Chapter 5 - The Return to the Hollow HouseThree days later, I discharged myself from the hospital against medical advice. I refused to stay in that sterile room another minute while the world moved on. Clara, bless her heart, drove me back to my apartment—not my parents' house, but a small, modest two-bedroom rental on the other side of Charlotte that I had worked day and night to afford.
The apartment felt different. The tiny nursery corner I had spent months painting a soft mint green, setting up the crib and folding tiny onesies, mocked me with its emptiness.
I walked over to the crib, picked up a small plush bear, and clutched it to my chest. That was when my phone buzzed on the kitchen counter.
It was an unknown number, but I knew who it was. I swiped the screen and pressed it to my ear.
"Sarah! Where the hell are you?" My mother's voice shrieked through the speaker, frantic and furious. "The police were at the house! They arrested me, Sarah! Can you believe the audacity? They actually slapped cuffs on me over some stupid nonsense! Tell them to drop charges right now, or so help me god, you're dead to me!"
I listened to her screeching, the utter narcissism dripping from every syllable. She didn't ask how I was. She didn't ask about the baby. She only cared about her reputation and her inconvenience.
"You're in jail, Linda?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm.
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end. "Don't you 'Linda' me, you ungrateful little—"
"You killed my baby," I interrupted, the words falling like blocks of ice. "You punched me, you watched me drown, and my baby died because of you. And you think a police cuff is the worst thing coming for you?"
"It was an accident! You tripped!" she yelled, panic finally bleeding through her anger. "Emily needs that money! We're your family!"
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"Family?" I let out a low, dark laugh. "Family doesn't try to murder each other over a bank account. Enjoy your night in a holding cell, Mother. Because by the time I'm done with you, you won't just lose your freedom. You'll lose everything."
I hung up the phone, blocking the number permanently.
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