\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the tears finally dried, she reached out and clutched the officer\u2019s arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficer, you have to tell me exactly how my daughter died!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The officer muttered something reassuring, then went right into questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Ruby Vance? Why did you leave your daughter with her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The other officers in the room turned to watch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re from the same town\u2026\u201d Sarah started explaining how she knew Ruby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few days earlier, Sarah had been furious with Mason. He wouldn\u2019t listen, wouldn\u2019t tell her where the money\u00a0<\/p>\n
had gone either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was his money, but where else would a kid get that kind of money? What if he was blowing it on dumb stuff? I\u2019m his stepmother. I had to ask, or everyone would blame me if he went off the rails.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She kept trying to defend herself. The officer had to cut in several times to keep her focused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruby was a distant relative Sarah hadn\u2019t seen in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The familiar accent relaxed Sarah right away. Sarah spilled everything out, even about using her own daughter to teach her stepson a lesson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruby suggested pretending to take her in and keeping her upstate for a few days to scare Mason. She\u2019d bring Lily back after a few days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, there was a price tag attached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to scare Mason! Teach him not to waste money! How was I supposed to know Ruby couldn\u2019t even watch a kid for a few days?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pinned all the blame on Ruby. She refused to see the blood on her own hands. She was the one who sent\u00a0<\/p>\n
me to my death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The officer slid a photo across the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A female officer slammed her hand on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could you trust her with your own child?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The accusation made Sarah\u2019s voice turn shrill, defensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s from my hometown! She even took Lily out for a nice dinner yesterday! If Lily had just listened and\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
66.67%\u00a0<\/p>\n
stayed put, none of this would\u2019ve happened! This happened because Lily didn\u2019t listen!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m her mother. Do you really think I\u2019d let her go with someone I didn\u2019t trust?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice steadied as she talked. She actually thought it was my fault I died.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The female officer let out a bitter laugh at that logic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Ruby is a transient? A squatter? She was living right in that half-demolished building.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you sent your own child there!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her partner stopped her before she could say more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah just sat there, her eyes empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, she turned her head, slowly, her voice shaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t Ruby say she was taking her upstate for a few days? How could she leave Lily alone in such a\u00a0<\/p>\n
dangerous place?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She broke down completely. Raw, animal sounds came out of her throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Bennett, that\u2019s enough. We need you to compose yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still can\u2019t get hold of Ruby. You know what that means.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah\u2019s lips quivered, and her eyes went dull.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d had a feeling yesterday. She knew I never made trouble. She knew I was a jumpy kid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Ruby said I\u2019d wanted an expensive meal just to wring more money out of her, Sarah had to know something was off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she shoved it down. She had two other children to worry about, and I didn\u2019t matter. She figured it would\u00a0<\/p>\n
be fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy baby, my child!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wrong! I am so sorry!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She walled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She clawed at her chest, as if trying to rip the pain out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Mom, what I went through was so much worse than this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
66.67%<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Mom, I don\u2019t want to be stuck in the middle anymore by Mark Twain 6 \u00a0 Chapter 6\u00a0 When the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sweet-love"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}