Chapter 6
The sharp crack of a belt echoed through the hallway again.
No doubt about it—Jonah was getting beaten. Again.
With his cognitive delays, he was always making mistakes. And every mistake earned him punishment.
Ever since I’d moved in across the hall, I’d heard the same thing almost daily–screams, sobs, the sounds of violence. Vivian didn’t even bother to be discreet.
That day, I ran into Jacob in front of the complex. He was pushing Jonah’s wheelchair with slow, labored effort. His face was bruised–dark purple blotches, a split lip, and a cut just above his brow.
The path to the gate had a steep incline. Jacob strained against it, but he didn’t have the strength. Each time he got partway up, the chair would roll back.
I stepped in without a word, grabbed the handles, and pushed them up in one go.
He turned, startled. Then, recognizing me, lowered his
gaze.
“…Thanks.”
“You want me to call the cops?” I asked casually.
He shook his head. “Doesn’t help. Just makes them hit harder.”
His voice was low, cold, edged with bitterness.
I tilted my head. “Well… sometimes the internet works better than the police.”
He froze.
When he looked up again, his eyes had cleared. Sharp. Focused.
He understood.
A few days later, Ryan’s distant cousin–Emma–asked me out to lunch.
“Guess what,” she said, barely hiding her excitement. “Ryan’s been asking his parents for money.
Says supporting two disabled kids is draining him.‘”
I raised an eyebrow and took a sip of soup.
“Oh? And?”
Emma leaned in, grinning,
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“They lost it. Said Vivian’s womb is cursed, blamed her for birthing two ‘defective kids. Then get this–they’re trying to set Ryan up with someone new.”
“Didn’t he marry Vivian already?”
“Yeah, but he’s desperate to dump her. Doesn’t want to raise those two.”
Emma glanced around, then whispered, “They’re sending over a girl–Lucy Vance–daughter of a distant relative. Works in housekeeping. She’s supposed to…”
I laughed. “Let me guess. Their real goal is for her to give him a healthy son.”
Emma burst out laughing.
“This family’s a circus,” she said.
I chuckled too. Ryan had no idea he was heading for a whole new level of chaos.
And sure enough, just three days later, a pretty young woman began coming and going from their
apartment.
Vivian didn’t like it. But when she found out her mother–in–law had paid for the woman to be there,
she shut her mouth.
Once the new “maid” arrived, Ryan’s tone changed overnight. “You’re at home all day doing nothing. How about you get a job and actually contribute for once?”
Vivian exploded. “Oh, I see how it is! I gave up everything for you! I gave you two sons! And now I’m
trash?”
“Don’t even mention those two monsters! They’re your freaky genes, not mine!”
“You bastard! You coward! You ungrateful piece of-!”
Then came the crashing–plates, pans, furniture–banging and shattering like some kind of domestic symphony.
Chapter 6
