Chapter 19
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.
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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.
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
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Chapter 19
house–and I’d have been left completely in the dark.
As I looked 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 apologizi
I was left speechless.
He continued, “Caring for a patient requires the family to be fully wouldn’t recommend looking after your mother.”
me? I’m not your mother.”
If you can’t even sort out your own mess, I
My heart sank. I wanted to ask him what he meant, but before I could, Jeremy had already kicked me out. I wondered, “What is he implying? Does he know something about Dexter and his mom?‘
My mind was spinning, and I felt sharp pain in my head. Martha was hooked up to an IV in the ward, and after an hour, she finally regained consciousness.
After discussing it with Clara, I decided it would be best to rent a larger apartment for Clara. I would pay for the rent, and then move Martha in so we could hire a reliable caregiver.
Clara wiped her tears. “Sylvia, is there something going on at home? How did Mom end up with a sedative? Do we even have that kind of stuff lying around?”
I shook my head, overwhelmed with guilt.
Luckily, with money in hand, I managed to rent a place quickly. In just one afternoon, I found an apartment for Clara, paid three months‘ rent upfront, and moved both her and Martha in. I also called a domestic help agency to find a trustworthy caregiver.
This time, I made sure to install a security camera in the apartment. No one was going to hurt my family under my watch. Once that was sorted, I finally had time to focus on the phone I’d managed to get hold of.
I sat at my favorite spot in a café near the neighborhood, tucked in a corner by the large window. I took out the phone and started inspecting it.
I didn’t know the unlock code, but after some thought, I tried combining Dexter’s and Kimberly’s birthdays. After two failed attempts, I cracked it.
The phone was spotless, with no contacts saved, and no login information for WhatsApp.
I couldn’t help but admire Dexter’s level of caution. Even though I had the phone, there wasn’t a single trace of anything useful. I scrolled through it over and over, but came up empty.
What I could do was try to get the phone number, but… the username was Dexter’s, and I couldn’t even check the call
only he could make inquiries at the service center. history. He’d set up the most secure method for accessing it
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Chapter 19
I felt the weight of the situation. I thought, ‘What now? The phone is useless, and I can’t even call from that number‘
Then, a sudden idea hit me. I opened the phone’s location tracking and rushed home, placing it back in its original spot before Dexter came back.
There was still the matter of Kimberly’s debts. The property deed they’d taken… I needed to get it back, and figure out exactly what Dexter had to do with all of this.
I withdrew the full 100 thousand dollars Dexter had given me and transferred it to my account. Just as I finished, Dexter called.
“Honey, did you transfer the money?” he asked.
I said, “Yeah, let’s go house–hunting tomorrow. I’ve already booked the shuttle.”
Dexter replied, “Tomorrow might not work. I’ve got to meet with a big client who just returned from abroad. Can we do it another day?”
“No problem, you go ahead with your work. I’ll go on my own tomorrow. If I find something I like, I’ll come back and discuss it with you.”
“You’re the best, honey,” said Dexter.
I was starting to get really good at playing this role.
Just as I hung up, I overheard a group of women chatting at a table near mine, and their conversation was all about Dexter and me.
“Mr. Cook is really something, balancing affairs outside while keeping his wife at home.”
“Do you think he’ll end up with his wife or the charming mistress?”
They were…. the wives of Dexter’s colleagues.
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