- 16 hours ago
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02After the miscarriage, I became the perfect Mrs. Hart in Nick's eyes.
00:07I stopped bombarding him with updates about my lab discoveries.
00:14Stopped bringing homemade lunches to Hart Tech headquarters.
00:17Stopped lying awake all night over his scandalous headlines with Selena.
00:25I even became lenient with Miles.
00:28Let him skip school, get into fights, skip breakfast, stay out all night.
00:36That night, I felt someone slide into bed.
00:39A hand with sculpted knuckles traced across my waist.
00:46Don't. I'm exhausted.
00:48Ella, what's going on with you lately?
00:51You don't text me? You don't check up on Miles?
00:55Is this how you do your duties as Mrs. Hart?
00:58Isn't that what you all said?
01:00A proper Mrs. Hart should know her place, not stick her nose where it doesn't belong.
01:06Flashback.
01:06One month ago, Mila Selena's child, Nick's 8-year-old son, shoved me down the spiral staircase.
01:12I was 7 months pregnant.
01:14I crashed onto the marble floor, blood pooling beneath me, spreading like a dark, blooming flower.
01:20Miles listened to my agonized moans.
01:22His face twisted with disgust.
01:24Go to hell!
01:26You deserve it!
01:27You seduced my dad!
01:29Homewrecker should rot!
01:31But I wasn't a homewrecker.
01:33When I passed out, only then did Miles panic and call for...
01:37The butler.
01:44Miles says you fell on your own.
01:46How could you be this careless?
01:53He pushed me.
01:54Check the security footage.
01:55You'll see.
02:02He's just a child.
02:04Why would he lie?
02:05I know you resent Miles because he's Selena's son.
02:08I know you want a child of your own.
02:10But if you want to stay in the Hart family, know your place.
02:14Drop the jealousy.
02:15It's pathetic.
02:19My body was wrecked and raw from the miscarriage, but it was nothing compared to the dull, spreading ache inside
02:25my chest.
02:26Nick leans in toward Ella, his brows softening a little.
02:29That child...
02:29Don't bring it up again.
02:31Don't worry.
02:32I'm not angry anymore.
02:34Ella is five years younger than me.
02:36She used to trail behind him like a chatty shadow.
02:40Back then, filling his silence with noise, she'd look miserable and asked,
02:46Is there only room in your heart for your ex-wife Selena?
02:50Do you even love me?
02:51You're not my mom!
02:52Even when Miles lashed out at her, she'd curl up in my arms and complained.
02:58I'd treat him like my own son, but he still hates me.
03:02I used to find it all annoying.
03:03I thought she was immature and incompetent.
03:05But now, after plummeting down those stairs, losing all that blood, losing our child, she wasn't crying, wasn't raging, wasn't
03:11making a scene.
03:12This was exactly the poised, dignified composure I'd always demanded.
03:15So why did my chest feel hollow?
03:17Why?
03:18Are you blaming me for not punishing Miles?
03:21He's my only child.
03:23He's young.
03:24He thinks you tore me and Selena apart.
03:26Hating you.
03:28It's only natural.
03:29Don't overthink it.
03:30I truly don't care anymore.
03:32Or do you want me to act like before?
03:34Wail and scream?
03:35Get your parents involved?
03:37Give them another excuse to strike my name from the family trust?
03:42Go to sleep.
03:43I'm tired.
03:49Nick, the power went out at the Mountain Villa.
03:51I'm so scared.
03:52Can you come be with me?
03:54I'm married.
03:56Do you really think it's appropriate, calling me out late at night?
03:59I'm sorry, Nick.
04:00I'm just so frightened.
04:06I need to step out.
04:07She's Miles' mother.
04:09If something happens to her...
04:11Go ahead.
04:12I understand.
04:18Damn it.
04:19How could she be this indifferent?
04:22The door clicked shut.
04:23I sat up in the darkness.
04:25I guess when disappointment finally bottoms out, the tears just stopped coming.
04:29My phone screen lit up.
04:30A message from Professor Lynn, my PhD advisor at Cambridge.
04:34The university has approved your doctor application.
04:37Your visa should be ready in a month.
04:39I'm thrilled you're returning to academia, but will your husband be on board with this?
04:43Don't worry.
04:44I won't have a husband much longer.
04:47My advisor fell silent for a few beats.
04:49Then my phone rang.
04:52What's going on?
04:53Haven't you been in love with him for years?
04:55I froze.
04:56The question dragged me under, deep into the undertow of memory.
05:00Others and the hearts were old family friends.
05:03My parents, wanderlust addicts, would dump me on Nick whenever they jetted off to some
05:07farflung corner of the world.
05:09Nick always pulled up at the school gates straight from board meetings.
05:12He would lean casually against his sleek, obsidian Maybach, still dressed in his immaculate
05:17bespoke suit.
05:18The razor sharp, lethal contours of his face captured the breathless attention of everyone
05:23walking past the gates.
05:24One girl, practically drooling, whispered to me.
05:27Is that, is that your boyfriend?
05:30I nearly choked.
05:32I'm not stop making things up.
05:34But later, after he'd driven me back to his place, I couldn't help myself.
05:38I poked my, head around the door and asked,
05:41Nick, can I marry you someday?
05:45I've never had a crush on you, girl.
05:47He snorted, stubbed out his cigarette, and pinched my cheek, tugging hard.
05:52And don't say shit like that.
05:53My girlfriend would lose her mind.
05:55Everything inside me went still.
05:57It was only at that exact moment that the crushing reality hit me.
06:01Behind the backs of the strict family elders, Nick had been deeply entangled in a fierce,
06:06deeply passionate romance.
06:07The woman was a stunning, high-profile influencer.
06:10She possessed a fiery, fiercely proud personality,
06:13radiating a vibrant, blinding confidence that I could never match.
06:17So I buried my feelings.
06:19Drowned myself in textbooks.
06:21I graduated college.
06:22Nick went to war with his parents,
06:24stormed out, and married Selena anyway.
06:26And Oprah, no blessing.
06:28I started my master's.
06:30They had miles.
06:31The heart parents finally surrendered.
06:33Accepted marriage.
06:34Moved on.
06:35And then be divorced.
06:36After burning down the sky for Selena, Nick was exhausted.
06:40Hollowed out.
06:40He agreed to the arranged marriage his parents had been pushing for years.
06:44One condition.
06:45His new wife had to take good care of miles.
06:48I didn't hesitate.
06:49I volunteered.
06:49The hearts demand a perfect wife.
06:52And Nick already has a child.
06:54That house will eat you alive.
06:57Our family doesn't need you to marry for alliances.
07:00Why are you doing this?
07:01Because I love him.
07:03I never said it out loud.
07:04I just looked at her.
07:05Eyes bright.
07:06If I give him and his son everything I have, they'll accept me eventually.
07:11Three years of marriage.
07:12Miles hated me.
07:13Viscerally.
07:14When Nick told him to call me mom, he threw himself on the floor, thrashing, wailing.
07:19She's not my mother.
07:21She's the mistress.
07:23She's the evil witch.
07:25I don't want her.
07:26I could only swallow the humiliation, desperately comforting myself with the lie that he was
07:31just an ignorant, immature child.
07:33Hurting, I would win him over with patience.
07:36He's just a kid.
07:36With love.
07:37I poured everything into that boy.
07:39He poured every meal I made straight into the trash.
07:41Screamed and sobbed whenever I said no to junk food.
07:44Started telling people at school I was the housekeeper and it misses heart.
07:48Just help.
07:48Once, his teacher called.
07:50Miles was not in the campus.
07:52My heart was seized.
07:53I ran through every place I could think of.
07:55Phone pressed to my ear.
07:57Hands Shikinji with seconds from calling the police when Selena strolled up, hand in hand
08:01with Miles.
08:02Mommy took me out for a play date.
08:04Why are you acting like a psycho?
08:07I dragged in a breath, forcing the anger down.
08:11You could have told me all you had to do was let me know.
08:14So what?
08:14I'd have freaked out.
08:15He stuck his tongue out, grinning.
08:18Selena, poised as ever, played peacekeeper.
08:20So sorry, Mrs. Heart.
08:22I told Nick, he must have forgotten to mention it to you.
08:26Nick had known, and he just let me spiral into panic.
08:29Something inside me snapped.
08:31The tether of reason.
08:32I yelled at Miles for the first time.
08:34Do you think watching me suffer is a game?
08:36Do you have any idea how terrified I was?
08:40Miles froze.
08:41Just for a second.
08:42Then his mouth opened, and out came the wailing.
08:44The kind of scream no one could soothe.
08:46Eventually, the hearts were summoned.
08:49His grandparents.
08:50They cradled their precious grandson, faces carved from ice, and ordered me to the reflection room.
08:55I refused.
08:56They had their security dragged me in anyway.
08:58The study doors locked.
08:59The lights off.
09:00Pitch black.
09:01Freezing cold.
09:02I have claustrophobia.
09:04My chest started caving in.
09:05Breathing turned to shallow gasps.
09:07I fumbled at my phone, fingers trembling, and dialed Nick.
09:12Nick, please, help me.
09:14He paused at the name.
09:15A beat along.
09:16Baby, for my birthday this year, let's take Miles to Hawaii.
09:19Just the three of us?
09:20Nick murmured something back to her.
09:22When he finally spoke to me, his voice was laced with impatience.
09:26All right, enough.
09:26Stop making a scene.
09:28I heard about what happened to Miles.
09:30You were out of line.
09:31Stay there and reflect on your behavior.
09:33Be good.
09:33I'll let you out when I'm back.
09:35He didn't come back that day.
09:37The walls closed in.
09:38I couldn't breathe.
09:40Couldn't think.
09:40Pain tore through my abdomen, sharp, blinding.
09:43I pounded on the door until my fists bruised.
09:45No one came.
09:46And then the world went black.
09:48I woke up in a hospital bed.
09:50A doctor told me gently, carefully, that I'd lost my first child.
09:54Nick held me, his voice cracking.
09:56Ella.
09:58We'll have another baby.
10:00We will.
10:01My lips parted.
10:02But no sound came out.
10:03I wanted to ask why he'd stayed with Selena instead of coming home.
10:06I wanted to ask if he still loved her.
10:08But what came out was.
10:10Really?
10:12Really.
10:12I swear.
10:14I'll protect our next child with everything I have.
10:16He sounded so sincere.
10:17And I was weak.
10:18I let myself believe him.
10:20The second time I got pregnant, he was careful.
10:23Attentive.
10:23He swore he'd never let anyone hurt me.
10:26But when the one who hurt me was Miles, suddenly the promises didn't hold.
10:30You only love a child when you love the person who gave them to you.
10:33That truth hit me like a freight train.
10:35Even divorced, Nick still loved Selena.
10:38He always would.
10:39I was never his partner.
10:40I was merely a convenient, low-cost option he settled for when he grew exhaustive to live
10:45in Mrs. Hart whose sole purpose was to act as an unpaid nanny for his son.
10:49If it wasn't Selena sitting in this seat, then anyone else in the world could be Mrs. Hart.
10:54I was done.
10:55It's time to end it.
10:58The next morning, I was up at dawn, packing my things.
11:01There was a time I treated this mansion like a home.
11:04Every corner held pieces of many lab notes, my pressed botanical specimens carefully arranged.
11:10Nick used to stumble over my potted plants and grumble nuisance under his breath.
11:14Then, the moment I traveled for a conference, he'd order the housekeeper to water them on
11:19schedule.
11:19Those small details seduced me into a dangerous illusion.
11:22Maybe, somewhere beneath the ice, Nick cared.
11:25Now I see it for what it was of sentimented reflex.
11:28Clinging to scraps of nothing, desperate to stitch together proof that I was loved, pathetic.
11:33And now that I'm leaving, I'm taking every last trace of me with me.
11:37Ella Walker!
11:38Why didn't you make my breakfast?
11:40What is this?
11:41Miles' shriek detonated from the living room.
11:44I frowned and stepped out.
11:46The dining table was a war zone.
11:48Oatmeal pooling on the mahogany.
11:49The boy stood there, faced thunder.
11:51The housekeeper cowered beside him, his head bowed.
11:54Miles.
11:56Basic decency.
11:57If you won't call me mom, you'll address me as Miss Ella.
12:00God, you're so annoying!
12:02I asked why you didn't make my breakfast!
12:04I glanced at the overturned oatmeal bowl on the table.
12:08I'd gotten a goddamn nutritionist certification for that kind every breakfast calibrated, macro-balanced, designed to keep him healthy.
12:15He'd always sneer at it.
12:17Drink half.
12:17Dump half.
12:18I'm too tired.
12:19Ask Felina to cook for you.
12:21And I won't be doing it anymore.
12:23Ever.
12:25You promised dad you'd take care of me!
12:27You can't just stop!
12:28Oh.
12:29That was then.
12:30But now?
12:31Whoever.
12:32I'm done.
12:33Being a stepmotherhood is a rigged game.
12:35I'd poured lifetimes of.
12:37Patience into Miles playing his silly games, reading him bedtime stories, killing myself to earn a crumb of affection.
12:44Everyone forgot.
12:45I'm a walker.
12:46I was raised dotted on, cherished, and coddled.
12:49My temper isn't sweet.
12:50I just buried it.
12:51Miles had never been on the receiving end of this.
12:54Coldness.
12:54He froze, completely disarmed.
12:57His eyes reddened.
12:58Right then, the front door slung open.
13:00Nick strode in.
13:01Felina at his heels.
13:03Daddy!
13:04Mommy!
13:05She's so mean to me!
13:07She starved me!
13:08She's abusing me!
13:11Mrs. Hart.
13:12I step away for one moment and this is how you treat my son?
13:16What can I say?
13:17This is my house, not yours.
13:21Ella, you...
13:23Forget it.
13:24Just rest.
13:24Don't leave.
13:25That's who he is.
13:26Always taking the path of least resistance.
13:29If it weren't for this father blindly enabling the boy without a shred of justice,
13:33how could Miles have grown into such a tyrannical, arrogant little demon?
13:37Exhaustion washed over me.
13:39Not the physical kind.
13:40The soul-deep depletion of screaming into a void.
13:43Wordlessly, I turned and walked away.
13:45Nick's frown deepened.
13:46This wasn't my script.
13:48I now should be red-eyed and trembling, accusing him of blatant favoritism.
13:52Maybe I'm still too frail to fight, he reasoned.
13:55He looked down and gave Miles a gentle pat.
13:58I'll say it one more time, son.
14:01Ella is my wife.
14:02Your mother.
14:03You will respect her.
14:05Miles didn't dare talk back to his father, but his fists curled into tight, white-knuckled
14:09knots.
14:10Dead of night.
14:11A rustling sound threaded through the darkness.
14:13I've always been a light sleeper.
14:15The noise yanked me awake immediately.
14:17I opened my eyes and there he was.
14:20Miles.
14:20His young face hovering above me in the thick shadows.
14:23Details smudged, blurry.
14:25Something in his hand catching the thin moonlight.
14:28Miles.
14:28What are you doing?
14:30This is your fault.
14:31Dad yelled at me because of you.
14:34You.
14:35Once you're ugly, dad won't want you anymore.
14:38And I can have my mommy back.
14:41Ah!
14:42Ah!
14:44Ah!
14:45Ah!
14:45Ah!
14:46Ah!
14:46Ah!
14:47Ah!
14:49What did you do, Miles?
14:51I didn't.
14:52Mom said the water would just make her ugly.
14:55She didn't say it would hurt like this.
14:57Nick didn't spare him another glance.
14:59He scooped me in two, his arms and bolted for the garage.
15:01The ambulance siren ripped through the night.
15:04Somewhere in the jolting chaos.
15:06The doctors worked for what felt like.
15:08Hours before the pain was brought to heal.
15:10Burns across my body.
15:12Skin ulcerated.
15:13Layers up and layers of gauze wrapped around me like a shroud.
15:16Nick sat beside the bed, his jaw clamped tight.
15:19I've always been meticulous about my appearance.
15:22Clothes pressed to perfection.
15:23Hairstyled with care.
15:25I flexed my fingers.
15:26Forced my eyes open.
15:27Nick's gaze snapped at me, relief flickering across his face.
15:31The first words out of my mouth were ice water.
15:34Selena incited Miles to assault me.
15:36I'm pressing charges.
15:41No.
15:41Nick didn't hesitate.
15:43The word came out like a door slamming shut.
15:45I just watched him.
15:46Silent.
15:47He avoided my gaze.
15:48Selena would never do something like this.
15:50The kid's just talking nonsense.
15:52I'll deal with Miles when I get home.
15:55Set him straight.
15:56Don't make a scene.
15:57Push this too far and it won't look good for the walkers either.
16:00There it was.
16:01A threat.
16:02Thinly veiled.
16:03But unmistakable.
16:04He was warning me.
16:05My fingers curled into a fist.
16:07Then slowly uncurled.
16:08A dry laugh scraped its way out of my throat.
16:11I shut my eyes and said nothing.
16:13Nick waited.
16:13His missus heart wasn't magnanimous.
16:15Selena would never do something like this.
16:17The old Ella would have bristled the moment those words left his mouth.
16:19You just believe Selena over me?
16:21Do you still love her?
16:22It had always annoyed him before.
16:24Now, he would have gladly soothed my jealousy.
16:27But the silence stretched.
16:28I didn't bite.
16:29Finally, he couldn't stand it.
16:31His voice came out parched.
16:33You have nothing to say?
16:36You's just threatened my family.
16:38What would you like me to say?
16:41What's wrong with you?
16:46Nick, don't forget.
16:47You're escorting me to the gala this afternoon.
16:49Don't leave me hanging.
16:51Just as I thought.
16:52She's bound to get upset hearing from Selena.
16:54Selena's in the influencer world.
16:56It's brutal.
16:57People take advantage.
16:58Me accompanying her to the gala is simply a public warning to keep the wolves at bay.
17:03She's not like you.
17:04You just take care of the house.
17:05She's out there grinding on her own.
17:07It's hard.
17:08Don't read into it.
17:09But if you're not feeling well, I could always...
17:13Go.
17:14Don't keep her waiting.
17:16What did you say?
17:17I said go.
17:19I want to rest.
17:24Fine.
17:25Fine, Ella Walker.
17:26Don't regret this.
17:28Wait.
17:32If you want me to stay, just say it.
17:34Stop hiding behind...
17:35I was just going to say...
17:36You forgot your car keys.
17:38He stood frozen in the doorway.
17:40Waiting hopping and take it back.
17:42I didn't.
17:42The silence stretched mercilessly.
17:44Finally, he grabbed the keys from then I'd stand and stormed out.
17:48I watched his silhouette disappear.
17:50Placed a hand over my chest.
17:52So this is what it feels like.
17:53Not caring anymore.
17:54The following days were peaceful.
17:56I lay in my hospital bed, quietly recovering inside my sterile hospital room.
18:01Every time the housekeeper called.
18:03Miles is throwing a tantrum.
18:05Won't eat.
18:05Needs help with his science project.
18:07I had exactly one response.
18:09Call his parents.
18:11He's not my concern.
18:12The housekeeper fumbled for words.
18:14In the background, through the receiver, I heard it.
18:16A small boy's muffled sobs.
18:18She's still mad at me?
18:20I didn't mean it.
18:21I didn't know.
18:23Why is she so petty?
18:25I hung up.
18:26Peace.
18:27At last.
18:27Until Selena showed up.
18:29She swept into the hospital room in a scarlet dress.
18:32Makeup flawless.
18:33Carrying a fruit basket like she was attending a garden party.
18:36She set it down.
18:37Settled herself into the chair beside my bed.
18:39And smiled.
18:40That slow, venomous curve.
18:42Mrs. Hart.
18:43Must be hell, isn't it?
18:45Cooped up in here.
18:48What's it to you?
18:50I just feel sorry for you.
18:52No career.
18:53Hated by the Hart family.
18:56Ignored by your husband.
18:58Even the son you poured yourself into.
19:01His heart belongs to someone else.
19:04Must be excruciating.
19:06Why not just give me back the title of Mrs. Hart?
19:10Nick and Miles.
19:11They both prefer me anyway.
19:20Talk to Nick.
19:22If he wants to remarry you, I have no objections.
19:25Selena's smile cracked.
19:26Her lovely face contorted, poison seeping through the mask.
19:30You honestly think he'd choose you?
19:31Ella Walker, you're delusional.
19:33You're nothing but a dog at his heel.
19:35My honesty seemed to enrage her further.
19:37Nick will divorce you eventually.
19:39Mark my words.
19:45You want to see who matters more to him?
19:48Let me show you.
19:49Right now.
19:50A jolt of ice threw my chest.
19:52Acrid smoke curled under the door.
19:54Then heat.
19:54Roaring.
19:55Clawing heat.
19:56Voices shrieked from the hallway.
19:58Fire.
19:59Fire.
19:59She set the ward on fire.
20:03Fire.
20:07Fire.
20:07Fire.
20:07Fire.
20:08Fire.
20:08My ankle.
20:09I think it's broken.
20:16Don't worry about me.
20:18Take your wife.
20:19If I don't make it, just tell Miles I went abroad.
20:23Don't let him-
20:23Shut up!
20:23Don't talk like that!
20:25Ella!
20:26Just wait!
20:27I'll come right back for you!
20:28I promise!
20:31My hand shot out.
20:33A reflex and the movement tore across my wounds.
20:36A blade of pain sliced through the fog.
20:38My mind went razor sharp.
20:40What was I doing?
20:41Still expecting Nick to choose me.
20:43No, I couldn't depend on him.
20:45Not anymore.
20:45I clenched my jaw, bit down against the agony, and hurled myself off the bed.
20:50My body hit the floor.
20:52The bandages split open wounds.
20:53Ripped fresh.
20:55White hot pain blinded me.
20:56But the smoke was coiling in now.
20:58Thick and black.
20:59And I couldn't afford to stop.
21:01Couldn't stop.
21:02I clawed at the floor with my bare hands and dragged myself toward the window.
21:07Inch by excruciating inch.
21:08Down below.
21:09Nick finally carried Selena to safety.
21:12The second her feet touched ground, he spun around and lunged toward the building.
21:16A firefighter grabbed him.
21:18Arms locked around his chest.
21:20The fire's spreading!
21:21It's too dangerous!
21:22Banes and Nick's forehead bulge.
21:24A rage he'd never shown before without him.
21:25My wife is still in there!
21:27I need to get her out!
21:29Sir, please calm down!
21:31Look!
21:31At the window!
21:32Nick froze.
21:33His head snapped up.
21:34A figure wrapped head to toe in goswaz.
21:36Struggling through the window frame.
21:38Blood seeping through the bandages.
21:40Broken.
21:41Desperate.
21:41A rep.
21:42It was me.
21:42I didn't glance in his direction.
21:44Not once.
21:45Without hesitation, I threw myself out my.
21:48Frail body tumbling through the air like a torn butterfly wing and plunged into the pool
21:52on the ground floor.
21:54When I opened my eyes again, I saw the same blank white ceiling.
21:57I turned my head.
21:59Nick sat beside me, staring.
22:01His eyes were shot through with red veins.
22:03Exhaustion carved.
22:04Deep lines into his face.
22:06He hadn't slept.
22:07That much was obvious.
22:09I told you to wait for me.
22:10Why did you jump?
22:11Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?
22:16I didn't believe you.
22:20What did you say?
22:23I said I didn't believe you.
22:25I didn't believe you'd come to back for me.
22:28And I didn't want to die, so I saved myself.
22:32Nick stared at me, searched my face for something, anything soft.
22:36There was.
22:37Nothing there.
22:37It wasn't like this before.
22:39When Miles tormented me, slipped cockroaches into my water glass.
22:43I burst into tears and bury myself in Nick's chest.
22:46When the heart elder looked down on me, calling me a barren, useless womb who couldn't even
22:51provide an heir, I'd shoot him a pleading look, desperate and hopeful.
22:55And when he said, don't be scared, I'll protect you.
22:58My eyes will light up.
22:59Right.
22:59Don't be scared.
23:01Full of trust.
23:02When did I stop looking at him that way?
23:04Nick couldn't follow that thread.
23:06He didn't dare.
23:07He dropped a brittle get some rest and fled out the door like a man running from a fire
23:11of his own.
23:12I welcomed the quiet.
23:13I spent several more days in the hospital.
23:16Let my body stitch itself back together.
23:18When I finally returned to the villa, I hadn't even crossed the threshold.
23:22Before the sounds hit me.
23:24Laughter.
23:24Shrieks of joy.
23:25Selena was playing with Miles in the living room.
23:28Snack wrappers scattered across the playmats like confetti.
23:31The scene of a happy family.
23:33My eyes landed on an open bag of shrimp chips.
23:36Miles.
23:37You're allergic to shellfish.
23:38You can't eat those.
23:40It's a snack.
23:41Not seafood.
23:42Miles' face curdled the instant he saw me.
23:44God, you're so annoying.
23:47Nagging about everything.
23:49Wish you'd stayed in the hospital for a few more days.
23:53Don't worry, Mrs. Hart.
23:54I know how to take care of my son.
23:56Right.
23:57Her son.
23:58I stood there for a long moment.
24:00Then a bitter, mirthless smile pulled at my lips.
24:02I didn't argue.
24:04Didn't fight.
24:05Just walked upstairs and slept.
24:07Evening.
24:07Noise jolted me awake.
24:09I went downstairs.
24:10And there he was.
24:11Miles' face.
24:13Covered in angry red welts.
24:14Wailing in the arms of old Madam Hart.
24:17Selena and Nick stood to the side.
24:19Both stiff.
24:20Both silent.
24:21Oh my poor grandson.
24:23What heartless, monstrous demon fed you seafood?
24:26Did they not know it could kill you?
24:30You!
24:31Was it you, Selena?
24:32I always knew you were a worthless tramp.
24:36Old Madam Hart rounded on her.
24:38Selena's mouth opened.
24:39A flash of panic and then her finger shot toward me.
24:42It wasn't me.
24:43It was Ella Walker.
24:45Ella Walker.
24:46Have you lost your mind?
24:48Can't birth your own child so you come after my grandson?
24:52It wasn't me.
24:53Miles, tell them.
24:55Who gave you the chips?
24:57Miles' wails faltered.
24:59His head drooped.
25:00He couldn't lift his eyes.
25:01Go on, sweetheart.
25:03Tell grandma.
25:04I'll make it right.
25:05Whoever hurt you, I'll skin them alive.
25:07Old Madam Hart kept pushing.
25:09Kept prodding.
25:10Miles bit.
25:11His lip.
25:12The pressure finally crushed him.
25:13He looked up at me.
25:14The meaning couldn't have.
25:16Been clearer.
25:17I wasn't surprised.
25:18Not really.
25:19Just hollow.
25:20Soul tired.
25:21A cold, sinking grief.
25:23All desires.
25:23I truly treated Miles like my own son.
25:26And despite his cruelty, despite everything, the ice had been thawing slowly.
25:31I'd actually believed once that we could become family.
25:34The living room has security cameras.
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