cat ai

**MADNESS OF THE MIND**

"Make sure you end his life. He cannot be a hindrance to me. Do a clean job, and I promise you will be paid handsomely," the cold-hearted woman ordered, pointing a sharp finger at the terrified little boy.

Two masked men lunged forward, grabbed the child, and covered his face until everything went pitch black.

Someone was violently shaking Silas. He gasped for air, his eyes flying open. It was just a nightmare. But it wasn't just *any* nightmare; it was the second time he had experienced this exact same terrifying vision, yet he could never see the face of the little boy or the wicked woman giving the orders.

"Why were you kicking your legs like someone being strangled?" Felix asked, staring at him in confusion from the other side of the room.

"Felix, I just had a terrible nightmare. I feel so weird," Silas muttered, wiping the cold sweat from his face.

"What was it about?" Felix asked, sitting up.

"Don't worry about it, bro. Just go back to sleep," Silas replied, laying his head back down on his thin pillow.

In the quiet of the night, Silas thought about his adopted mother, who had called him earlier that afternoon just to check on him. She was a woman of pure love, never demanding money, only caring about his well-being. Then, his mind drifted to the strange madwoman who had been staring at him near the construction site. He wondered what she wanted with him. Eventually, exhaustion pulled him back into a deep sleep.

The following morning, Silas dressed up and headed straight back to the grand estate on Ridgeville Street. He couldn't explain the invisible rope pulling him toward this specific mansion. He knocked on the massive gates, and the security guard surprisingly let him in. As he walked toward the main doors, a wealthy man in his late fifties stepped out, rushing toward his parked car.

"Good morning, sir," Silas greeted respectfully.

The wealthy man stopped in his tracks, staring intently at Silas. A strange, unexplainable connection instantly sparked in his chest, freezing him in place for a brief moment.

"Yes... good morning. How can I help you?" Mr. Sterling finally replied, shaking off the weird feeling.

"Sir, my name is Silas. I am a professional cook. I came to see if my services might be needed here," Silas said softly.

"A cook?"

"Yes, sir," Silas nodded respectfully.

"Come back tomorrow morning. I am running late for work, but I will see what we can do," Mr. Sterling said before stepping into his luxury car. The driver immediately pulled out of the compound.

Silas left the estate overflowing with joy. He rushed to the construction site where Felix was already hard at work mixing cement, desperate to make enough money for his sister's tuition. Silas jumped in to help his friend, excitedly sharing that he was finally going to get a foot inside the mansion. Felix was thrilled for him; at least his friend would finally find some peace of mind.

At the end of the day, Silas collected his wages and handed the entire amount to Felix, telling him to use it to pay his sister's school fees. Felix was deeply moved and thanked his best friend profusely.

---

Meanwhile, inside his chauffeur-driven car, Mr. Sterling couldn't shake the image of the young man from his mind.

*Wait... is it possible that this boy is who I think he is?* he thought to himself. *No, it can't be. That's impossible. But why do I feel this strong bond?*

His ringing phone abruptly snapped him out of his deep thoughts. It was a business associate calling. After speaking on the phone, Mr. Sterling waved his suspicions away, blaming it on stress.

---

The next day, Silas arrived at the mansion early. He met with Mr. Sterling and his haughty wife, Madam Beatrice. They asked him a few basic questions, which Silas answered confidently. They offered him the job on the spot, explaining that their current chef was traveling soon and they needed a replacement.

Silas was ecstatic. He knew he had lied—he wasn't a professional chef, he had only worked briefly in a local diner—but getting inside this house was his only chance to find answers. He needed to know why his destiny was tied to this family.

But just a few days into his new job, Silas was cleaning near the hallway when he overheard something he was never meant to hear.

**EPISODE 2**

**MADNESS OF THE MIND**

"I have told you before, we are not hiring anyone! This is the second time you have come to my gate begging for a job. Is that so difficult for your brain to process? Now get off my property!" Madam Beatrice barked at the young man standing in front of her.

He turned around with a heavy heart and slowly walked away from the massive iron gates. But as he stepped onto the street, he stopped and turned back to stare at the grand estate. Whenever he looked at this particular mansion, a strange, overwhelming feeling washed over him. He felt a deep connection to the house, an unexplainable pull that kept drawing him back, even though his attempts to secure a job there were totally useless.

Silas stood outside the beautiful walls for a few more minutes before dragging his feet back to his neighborhood. He was sad. There was no construction work available at his usual spot today, which meant no daily pay.

"Felix, I need to tell you something," Silas said calmly to his friend, who was sitting on a flat wooden plank, tossing roasted peanuts into his mouth.

"If what you want to tell me isn't a strategy on how we can make money today, please keep it to yourself. My only problem in this life is poverty," Felix replied, crunching loudly.

"Felix, you know that massive mansion at the end of Ridgeville Street? The biggest estate in the area?"

"Yes, who doesn't know that palace?" Felix asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I feel like I am drawn to that building. In fact... I feel like that mansion belongs to me," Silas confessed.

Instantly, Felix burst into uncontrollable laughter. He laughed so hard he nearly choked on his peanuts, while Silas just stared at him in dead seriousness.

"I know you love to daydream, but you are taking this madness too far! How can a broke laborer like you claim a multi-million-dollar mansion belongs to you? Are you okay in the head? Please, wake up from your dreams before the owners arrest you for trespassing," Felix mocked.

"Felix, I am serious. I mean it..."

"Please, Silas, I am not in the mood for fairy tales. There is no work today, and my younger sister just texted me about her school fees. Let me face my harsh reality instead of building castles in the air," Felix sighed, cutting him off.

Right on cue, Felix’s phone began to ring. It was his sister. He answered, his voice dropping as he promised her he would do whatever it took to send the money before the deadline.

When he hung up, he looked defeated.

"She is asking for her school fees?" Silas asked softly.

Felix just nodded.

"Then what are we still doing sitting here? Let's go look for work somewhere else. If our usual site is empty, we will find another one," Silas smiled, extending a hand to pull his friend up.

The two young men hit the streets. It didn't take long before they spotted an ongoing building project. They approached the foreman, who agreed to let them join the laborers for a daily wage. Silas and Felix immediately took off their shirts and got to work.

The afternoon sun was merciless, scorching their skin and leaving them completely dehydrated. Taking a quick break, Silas volunteered to go buy some chilled sachet water to cool them down.

He walked down to a nearby kiosk and bought the water. But as he turned to leave, he noticed a woman in dirty, tattered clothes staring dead at him. She looked like a madwoman who had been living on the streets for years.

"Why is this madwoman staring at me like that?" Silas muttered to himself. He tried to change his direction, but her eyes followed his every move. Not wanting any trouble, he quickly took a longer route back to the construction site.

"Silas, what took you so long? Were you waiting for me to die of thirst?" Felix complained as Silas handed him the water.

"Bro, there was this madwoman staring at me without blinking. You know how unpredictable they can be on the streets. I had to dodge her before she started following me," Silas explained, catching his breath.

Felix started laughing all over again. "Silas, this morning you said a billionaire's mansion belongs to you. Now, a madwoman is falling in love with you. What exactly is your problem today?"

Before Silas could reply, his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was his mother calling.

**EPISODE 1**

"I trusted you with my daughter, and all you did was abuse her! She fell, split her head open, and you didn't even care to take her to a hospital! What if she had died?" David roared, his voice shaking with absolute fury.

Brenda trembled, wondering how David knew about Mia's head injury or that she had even run away.

David's eyes filled with tears as he looked at the woman he married. "When my first wife died, I raised my daughter all by myself. I changed her diapers, I fed her, I quit my job just to be there for her. But my mother begged me for three years to remarry. She forced me into this. And my biggest mistake was marrying a heartless monster!"

"I'm sorry! It wasn't intentional!" Brenda cried softly.

David scoffed, his anger flaring again. "Not intentional? My daughter goes missing from my own house for over five days, and you never even told me?!"

Trying to deflect his wrath, Brenda saw her chance to strike at her mother-in-law to save herself. "I might have lied, but your mother is the reason your first wife is in the grave!" Brenda screamed, pointing directly at Mrs. Carter.

Mrs. Carter froze. Tears streamed down her wrinkled face as David turned to her, his world completely shattering.

"I'm so sorry, my son," Mrs. Carter wept, dropping to her knees. "I just wanted to fulfill a promise to my late friend. I used dark magic to bind her womb so she wouldn't give birth, but Brenda was the one who tampered with it... I didn't mean to kill her! Please forgive me!"

David stumbled backward, crying bitterly. The doctors had always told him his wife's sudden death during childbirth wasn't natural, but he had no proof. Now, he was looking right at her murderers.

"Get out," David whispered, pointing at the door. "Both of you. Get out of my house!"

As Brenda and Mrs. Carter scrambled toward the door, Marcus—Brenda's secret lover—tried to sneak out behind them. David grabbed him by the collar, throwing him hard against the wall, ready to destroy him. But he stopped when he felt tiny hands wrap around his waist. It was his daughter, Mia, begging him to stop. Looking at her innocent face, which looked exactly like her late mother's, David let Marcus drop to the floor.

"The police are waiting for you outside," David spat.

Mia was a brilliant girl. When Brenda and Marcus were busy in the living room days ago, she had escaped to a trusted neighbor's house and recited her father's phone number perfectly from memory.

That single phone call had blown everything wide open. David hadn't just rushed home; he had quietly dug into Brenda's past. He tracked down her best friend, who confessed the ultimate secret: Brenda's biological son wasn't David's. He belonged to Marcus. David had set the trap, waiting for Marcus to show up, completely unprepared for his own mother to walk into the crossfire and expose herself.

Within a month, the reckoning was complete. David divorced Brenda, threw Marcus behind bars for fraud and endangerment, and banished his mother from his life forever, refusing to forgive the woman who murdered his true love.

Brenda ended up with absolutely nothing. Forced onto the streets, she lived in deep regret after losing the luxurious life she took for granted, eventually losing everything she held dear to the harsh realities of poverty.

As for David, he vowed never to remarry. He dedicated the rest of his life to raising his smart, brave little girl, turning his endless pain into the strength needed to give her the most beautiful life possible.

**The End.**

**THE STEPMOTHER’S RECKONING** 🚪😳

Brenda sat down heavily on the couch, looking around the empty house. She had just come from searching the entire neighborhood for her stepdaughter, Mia, but her search was completely futile. The little girl was gone.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to say? What will I tell David?" Brenda whispered to herself, pacing the floor.

Even though the ceiling fan was on and she was wearing a sleeveless top, beads of hot sweat rolled down her forehead. She checked the time; her biological son, Leo, had already been dismissed from school. She needed to pick him up before something happened to him, too.

She grabbed her phone and rushed out of the house. On the way to the school, Brenda called her secret lover, Marcus, begging to know if he had seen Mia wander off while they were together. But Marcus, terrified of getting caught in a kidnapping scandal, abruptly hung up the phone and blocked her number.

Brenda was trapped. After picking up Leo, she decided the only way out was to weave a massive web of lies to save herself from her husband's wrath.

Whenever David called from his business trip, Brenda would deliberately mess with her network connection or lie smoothly, claiming Mia was fast asleep or watching cartoons. She thought if she delayed long enough, she could concoct a story about Mia running away on her own.

Six days passed. Brenda thought she was in the clear, totally unaware of the storm brewing.

Across town, David's mother, Mrs. Carter, was losing her mind. She had been having relentless, terrifying nightmares about Elena—David's late wife, whom Mrs. Carter had secretly used dark magic against years ago. Unable to bear the torment and guilt anymore, Mrs. Carter made up her mind to confront Brenda once and for all.

When Mrs. Carter arrived at her son's house, she pushed the front door open—only to freeze in absolute bewilderment.

Right there in the living room was her daughter-in-law, tangled up on the couch and moaning with a man who was definitely not her son.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Mrs. Carter screamed, clutching her chest in shock.

Marcus scrambled up, desperately grabbing his clothes to cover his nakedness, while Brenda casually wrapped a blanket around herself.

"Brenda, how could you? How could you do this to my son? You bring a stranger into his own house?" Mrs. Carter asked, tears of betrayal welling in her eyes.

"Please, don't act like a saint in front of me," Brenda spat without a single ounce of remorse. "You did much worse. I'm just having fun; I didn't take an innocent life like you did. You better seal your lips. If you tell your son about what you saw here, I will expose your dark secrets, and we will both sink."

Mrs. Carter broke down in tears. "I can't bear this pain anymore. I inflicted this curse upon myself. I brought a demon into my son's home, and you became my doom. I don't care what happens to me next, but I am going to call my son right now. He needs to see the monster he married!"

She pulled out her phone with shaking hands and dialed David's number. Brenda immediately lunged forward to sn**ch the phone away.

But suddenly, a cell phone began to ring from close range.

Both Mrs. Carter and Brenda froze. They slowly turned their heads toward the hallway.

Standing right there at the doorpost, his eyes dark with unbridled fury, was David.

He didn't look at Marcus. He didn't look at the tangled clothes on the couch. He looked directly into Brenda's soul.

"Where is my daughter?" David asked, his voice dangerously low.

"D-David... you... you aren't supposed to be back yet..." Brenda stammered, stepping backward as the color completely drained from her face.

"I said, where is my daughter?!" David roared. He closed the distance in two massive strides. Before Brenda could even form another lie, he delivered a slap so fierce it sent her crashing into the glass coffee table, knocking out one of her teeth.

Brenda wailed in pain, but David wasn't done. He pulled out his phone and revealed a picture. It was Mia, safe and sound, eating ice cream at a police station.

"She ran away six days ago to escape your beatings. A good Samaritan found her bleeding on the street and took her to the authorities," David revealed, his voice shaking with rage. "The police called me immediately. I flew back in secret, set up hidden cameras in my own house, and waited. I heard everything."

He turned his blazing eyes to his weeping mother. "I heard about the cheating. And I heard about what you did to Elena."

Before either woman could beg for mercy, the wail of police sirens filled the street. Two squad cars pulled up to the driveway. Marcus was tackled trying to escape through the back door. Brenda was dragged out of the house in handcuffs for severe child abuse and adultery, her face bruised and her dignity shattered.

And Mrs. Carter? David handed her over to the traditional authorities and the police, washing his hands of the mother who had murdered the only woman he ever truly loved.

David packed his bags, took his children, and drove away from the cursed house forever, leaving the wicked women to rot in the beds they had made.

**The End.**

"Why is a married woman like you calling me on the phone? Please, I don't want any trouble with your husband," Marcus said over the phone as soon as he picked up, having hesitated for a while.

"Is that how you greet your ex-lover? After everything we shared?" Brenda asked.

"You know we shared a lot, yet you left me and got married to another man four years ago," Marcus responded.

"You know the whole story, my love. You weren't ready, and I was under peer pressure. You know you're the one that I love. I still kept seeing you until I finally moved under his roof," Brenda said convincingly.

"So tell me, what do you want from me now?" Marcus asked.

"Well, I've missed the way you handle me. I've been enduring for a very long time now. I can't endure it anymore," Brenda said seductively.

Marcus was silent for a while. He then heaved a deep sigh. "Tell me, where and when?"

"Yes... That's my baby boy. You'll come over to my place. And before you ask about my husband, he won't be back for two months. So you can come tomorrow morning," Brenda said with immense joy. Marcus responded with an "ok" and ended the call.

Brenda put her phone away. The house was quiet, and she suddenly wondered what her stepdaughter, Mia, was doing. Brenda’s biological son, Leo, was already dressed for school, but Mia hadn't even put on her socks and shoes. Without a second thought, Brenda left Mia behind and took Leo to school alone.

"Where is that girl? Someone who should have followed her mother to the grave!" Brenda spat, standing up from the couch when she returned. She walked into the kitchen, but Mia wasn't there. She stormed into the children's room and found the little girl sleeping.

"There is nothing I won't see in this house!" Brenda exclaimed, viciously smacking Mia's back.

Mia woke up instantly. Brenda dragged her by the ear all the way to the kitchen. The plate Leo used for breakfast was still in the sink, unwashed. Brenda had left absolutely no food for Mia to eat either. The little girl wouldn't dare tell her stepmother she was hungry; the only response she would get was a slap. Brenda only fed Mia leftovers or whenever she felt like it.

"So who is going to clean this sink?" Brenda demanded, her hands on her hips. Mia had already started shedding tears. Brenda left her in the kitchen and walked away.

Trembling, Mia dragged the small kitchen stool toward the sink to reach the tap. As she tried to climb it, she slipped and crashed to the floor. Her head hit the hard tiles, and she immediately began to bleed, crying out in sheer agony.

Brenda rushed into the kitchen and saw Mia on the floor, bleeding from her forehead. Panic set in—not for the child, but out of fear of how her husband would react if he saw the bruise. Instead of comforting her, Brenda lifted Mia up and began to beat her for "trying to put her in trouble." Mia cried her eyes out, clutching her bleeding forehead.

Eventually, Brenda massaged the swelling spot, stopped the bleeding, and forced the crying child to take some painkillers. She placed the stool back at the sink and hoisted Mia onto it.

"If you fall again, I will beat you up, and you will still wash this plate," Brenda hissed, walking out of the kitchen.

Mia continued to cry softly, whispering her father's name, terrified to speak it loud enough for her stepmother to hear.

That night, David called to check on his family. He asked to speak to Mia, but Brenda quickly lied, claiming the girl was already fast asleep. He asked to speak with her the next day.

The following morning, Brenda repeated her cruel routine. She sent only her son to school, leaving Mia behind to run errands and do chores. But her real plan was to lock Mia in her room once Marcus arrived.

Later that morning, David called again to ask about the kids. Brenda smoothly lied that they were both at school. Almost immediately after David hung up, Marcus called for directions. Minutes later, he walked into the house.

It took only a few moments for Brenda and Marcus to get entangled. Before things went too far, Brenda paused and called out Mia's name. When there was no response, she smiled, assuming the injured girl was fast asleep. Brenda and her lover made out on the living room couch, completely distracted, before heading to the shower together.

Hours sped by. It was almost time to pick Leo up from school, so Marcus finally left the house.

That was when the real nightmare began for Brenda.

She called out Mia's name to give her chores, but there was no response. Annoyed, Brenda marched into the bedroom, but the bed was empty. She searched the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the backyard, calling the girl's name, but Mia was nowhere to be found. Brenda's heart skipped a massive beat.

Panic-stricken, she ran to the front door and realized it was unlatched. While Brenda and Marcus were busy on the couch, the terrified and injured little girl had silently slipped out of the house.

Brenda rushed out to the street, frantically looking left and right. Suddenly, a police cruiser turned the corner, followed closely by a familiar car. It was her neighbor, Mrs. Higgins, and stepping out of the passenger seat was David.

Mia had run straight to Mrs. Higgins' house, crying and bleeding. The horrified neighbor had immediately called the police and contacted David, who had taken an emergency morning flight home. Worse, Mrs. Higgins' security cameras pointed directly at Brenda's gate, capturing Marcus arriving and leaving hours later.

"David, please! I can explain!" Brenda screamed as the police officers approached her.

David didn't even look at her. He walked right past her, went inside to pack his daughter's things, and handed the security footage over to the authorities. Brenda was arrested on the spot for severe child endangerment and abuse. She lost her marriage, her luxurious lifestyle, and her freedom all in one day.

The dark secrets hidden behind closed doors always find a way out.

**The End.**

Part 4
"Mama, why? Why did you kill me? What was my offense?" Elena asked softly, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She was heavily pregnant, standing like a ghost at the foot of the bed.
"Please forgive me, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" Mrs. Carter pleaded, trembling in terror.
Suddenly, Elena raised a sharp knife, and Mrs. Carter screamed out in horror.
"Mom! Mom, wake up!" Lily cried, shaking her mother vigorously.
Mrs. Carter gasped for air, her eyes flying open. It was just a dream. She held her chest, panting heavily as sweat drenched her nightgown. That was the third time this week she was having the exact same nightmare.
"Mom, what is the matter? Why were you shouting?" Lily asked, holding her closely.
Mrs. Carter looked around the dark room, swallowed hard, and asked for a glass of water. She lied to her daughter, saying it was just a bad dream, and sent her back to bed. But as soon as she was alone, Mrs. Carter buried her face in her hands, consumed by a heavy, suffocating regret.
Her mind flashed back to seven years ago.
Elena hadn't done anything to deserve her hatred. In fact, Elena was a sweet, respectful orphan with a heart of gold. But Mrs. Carter despised her because she had already promised her late best friend that her son, Daniel, would marry her friend's daughter, Vanessa.
But Daniel had met Elena, fallen deeply in love, and married her despite his mother's bitter protests.
When Elena got pregnant, Mrs. Carter’s hatred reached a boiling point. She secretly visited a dark native doctor to get rid of the child. When the doctor said Elena's spirit was too pure to be harmed, Mrs. Carter demanded he bind her womb so the baby would never come out.
The doctor gave Mrs. Carter a small wooden doll, instructed her to tie a thick black thread around it, and make incantations every morning. As long as the thread was tied, Elena would never be able to deliver.
Months went by, and Elena’s pregnancy went far past her due date. Doctors were baffled, but Mrs. Carter secretly rejoiced.
Then, one fateful afternoon, Vanessa came to visit. While looking for something in Mrs. Carter's room, Vanessa accidentally knocked the wooden doll off the shelf. The doll hit the floor, and the black thread loosened.
At that exact moment, Daniel called his mother, weeping with joy, to say Elena had suddenly gone into labor.
Panic and wickedness took over Mrs. Carter. She sn**ched the doll from Vanessa, frantically calling Elena's name as she violently tied the thread back around the doll as tight as she could.
Right before their eyes, the wooden doll suddenly began to bleed.
An hour later, Daniel called back, his voice completely shattered. Elena hadn't made it. She had died in severe agony during the delivery.
Mrs. Carter had rejoiced. She had proudly told Vanessa that the coast was clear, laughing hysterically that her son was finally hers to marry.
But lying in her bed now, seven years later, the regret was eating Mrs. Carter alive.
She had used her own hands to bring a devil into her son's home. Vanessa turned out to be a wicked, manipulative monster who was physically abusing Elena's surviving daughter, Zoe. Worse, Vanessa was using the dark secret of Elena's murder to blackmail Mrs. Carter, making her life a living hell.
Unable to bear the guilt anymore, Mrs. Carter got out of bed, walked to her closet, and pulled out the old, blood-stained wooden doll she had hidden for years. She fell to her knees, weeping bitterly and begging the doll for forgiveness out loud.
"I'm sorry, Elena! I killed you for nothing! I let a demon into my son's house, and now she is torturing your child! I am a wicked mother!" she sobbed.
Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed behind her.
Mrs. Carter froze and turned around slowly. Standing in the doorway of her bedroom was Daniel. He had returned early from his business trip and had stopped by to check on his mother.
His eyes were fixed on the bloody wooden doll in her hands. He had heard every single word.
"Daniel..." Mrs. Carter choked, dropping the doll. "It's not what you think..."
"You killed her," Daniel whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of profound heartbreak and boiling rage. "My wife... the mother of my child. You killed her so I could marry a woman who beats my daughter."
"Please, son, the devil used me!" she cried, crawling toward his feet.
Daniel stepped back, looking at her as if she were a monster. "You are not my mother," he said coldly. "And after tonight, you will never see me or Zoe ever again."
Daniel didn't just walk away. The very next morning, he involved the local authorities and traditional elders, exposing both his mother's dark magic and Vanessa's abuse. Vanessa was thrown out into the streets empty-handed, and Mrs. Carter was banished from the community in total disgrace.
Daniel took his daughter and moved far away to start a new life, leaving his mother alone in a dark, empty house—with nothing but the ghost of the woman she murdered to keep her company every night.
**The End.**

Zoe sat outside her father's house with her head buried between her knees. Someone walked through the gate carrying a handbag.
"Zoe... what are you doing out here? Good heavens! What are all these bruises on your body!?" Daniel's mother, Mrs. Carter, asked as she examined her granddaughter. She could clearly see cane marks all over the little girl's skin.
"Did Vanessa do this to you?" Mrs. Carter asked. But she got no response. Zoe was already so terrified of her stepmother and didn't want any more problems.
Mrs. Carter had come to see Vanessa. She wanted to know why this woman was biting the hand that fed her. She deliberately came at a time she knew her son, Daniel, would be at work, knowing Vanessa, a housewife, would be home alone.
"Vanessa!!! Vanessa!!!" Mrs. Carter yelled, marching into the house and holding Zoe, who kept her face down in fear.
"And who is shouting my name under my roof like a mad dog?" Vanessa asked, sauntering out of the master bedroom.
"Oh, so I'm the one you're referring to?" Mrs. Carter asked, getting only an eye roll in response.
"How dare you bite the finger that fed you? I brought you out of the slums so you could marry my son. Now, all of a sudden, you turn your back on me? Why would a woman with a child of her own beat this little girl this way? Is it because she's not your biological child?" Mrs. Carter demanded, but got no response.
"I'm talking to you and you're ignoring me? You even made my son stop sending money to me and his younger sister. What is wrong with you?" Mrs. Carter fumed.
Vanessa completely ignored her. She sat on the living room sofa, turned on the television, and started changing channels.
Furious, Mrs. Carter marched straight toward the TV stand to unplug it.
"Ah, ah, ah, Madam. This is the height of it," Vanessa warned, immediately standing up. "All this while you've been talking, I've been ignoring you, making you look like the fool you are. But if you touch anything in my house, you'll see what I will do to you."
"Wait, did you just call me a fool? I will report you to my son right now. You must leave this house," Mrs. Carter said, pulling out her phone.
"Go ahead and call him. Call your precious son, and watch me make my own call. Since you want us both to leak our dirty secrets," Vanessa sneered, crossing her arms.
Mrs. Carter froze, staring at Vanessa. She couldn't believe she had used her own hands to bring a devil into her son's home.
"Leave my house now. I warned you never to come here, and you are daring me. Don't push me. I repeat, do not push me. Now get out," Vanessa barked, pointing at the door.
Defeated, Mrs. Carter turned slowly and started walking out. Zoe clung tightly to her grandmother's dress.
"Leave her right now and get inside! I don't want to beat you again this afternoon," Vanessa snapped at Zoe. The little girl immediately dropped her grandmother's dress and ran into her room, knowing exactly what her stepmother was capable of.
"Idiots!" Vanessa muttered as she sat back down.
She picked up the remote, but suddenly her phone began to ring. She checked the screen; it was her best friend calling.
"Vanessa, you've completely forgotten about me. Ever since you got married, you don't even call to check up on me," her friend complained over the phone.
Vanessa chuckled, apologizing and promising to do better.
"It's okay, babe. By the way, do you know I saw your ex, Marcus, today?" her friend asked.
"I still love that guy, honestly. But he wasn't financially ready back then. A girl has to do what she has to do," Vanessa responded, and they both laughed.
"But Vanessa, you have guts. You knowingly gave your husband another man's child to father," her friend whispered over the phone.
"My dear, lower your voice, please. The walls have ears," Vanessa said with a smirk. "Well, if Daniel ever finds out, all my enjoyment will be over. He would chase me out of his house."
They gossiped for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes. After the call, a wicked thought crossed Vanessa's mind. She really loved Marcus and wished she could sneak around with him, at least while Daniel was busy at work. But first, she needed to prepare for rainy days. It was time to drain Daniel's bank accounts completely.
"That won't be necessary, Vanessa."
Vanessa's heart stopped. She spun around, dropping her phone on the tiles.
Standing right by the hallway entrance was Daniel. He had come home early to pick up some documents he forgot, but instead, he had stood there quietly in the shadows, listening to every single word of her phone call.
"Daniel... honey... how long have you been standing there?" Vanessa stammered, her voice shaking violently as all the color drained from her face.
"Long enough to hear you call my mother a fool. Long enough to hear you threaten my daughter," Daniel said, his voice dangerously calm. "And long enough to find out that the son I've been raising belongs to Marcus."
"No, babe, please, you misunderstood! It was just a joke with my friend!" Vanessa cried, falling to her knees.
"Save it," Daniel said coldly. "Pack your bags. You have exactly ten minutes to leave my house before I call the police and have you arrested for child abuse."
He didn't wait for her tears. Daniel walked straight past her, opened Zoe's door, and scooped his terrified daughter into his arms, kissing her bruised forehead and apologizing for being blind for so long. He then stepped outside and called his mother, begging for her forgiveness and asking her to come back.
Vanessa was thrown out into the streets with nothing but a single suitcase. Her grand plans of draining Daniel's wealth vanished in an instant, proving that no matter how well a secret is hidden, the truth will always come to light.
**The End.**