Chapter 4

Randy was startled. He was unable to grasp why she had flown into such a fury.

His voice trembled slightly as he tried to calm her down. “Joan, Jimmy is right here. Don’t get so worked up. If it comes to it, you can divorce him. It’s not worth getting upset over him.”

The word “divorce” seemed to strike a nerve. Joan’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

Then, unexpectedly, she laughed.

“Divorce? Wouldn’t that be letting him off too easily?”

She took a deep breath and bent down to pick up her phone. Its screen had shattered into a web of cracks.

She called my mother.

After what felt like an eternity of ringing, my mother finally answered at the very last moment.

Before she could say a word, Joan blurted out impatiently, “Reese, where is Steven? I need to talk to him.”

My mother’s voice was hoarse. Each word seemed to claw its way out of her throat.

“You monster. You’ll never see him again. I hope you’re happy now.”

Joan froze. She did not understand what my mother meant. Before she could ask, my mother hung up on her.

Joan’s face flushed with anger. She cursed under her breath. Then, she opened our chat and furiously typed a message.

[Steven, is this really what you want? Fine. You win. Get back here. I’ll give you the divorce you want!]

There was no reply.

The moment Randy saw the word “divorce,” he could barely contain his excitement. Grinning from ear to ear, he rushed into the bedroom to gather the IDs.

However, when he came running back out, he saw Joan scoop up the still-sobbing Jimmy and bolt out the door.

“Joan, where are you going? Joan!”

Joan did not look back. She stomped on the accelerator.

I drifted into the back seat beside Jimmy. Fury burned within me.

“You crazy woman. Where are you racing off to? Have you no fear of an accident? Don’t you care for Jimmy’s safety?”

It did not take long for me to realize where she was headed.

Joan stood outside my mother’s house, panting. She pounded on the front door with savage fury.

“Steven, open the door! I know you’re in there! Stop hiding like a coward. If you have something to say, say it to my face!”

A moment later, the door creaked open. Someone stepped out.

The anger had not even faded from Joan’s face before terror washed over her, leaving her frozen in place.