranda froze, her hand refusing to move.
Logan snatched the paper from my hand, tore it to shreds, and flung the pieces to the floor. "You think you can buy your way out of this with money?
"You screw up, and this is how you try to run from it? We gave you your very life. How can you possibly repay that?"
Jack pulled the door open and shot me a cold, final glance over his shoulder.
"Just go. She's not listening. When she's had enough of roughing it in this dump, she'll come crawling back," he said, his voice flat.
They turned and filed out of the room. Their footsteps faded down the hallway.
Silence settled back in, thick and heavy.
Lying down, I stared at the patches of peeling paint on the ceiling.
The System's voice began its final cadence in my mind. "Countdown: ten, nine, eight..."
I closed my eyes, listening to the last numbers tick down, and let my breathing stop.
*****
Several hours later, in the VIP hospital room, Alex kept checking his watch from the sofa.
"Why isn't Mia here yet? She's just using money to mess with us, acting like she doesn't care so we'll chase after her," he muttered, pacing.
Miranda, meticulously peeling an apple by Emily's bedside, didn't look up. "Let her stew. We'll wait right here. She's broke, and her health is a mess. She'll come begging soon enough."
Jack stood up and grabbed his car keys.
"I'll go get her from that hotel. She made this mess. She will apologize to Emily in person," he announced, looking toward the door.
Alex fell in step behind him. "I'm coming. I want to see how long she plans to keep playing dead."
Armed with their righteous indignation, they drove to the budget hotel.
The elevator ride up was tense. Alex straightened his tie in the mirrored walls, rehearsing his lecture.
Stepping out, they approached my door. It was slightly ajar.
With a derisive snort, Alex pushed it open.
Inside, paramedics were zipping up a black body bag. An ID card slipped from a lifeless hand and clattered to the floor, landing at the toe of Alex's leather shoe.