Her Life Beyond the Walls

In the beginning, James Harris and the rest of the Harris family thought I was just in a mood, but it did not take long for them to sense that something was off.Calvin Harris, the youngest son of the family, was the first to make a scene. He was initially thrilled when his micromanaging mother took off.However, his joy turned to dismay at the school carnival when his father forgot to tell the babysitter to bake cookies, and he ended up with generic cookies instead of the homemade bear-shaped ones his mother used to bake.Surrounded by classmates who craved his mother's famous treats, Calvin had a sudden epiphany: maybe his mother was not so bad after all.Then there was Chester Harris who despised the scheming woman who had taken his mother's place. However, during a thunderstorm, as he pressed against the door, the absence of his mother's soothing hum from the other side sent him into a tailspin.Mandy York came next, her blood pressure spiking again, then needing meds to keep

That memory sent a chill through me."The divorce papers were crystal clear—I want nothing from the Harris fortune. Not the cash, not the houses, not the people.""You..."James was floored by my outburst, stumbling over his words before he managed to say, "Emma, what's going on? We're family. We need to talk about whatever's happening to fix it together.""Family?" I rolled the word around like it was a joke. He hardly ever included me in that circle, despite parading me around as Mrs. Harris. Frankly, I was always more of an outsider, a glorified butler at best.Mandy, Chester, Calvin, Julia, even his ex-wife—they all made the cut. Me? I was never part of that picture."Mr. Harris, did you ever see me as family?" I asked, sporting a smirk of irony. "If I remember correctly, every member of the Harris family is supposed to get at least a three-percent stake in Harris Group."Your ex Ms. Scott and your brother-in-law Mr. Clark have their shares, don't they? So, tell me, as your

The next morning, outside the County Clerk's Office, I could see the Harris family from a block away.Seriously, all this fuss just for a divorce?I barely stepped closer when Calvin bolted to me and clung to my legs. "Mom, where have you been? I missed you so much."Calvin was never one to stick to me like glue. The Harrises had him all prim and proper, a real little gentleman, except when it came to me—his own mother. He could not have been more indifferent.Once upon a time, I would have been over the moon for a hug like that, but after 1095 days, I was done putting on a show for those people.I glanced at James. "Aren't you going to do something about your son's lack of manners?"The Harris family looked like I slapped them all at once.James, probably worried about upsetting Calvin, quickly scooped him up. "Emma, Calvin just wants to be close to you. He's not doing anything wrong.""Is that so?" I squatted down, a mischievous glint in my eye, and met Calvin's gaze. "But ho

Mandy looked terrified. "James, could she be right? Has Emma turned into a ghost? Do you think she'll come back for revenge?"She wrapped her arms around Chester, her whole body shaking. "James, should we call in someone with spiritual know-how to cleanse the place?"James felt torn. He knew his family never cared for Emma, but to think their indifference could drive her to take her life…"Mom," he managed to choke out, "there's no such thing as ghosts. Emma's probably just sick. I'll get a top doctor to check out her records."He bolted from the room, haunted by Emma's words.So, she really hated them that much. The woman he had always seen as a blot on the Harris name, in her eyes, it was his family who were the real monsters.James was quick to get answers, and quickly enough, he had a diagnosis from the doctor. "The records show that Emma fell into a deep depression right after Calvin was born, but we all missed the signs," he said, his voice heavy, as he filled in his mom an

Bonus ChapterI, Chester, for the first 15 years of my life, hated Emma with a passion. For the many years that followed, I spent every moment trying to make up for that hatred.On the day Dad took Calvin and I to say sorry to her, she did not even look our way before she was about to shut the door.Out of nowhere, I blurted, "Mom."That single word made me live with regret for the rest of my days.It was the first time I had ever called her that, and it was also the last.After that, the woman who cared for me for a decade never let me call her 'Mom' again.When we got home that day, Dad gave me a whooping with his belt. It hurt, but it seemed like nothing compared to the pain I had caused her.Later, I broke down crying, and Dad joined me, tears and all. He said it was not my fault, that he was the one to blame.Emma's laughter faded away, swallowed by his frosty shoulder and the silence that filled their home. He was the real villain, the one who should be begging for forgi