"Mommy, I'm so scared…"
The thin, trembling voice of a little boy filled the room as his mother pulled him tightly into her arms.
"Don't worry… it will be fine. Everything will be over soon."
Rose had never imagined she would say those words to her son.
They lay on the bed, holding each other, surrounded by the sharp, suffocating smell of petrol. The sheets beneath them were soaked, and the floor was no different, everything was drenched. Tears slipped silently down Rose's face as she held her son closer, regret crashing into her all at once.
She had ruined everything, her life… and her son's.
Rose Preston was once the most successful A-list actress in the country. She came from a wealthy family, but her life had never truly been peaceful. Her mother died when she was twelve, and not long after, her father married his mistress, a woman who he secretly already had a daughter with.
Years later, Rose married her long-time boyfriend, Ethan Morris. They were together for six years and had a son, Noah, who was now five. From the outside, it looked like a perfect life.
But those six years were hell.
As soon as they got married, everything changed. Ethan became a different man, cold, cruel, and violent. He treated her like a slave, and she endured every form of abuse without leaving. She kept telling herself he loved her, that it was just his temper, that things would get better.
They never did. He even forced her to quit acting, and she obeyed.
Then one day, everything shattered.
She discovered Ethan had been cheating on her, with her stepsister for almost seven years even before they got married. That same day, as she prepared to confront him, she got into a car accident. An accident that left her paralyzed and unable to speak properly for three years.
After that, her stepsister Meghan moved into the house, pretending to care for her and Noah. But it was nothing but torture. Almost every day, Ethan and Meghan openly showed their relationship right in front of her, as if she didn't exist. Sometimes they even made out in front of her.
Worse still, they, along with her stepmother, treated Noah terribly.
Ethan didn't even for once think that this boy was his son. The boy became weak and sick, unable to even stand from the bed.
And Rose could do nothing.
She couldn't walk.
She couldn't fight back.
She could only cry.
A prisoner in her own home, cut off from the world. She hadn't even seen the sun in years.
But today… everything was about to change.
Ethan was away on a business trip. Rose lay on the bed with Noah in her arms, his fragile body pressed against hers. He was too weak to move, and she held him the only way she could helpless and crying as always.
Then the door opened. Her stepmother walked in, holding a keg of petrol. Behind her was Meghan, carrying an X-ray picture.
"I'm pregnant with Ethan's child," Meghan announced as soon as she got inside, lifting the image slightly with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Rose's heart dropped. "So… wh…what am I… to do about it?" she stammered, her voice weak and broken from years of paralysis.
"It concerns you"Meghan replied calmly. "Because I want to start a new life with him. And you…" she paused, her lips curling,
"You're an obstacle. But don't worry. Today, everything ends"
Rose's eyes shifted to the petrol keg in her stepmother's hand. Panic rushed through her, and she tightened her hold on Noah.
Her stepmother Tiffany stepped forward, her expression cold.
"For a long time, we've been trying to get rid of you" she said casually. "
First, your mother, that was the easiest. Then you. We caused your accident" Tiffany said with a wicked smile on her face.
Rose's breath hitched hearing her words.
"But you didn't die" she continued. "So we made sure you stayed this way. The doctor was paid to inject you with something that left you paralyzed."
Tears started streamed down Rose's face.
"We kept you alive for a reason" Tiffany added, her voice filled with cruel satisfaction. "We wanted to torment you. You and your mother were nothing but pests in our lives. I wanted her to watch from hell as her daughter suffered"
She tilted her head slightly, smiling.
"And your son…" she continued softly, "We've been poisoning him slowly. He was just too annoying"