Chapter24
She clutched her face, her eyes blazing. “You’re a criminal who framed me–and you dare hit me?”
Without hesitation, she grabbed a decorative vase from the entryway and smashed it over Colton’s head.
CRACK!
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The vase shattered on impact, shards flying everywhere. Blood began to stream down his forehead.
Everyone froze.
No one had expected it. The once quiet, obedient Mona had finally snapped.
Liza was the first to scream. “Colton’s hurt! Oh my god! Call the police- Mona attacked him!”
Addie, who had always seen Colton as her pride and her future, went pale as a sheet. “Call an ambulance!” she shouted. “Now!”
Liza was already dialing emergency services.
Addie rushed off with the injured Colton.
Mona stood alone in the living room, unmoved, eyes fixed on the blood. ‘Still not enough,‘ she thought. ‘Would’ve been better if I cracked his skull wide open.‘
Just then, Eldon stepped in front of her.
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“Mona, you’ve assaulted someone. Given how Colton treats you, you’ll
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still get at least a few days in detention. But listen to me–cut ties with all those shady guys, stay home, behave yourself, and I’ll make this all disappear.”
Mona gave Eldon a slow, cutting once–over. “Why don’t you go wipe Liza’s tears? She’s crying again.”
She pointed straight at Liza.
Eldon turned–and sure enough, Liza was in full performance mode, sobbing into his chest and smearing her tears all over his expensive suit.
“Eldon. do you think my brother’s going to be okay?” she whimpered. “Was it wrong for me to call the police? I was just scared, I didn’t know what to do. I panicked. What if something awful happens to him?”
For the first time, her crying grated on Eldon. Her tears–once pitiful–now just seemed irritating.
He pushed her off him and turned to grab Mona by the wrist, dragging her into her room.
As the door slammed shut behind them, the strong scent of his cologne filled the air–so sharp it was almost suffocating.
!!
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mona snapped, rubbing her wrist. If he dared touch her again, she swore she’d make him regret it.
Eldon’s voice was low, deliberate. “Mona, I’m giving you one last chance. Kiss me–use that mouth to say sorry–and I’ll make this all disappear.”
Mona looked at him like he was filth.
“Wow, Eldon. how did I not realize three years ago just how disgusting you are? Kiss you? Dream on. If I had a knife right now, I’d shove it
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straight through you.”
The revulsion on her face wasn’t fake. The hatred burning in her eyes was unmistakable.
Still, Eldon believed it was love. He told himself she was just too obsessed with him to handle him siding with Liza.
“You’re being unreasonable,” he said again. “This attitude isn’t helping you.”
“Oh, I’m being unreasonable? So what?” Mona strode to the door and yanked it open. “Get out.”
She froze mid–sentence.
Standing just outside the door were several police officers.
Liza was hiccuping between sobs. “Officers. It was Mona. She hit my brother with a vase. There was so much blood. he’s in the hospital right now. I was so scared.”
Her words came out in gasps, exaggerated, each one making the situation sound more dramatic than it really was.
One of the officers stepped forward. “Are you Mona?”
“Yes,” she said calmly. “I’ll cooperate.”
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“Did you hit your brother?”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
Mona led them back to the living room, pointed out the scene, and helped
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Chapter24
them document the evidence.
Meanwhile, Liza stayed curled in Eldon’s arms, crying softly.
Eldon didn’t say a word. He simply stood there, watching Mona being taken away.
As she reached the door, he said coldly, “My offer still stands. Once you step outside, no one’s going to protect you.”
Mona didn’t look back.
W
Inside the police car, she turned to the officer beside her. “Officer, my mother and brother attacked me first. I only fought back with the vase. It wasn’t intentional.
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She pointed to her swollen, red cheek. “See this? My brother slapped me. Hard.”
Her voice wavered slightly, the ache in her heart bubbling up. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.
They always said blood was thicker than water. But the people who shared her blood treated her worse than strangers. She felt like something rotten had taken root inside her–and all she wanted was to rip it out, even if it meant bleeding for it.
That kind of pain? She’d learned to live with it.
“I was lost when I was a child,” she said softly. “It was my brother who lost me.”
The officer sitting next to her exchanged a glance with his partner, sympathy flickeri
