Chapter 8 - The Cornered Rat
Thursday night brought a massive, relentless thunderstorm to the city.
Julian and I were wiping down the counters after an incredibly busy, sold-out dinner service.
Suddenly, the heavy glass front door rattled violently.
Someone was trying to force their way inside the locked restaurant.
I looked up and saw Eleanor standing in the pouring rain, looking absolutely deranged.
Her expensive clothes were soaked, and her makeup was running down her face in dark streaks.
Victor and his men must have finally frozen all of her hidden offshore accounts.
She was completely out of money, out of options, and rapidly running out of time.
I walked over to the door, unlocking the deadbolt but keeping the heavy safety chain engaged.
"What do you want, Eleanor?" I asked, my voice completely devoid of any emotion.
"Let me in, Samantha!" she screamed, clawing at the narrow gap in the door.
"Those dangerous men took my car, they took my jewelry, they took everything!"
"You have to give me the money from the bistro, or they are going to kill me!"
I stared at her pathetic, begging face, feeling absolutely nothing but cold disgust.
"You stole from my father, you forged his signature, and you tried to ruin my life," I listed calmly.
"I do not owe you a single dime."
Eleanor’s face twisted into a mask of pure, demonic fury.
"I am your mother!" she shrieked, spitting rain and venom.
"You owe me your miserable existence!"
"My mother died the second she threw boiling tea in my face," I replied softly.
I shoved the heavy glass door shut, locking the deadbolt securely in place.
She pounded her fists against the glass until her knuckles bled, screaming curses into the storm.
I turned my back on her and walked back into the warmth of my kitchen.
May you like
She had finally made her own bed.
Now, she was going to burn in it.
