hapter 5
Mrs. Thompson’s eyes narrowed, and she dropped to the floor in the hallway, slapping her thighs dramatically and wailing at the top of her lungs.
“Oh, the tragedy! Somebody help us! Look at this! My daughter-in-law is ignoring my son’s life, refusing to pay for his surgery, she wants to watch him die!”
“My poor Thompson family, how did we end up with a woman like this? Can anyone here judge this? My son is lying in bed, hanging between life and death, and she’s letting him die! If he dies, I’ll die right along with him! What kind of world is this? Money that goes into a daughter-in-law’s pocket can never be retrieved! Somebody, open your eyes and see this heartless woman!”
Her wails were so loud, a crowd quickly gathered, drawn in by her theatrics.
People started pointing at me and hurling accusations:
“How can you care more about money than your husband’s life? Health is priceless! You’ll regret this when you’re older, just wait!”
“You look like a decent person, but how could you be so cruel? Is a little surgery really worth more than a human life? God is watching, and you better hope you have a clear conscience!”
“That’s right! Look at how devastated your mother-in-law is! Do you really want her to die of grief too? We heard selling a house could save him! We don’t have money, but you do! And you still won’t help? What kind of monster are you?”
A relative leaned in and whispered something to Mrs. Thompson. Her eyes flared with anger, and suddenly, she was up on her feet, kicking me hard.
“You bitch! You sold the house, and now you’re lying to me! Where’s the money? Half that house belonged to my son! How dare you keep it all for yourself?”
The crowd’s voices grew louder, shouting their judgment and anger.
I stayed calm, unbothered.
“The money? I transferred it to my mom. My cousin’s getting married, and he needed help buying a house, so I lent it to him. I don’t have anything left.”
Mrs. Thompson’s hands shook with rage as she pointed at my nose.
“She’s lying! Who would lend money to an outsider? Grab her! The money’s got to be on her!”
Relatives pinned me down as Mrs. Thompson began patting me down, searching through my clothes.
She pulled out a bank card and immediately handed it to the cashier.
The cashier swiped it a few times, then looked up, shaking his head.
“There’s no balance.”
Instantly, the crowd’s curses hit me like a tidal wave. Cameras flashed relentlessly.
Just then, Olivia showed up. Her eyes widened in panic when she saw the scene unfolding.
She rushed to crouch in front of me, voice shaking.
“Jack’s in critical condition! Didn’t you say you were going to sell the house to raise money? You don’t even get along with your cousin, there’s no way you’d lend him money. Where is it? Do you really want him to die?”
Before I could speak, a nurse rushed over, her face pale with urgency.
“We just discovered that Jack has end-stage liver cancer. The surgery plan is no longer an option.”
Olivia froze, her face draining of color. She muttered in disbelief.
“It’s real? How can that be? I examined Jack myself… there was no, “
She quickly cut herself off, realizing she’d almost slipped up.
Olivia’s eyes flicked to me, narrowing with suspicion.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You planned this! You never wanted to save Jack, you just wanted to keep all the money for yourself! Amy, I’ve known you for 18 years, and I never knew you could be this cold-blooded.”
“Auntie, the money must be on her. She’d never lend it to her cousin, they had a falling out two years ago! Search her thoroughly! If you don’t find anything, call the cops! Investigate! That house was marital property, half of it belongs to Jack! There’s gotta be justice!”
“You must’ve done something to make Jack sick too! How could you be so heartless? Jack was truly unlucky to have married you!”
I just smiled, a cold, bitter smile, as the accusations piled up.
