Chapter 2

"And your husband's medical bills before he passed? Your precious son's paycheck disappeared the second it hit his account. If it weren't for me, you'd all be out begging on the streets!"

Helen swung her stubby arms, cursing at me nonstop. "You useless woman, spouting nonsense. My son has plenty of money. He doesn't need your handouts. Get out of my son's house, now!"

I sneered, "You really think it's my fault we don't have kids? I'm perfectly healthy. The real issue is your precious son. He can't have kids at all.

"I had him checked out behind his back, and guess what? He's completely infertile. He was never meant to have children!"

Helen was floored by the bombshell, rage and shock crashing over her. Her eyes went wide with disbelief, one hand shaking as she pointed at me, the other clutching her chest.

Her breathing turned rough and fast, her face shifting from red to blue, then ghostly white, lips trembling. With a heavy thud, she dropped to the floor. Everything went dead silent.

I rushed over in a panic. "Helen? Helen! Mom! What's wrong?"

Helen wheezed like an old bellows, her body trembling uncontrollably, eyes wide with terror.

I fumbled for my phone. With a shaky finger, I finally managed to dial 911.

The call connected. "Hello, 911," a calm, efficient female voice answered.

I forced myself to stay calm, blurting out, "Help. An old lady here just collapsed. She's in her fifties; she suddenly passed out and can't speak. The address is 1601, Building 3, Unit 2, Fairview Gardens on Seaside Road!"

"What road? Which unit?" The operator's voice suddenly slowed down, losing its sharpness and turning oddly lazy, almost dragging out every word. "Slow down. Speak clearly."

With Helen's life hanging in the balance, I raised my voice and repeated myself.

"Apartment 1601, Building 3, Unit 2, Fairview Gardens on Seaside Road!" I tried to slow my words, but panic still leaked through. "She can't talk. Please, send help now."

"Oh. Fairview Gardens..." The operator's voice stretched out even longer, sounding totally indifferent. "Can you repeat the exact apartment number one more time?"

Something felt wrong. Just as I was about to repeat myself, I caught a faint, mocking snicker from the other end of the line. That sound carried a contempt I'd heard before. It was Cathy Summers.

I once caught her flirting with David. She'd looked down on me and laughed right in my face.

My blood rushed to my head, then drained away, leaving me chilled to the bone. "You! You're that woman with David—"

"Seriously," Cathy cut me off, her voice thick with malice. "You're a grown-up, and you can't even get your own address straight?"

I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles went white. Helen, lying on the floor, seemed to feel that venom in the air. Her wheezing turned sharp and hopeless.

"You're utterly hopeless." Cathy's words drifted over the line, light as a feather but cold as ice. The call was cut off.

*****

By the time the ambulance got to the hospital, Helen was rushed straight into the ER. I sat outside, dazed. Once I snapped out of it, I pulled out my phone and called David. "David! Mom—"

"Cathy already told me," David cut me off before I could finish. "People live or die. That's just how it goes. Cathy is just an operator, not some mind reader. If you can't even spit out your own address, that's your problem, not hers."

Even though I'd always known David was trash, I was still stunned by just how low he could go.

"She's still in the ER. Are you seriously just waiting for her to die? Cathy did it on purpose. She knew it was me calling. She knew it was my house!" I yelled.

David's voice was ice-cold. "Your crippled mom dying would be doing everyone a favor. She was always half-dead anyway, never looking like she'd make it long. Cathy is a good person, so don't you dare try to dump your crap on her."