Chapter 8 - The Mother's Choice
I slowly turned my head and saw Sarah standing in the pouring rain.
She was aiming her father's old hunting shotgun directly at my chest.
Her face was stained with tears, and her hands were shaking violently against the wooden stock.
Kate had clearly manipulated her, spinning a vicious lie that I had kidnapped Lily to hurt them both.
I held my hands up, keeping my body positioned firmly between the gun and my daughter.
I begged Sarah to lower the weapon and just look at the reality of the situation.
I told her that Kate was the one who burned Lily and locked her in that car to die.
Sarah sobbed loudly, yelling that I was a liar and that Kate had warned her I would say exactly that.
The tension in the air was thicker than the storm raging around us.
Then, Lily bravely stepped out from behind my back and faced her mother.
She pointed a tiny, trembling finger at the burning wreckage of the silver sedan.
"Mommy, Kate burned me with the soup, and she locked me in the dark!" Lily cried out.
Sarah stared at her daughter, the horrifying truth finally breaking through the wall of manipulation.
The shotgun slowly slipped from her grip and splashed into the muddy grass.
Sarah dropped to her knees, screaming in pure agony as she realized she had married a monster.
She crawled forward and wrapped her arms around Lily, weeping uncontrollably.
I let out a long breath, feeling the adrenaline slowly draining from my exhausted body.
Suddenly, bright headlights flashed across the field as another vehicle rapidly approached the crossing.
May you like
Kate stepped out of the newly arrived car, completely soaked in rain, and raised her pistol.
"If you want something done right, you really do have to do it yourself," Kate smiled darkly.
