Chapter 2 - The Bribe
The waiting room lights buzzed with a sterile, nauseating hum. Rachel sat with her head in her hands. The doctors had taken Emma into emergency surgery to relieve the swelling in her brain and treat the second-degree burns.
Footsteps echoed down the linoleum hallway. It was her mother, Eleanor, clutching her designer handbag. She sat next to Rachel, smelling of expensive perfume and cold indifference.
"How is she?" Eleanor asked, though her tone suggested she was asking about the weather.
"She’s in surgery, Mom. She has a concussion."
Eleanor sighed, reaching into her purse and pulling out a leather checkbook. She uncapped her fountain pen. "Your sister is in a holding cell, Rachel. She’s terrified. We’ve called the family lawyer, but this domestic assault charge is going to ruin her real estate career. Name your price."
Rachel stared at the woman who had given birth to her. "You’re trying to buy my silence? Over your granddaughter's life?"
"She’s a child, children bounce back," Eleanor said smoothly, sliding a check for $100,000 across the plastic waiting room table. "Drop the charges. Say you overreacted. You’ve always struggled financially, Rachel. This could give you and Emma a fresh start."
May you like
Rachel picked up the check. For a second, Eleanor smiled triumphantly.
Then, Rachel ripped it down the middle, then again, and threw the shreds into her mother’s lap. "Get out. If I ever see you near my daughter again, I’ll have you arrested, too."
