Chapter 2

2: 2

Then the feed appeared before my eyes again.

"On the way, my ass. The two of them went out on a date, to work out today's fake-death plan. This mistress has been carrying on with your husband for years, and your son is her child too."

"Your son was swapped for the mistress's baby the day he was born. Your real son died a long time ago."

A chill crept up my spine, and fury filled me from the inside out. Brooklyn was Mervyn's childhood sweetheart. All these years he'd told me she was like a sister to him, and all these years I had treated her as one. Yet the two of them had been sleeping together the whole time, and even my son was Brooklyn's child. So for more than ten years I had been kept in the dark, made a fool of.

When my eyes swept over Brooklyn, I saw the necklace at her throat.

That necklace. I'd caught a glimpse of it on Mervyn's phone once, and thought it was a surprise he was planning to give me. Now it hung around Brooklyn's neck.

My son spoke to me too.

"Mom, go rest for a bit with Auntie Brooklyn. What'll I do if you collapse?"

My mother-in-law wiped her eyes and joined in.

"That's right, Mamie, go rest. I'll handle the rest of this."

The way they couldn't wait to get me out of the room, along with every one of these odd little moves, lined up exactly with what the feed had said. I had no choice but to face reality.

I looked at Mervyn on the hospital bed and clenched my fists. He'd betrayed me for years, and now he was scheming against me too. Anger and rage churned inside me.

I forced the feeling down so no one would see anything was off.

Covering my face, I threw myself onto Mervyn, sobbing, and raised my hand and slapped him across the face over and over, a dozen loud cracks.

"Honey, you said you'd be with me your whole life. How could you lie to me, how could you leave me first? Wake up, please wake up."

My action startled my mother-in-law. She shoved me hard to the floor, and the small of my back struck the bed frame. The pain made me suck in a sharp breath.

"Mamie, have you lost your mind? How could you hit Mervyn?"

Fighting through the pain, I kept up the frantic display and lunged at Mervyn again. When my mother-in-law and Brooklyn tried to stop me, I pretended to lose my balance and landed a slap on each of their faces.

"Mervyn isn't dead. He's just tricking me. If I hit him a few more times, he'll wake up."

I pulled the fruit knife I kept in my bag for protection and drove it toward Mervyn, crying out.

"Honey, you must be joking with me. You said, if you ever ignored me, I should stab you with a knife, and you'd wake up and coax me back."

You wanted to fake your death, didn't you, Mervyn? Let's see how long you can keep up the act.

My mother-in-law and Brooklyn screamed.

"Mamie, don't!"

Just as I brought the knife down, someone shoved me away hard.

My nine-year-old son, his face full of panic, planted himself in front of Mervyn's bed.

"Mom, Dad's already dead. Can't you stop acting crazy and let him rest in peace?"

My mother-in-law and Brooklyn let out a breath of relief.

"Mamie, Mervyn really is gone. Let him go with a little dignity."

My mother-in-law frowned and spoke too.

"Mamie, Mervyn is dead. Stop desecrating his body. Go home and get things ready. Let the relatives and friends know so they can send him off."

I had never actually meant to stab Mervyn. I only wanted to scare them.

I tossed the fruit knife aside, and their expressions eased a little.

I picked up my phone, still covering my face, and spoke.

"Is this the organ donation center? My husband has passed away. Could you send someone over?"

At those words, my mother-in-law and Brooklyn rushed at me, grabbing for my phone. I dodged, and they crashed to the floor.

My mother-in-law clutched her waist, yelping in pain, then shouted frantically.

"Mamie, what nonsense are you spouting? Who gave you the right to decide to donate my son's organs?"

"Mamie, Mervyn just passed away and already you're taking it upon yourself to donate his organs. Is that how you honor everything he felt for you?"