Chapter 3

Ashley' s face was a storm of rage. "He gave you one too? That liar! That cheating bastard!"

She was ranting, not to me, but to the air, lost in her own paranoid delusion. For a moment, she seemed to forget I was even there.

Then her eyes snapped back to me, burning with a terrifying light. She pulled out her own phone, her thumb flying across the screen.

"Kevin," she barked into the phone. "Get to Mercy General. Now. I' ve got a problem that needs you to handle."

She hung up without waiting for a reply. A new wave of fear washed over me. Who was Kevin?

"Please," I begged, tears streaming down my face. "My son... Timmy... he can't breathe right. Forget about me, just help him."

Other patients and a couple of nurses were starting to stare. One of the older nurses took a step forward. "Ashley, what's going on? That boy needs attention."

Ashley spun around to face her. "Mind your own business, Martha, unless you want to be writing incident reports for the rest of your career. I' m handling this."

The older nurse hesitated, then retreated, her face filled with a mixture of fear and pity. No one would help. We were completely at her mercy.

I sank to my knees, holding Timmy' s small, still body against my chest. My dignity was gone. All I had left was a mother' s desperation.

"I'll do anything," I whispered, looking up at her. "Please. Just get him the antivenom. I'll leave and you'll never see me again. I promise."

Ashley looked down at me, a slow, cruel smile spreading across her face. She enjoyed seeing me like this.

"Anything?" she purred. "It's too late for that. He hurt me. David hurt me by being with you."

She gestured toward Timmy with a flick of her wrist. "And this little mistake? He' s better off dead."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

"He's not a mistake!" I cried out, a fresh surge of adrenaline cutting through my fear. "He's David's brother! Timothy Miller! I'm Sarah Miller, their mother!"

She just laughed. "Sure you are. And I'm the Queen of England." She kicked my spilled purse again, sending my ID skittering under a row of chairs. "You'll say anything to save your skin."

Just then, a man built like a bulldog pushed his way through the waiting room doors. He had the same cold eyes as Ashley. This had to be Kevin.

He walked straight up to his sister. "What's the problem?"

Ashley pointed a perfectly manicured finger at me. "Her. She and her little bastard need to be taught a lesson."

Kevin grinned, a brutish, ugly expression.

Ashley looked back down at me, her eyes glinting. "You said you'd do anything, right? Okay. I want you to kowtow. Right here. Apologize for trying to steal my man. Do it, and I'll think about calling a doctor for your brat."