His Love, My Hell, Her Justice

a text from an unknown number: Your mother is suf

ce myself back together. I' d carefully cut all ties, only communicating with my mother through a c

I had left with her caregiver. No answer. I tried her landline,

ribs. The streets were unfamiliar, my new life a fragile shield. I pushe

ont door was ajar, splintered wood hanging precariously from its hinges. The usu

my voice hoars

trewn everywhere. It looked like a tornado had ripped through it. I saw

her eyes wide with terror, gazing blankly at the ceiling. A deep gash marred her forehead, and her thin

rembling as I reached for her. Her skin

Her eyes flickered towards me, then dilated. A tear

r voice barely audible, then she

, surged through me

y own voice shaking. "I'll get yo

The operator' s voice was calm, but my world was spinning.

she needs an ambulance immediately!" I cried, try

," the operator said. "W

a click on the line. Then another voice,

medical attention for that matter." It was Ezekiel. His voice,

ely a whisper. "What have y

ugh in the background-Isolde. "But you see, Brielle, your mother is no lon

s streaming down my face. "You l

ve. "She felt you were trying to hide your mother from her, keep

ing?! She's dy

emergency services in this district are currently...

blocked emergency servic

ing fast. "Please, she's ill. She can't survive this. She's sufferin

eard Isolde' s soft, t

You will publicly apologize to Isolde for all the pain you' ve caused her. You w

for Mom!" I sobbed, clutching my m

ea for help. "You will experience it yourself. Imagine being left in a car, tr

g amnesia for months. He made me believe he had no memor

whispered, fresh horror seizing

you left her in the burning wreckage after our accident, h

the phone. "She wasn't there!

d, his voice laced with triumph. "Pictures of he

She could have Photoshopped pictures. She cou

e said, his voice turning cold again. "Perhaps a little mo

e, let's show her the beauty of the sea. She always hated the

g fear of deep, open water. Only my closest family and E

voice breaking. "Pleas

site," Isolde cooed. "Ezekiel, darli

Go to the old pier, off Blackwood Beach. There's a cage hanging from the c

. The old pier, abandoned for decades, was notorious. And the cage... I knew exactly what

my dying mother. Her breathing was b

is voice chillingly calm. "Or rather, she continu

e gasp. Her eyes fluttered, then stilled. A si

red, shaking he

breaths. Her hand, which I st

was

dulterated agony and despair. They had killed her. Isolde. A

g resolve began to form in the deepest part of my soul

the phone, my voice flat, devoid of

he old pier loomed, a skeletal structure against the angry, bruised sky. A single, rusted crane jutte

of the open water. The waves crashed against the pilings, a hungry, roaring s

d made a promise. Not to Ezekiel,

ful cry that seemed to lament my fate. I walked towards the pier, each step a battle against my own crushing phobia. The

threatening to snap. The waves below churned, dark and bottomless. My stomac

rmy sky. Ezekiel. And beside him, Isolde, her hair whipping arou

e. They expect

ed over me. My mother's lifeless ey

eak. Not now.

age swayed, a hungry maw waiting to swallow me whole. The water below was a dark, swirling abyss. My breath hitched, my hear

ce. Her kind smile. Her gentle hands. They

. She was practically vibrating with malicious pleasure. Her eyes sparkled with a predato

amed for me to stop, to turn back, but my mind, fueled by grief and a burning need for vengeance,