Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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I didn’t have time to think. I grabbed my phone, turned over, and crawled under the bed. Outside, I heard footsteps. approaching more than one person, at least two.
I was still puzzled when the footsteps suddenly stopped right in front of my room. I held my breath, shifting deeper under the bed, praying they wouldn’t notice me.
“You see, this is my son’s place. Pretty nice, right?” Kimberly’s voice rang out.
“Yeah, the size is decent, a man replied. “But Kimberly, this is your son’s house. Can you really make decisions about it?”
“My son’s things are my things. Of course, I can decide what to do. Kimberly said confidently. “You’ve seen the house. You should trust me now, right?”
“That’s not enough. You’ll need to pledge the property deed to us Otherwise, we won’t be able to report back to our boss.”
I froze, terrified. Kimberly was rummaging through my nightstand.
At that moment, she was less than half a yard away from me. If she glanced over, I’d have nowhere to hide.
But she was too flustered to notice me. She finally found the property deed and handed it over to the man. “Here it is. All
set.”
“Alright, Kimberly. We’ll give you three months‘ grace. After that you’ll need to repay both the principal and interest. If not, we’ll have to take the house,” said the man
I was paralyzed with shock. Kimberly was planning to sell my house to pay off her debts. I wondered, “How could an old woman be so deep in debt, to the point where she is willing to sell my property to cover it?”
My mind was spinning as they left. I carefully crawled out from under the bed and checked the nightstand. The deed was really gone. I shut my eyes, feeling the weight of it all.
I quietly slipped into Martha’s room. She was still lying in bed, resting, completely unaware of the strangers who had just
been here.
“Mom.” I nudged her gently, but she didn’t move.
“Mom!” I pressed harder, but she still didn’t react.
I shakily placed my hand under her nose to check for breath–thank goodness, she was still alive. I wondered, ‘But could she really be sleeping this soundly?”
Then it hit me. Earlier this morning. Kimberly had specifically heated up a bowl of milk for Martha.
She must have planned this all along. She knew she’d be bringing those debt collectors over to look at the house, and with Martha at home, it would’ve been too risky.
So, she must’ve drugged her to put her into a deep sleep. That way, with both Dexter and me out of the house, no one would have suspected a thing.
The property deed had always been tucked away in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. Normally, no one would ever think to touch it.
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16:29 Sun, Feb 16
Chapter 32
If I hadn’t stayed behind to look for Dexter’s phone today, I might never have realized that they were about to take my house–and I’d have been left completely in the dark..
As Llooked at Martha, still deeply asleep, anger surged within me. I called Clara immediately, and with her, we rushed Martha to the hospital.
I didn’t trust just any doctor, so I specifically asked for Jeremy. After the checkup, I got an earful from him.
“You’ve already dealt with an allergy, and now you’ve given her a sedative? Do you even care about your mother’s well- being?” Jeremy scolded while writing up her medical records, never even glancing up.
“I’m sorry,” I said, apologizing earnestly.
In that moment, guilt completely consumed me. This was my fault, and I had no one to blame but myself.
Jeremy glanced at me, clearly unimpressed. “Why are you apologizing to me? I’m not your mother.”
I was left speechless.
He continued,
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