Chapter 3

Morton hadn't left yet.

He was still testing whether I'd really fallen asleep.

I turned over, pretending to sleep, my heart pounding in my throat.

I waited another twenty minutes.

Only when he was truly gone did I dare open my eyes.

The two of them were chatting and laughing in the kitchen, getting dinner ready.

This trap of a dinner was one I couldn't avoid.

I was standing there, lost in thought, when the bedroom door pushed open.

My mother-in-law came in.

She froze when she saw I was awake, then the smile piled onto her face.

"Miriam, when did you wake up?"

She looped her arm through mine with a beaming smile, and coughed twice on purpose as we left the room.

Morton's hands went still, and he shot a quick look at Charlene.

I pretended not to notice their little exchange, walked to the kitchen, and opened the fridge.

The rose apples, the mangosteen, the premium green grapes, all gone.

The sea cucumber and black-bone chicken in the freezer had vanished without a trace.

"Where's the sea cucumber and black-bone chicken my mom bought?"

I turned to Charlene, my gaze drifting down to the slight swell of her belly.

Before, I'd stupidly thought she'd just put on weight.

I never imagined she'd gotten pregnant right under my nose.

Charlene's face went white in an instant.

She stammered, unable to get a word out.

"That stuff isn't good for a woman who's just miscarried, so I ate it all myself."

My mother-in-law quickly flashed Charlene a look, telling her to leave.

"Your mother, honestly. Buying food without a heads-up first. People who didn't know might think I was the bad mother-in-law here."

But it had been half a month since I lost the baby, and today was the first time she'd come to see me.

And only to bail Charlene out.

I dug my nails into my palms, wanting to fire back, then swallowed the words.

I sat down at the dining table.

There were three of them, my body was still weak, I couldn't take them head-on.

Tonight was when they'd meet their end.

"That's right, honey. You're just too weak, that's why your mind's running wild. Charlene put so much work into these. Hurry up and get your strength back."

Morton's eyes narrowed to slits as he kept a smile on his face and piled food into my bowl.

But the four dishes in front of me, not one of them would touch.

There had to be drugs in them.

I picked up a pork rib and set it in my mother-in-law's bowl, and she dropped it back into mine like she'd seen a ghost.

All three of them were watching me.

"These are all so nourishing. The three of us are fine with just the greens."

My mother-in-law watched me with that beaming smile, even lifting the food toward my mouth.

Terrified I wouldn't eat it.

My throat went dry. I had no choice but to pick up my chopsticks.

Just as I was about to lift the rib to my mouth, the doorbell rang.

My eyes lit up.

It was the AC repairman.

"The air conditioning's been acting up the last couple of days, so I called someone to fix it. Might as well swap out a new one in the attic where Charlene stays too."

"It's so hot out. She's worked hard taking care of me."

The repairman made a loop through the house.

He ended up at the attic on the third floor of the villa.

Where he was standing happened to be a blind spot.

Even I never paid attention to that corner.

The attic had a wardrobe and a mattress, everything you'd need, and a corner of one of Morton's shirts was poking out from where it was wrapped in the blanket.

I deliberately acted like I hadn't noticed, watching Charlene quietly tuck it away.

Hmph. Hide it.

Tonight I was going to keep you shut up in that attic with no way out.

Back on the phone, I'd already told the repairman to seal off the door's keyhole and plant a hidden camera in the AC unit.

And to take the AC remote with him when he left.

The repairman glanced back at me and dropped the remote into his toolbox.

The smile at the corner of my mouth deepened.

But Morton's brow suddenly furrowed. He climbed up into the attic, ran his fingers along the vent, and abruptly went rigid.

When he turned his head again, there was a flicker of wariness in his eyes.

He pointed at the camera inside the AC unit.

"What's this?"