Chapter 4

These were the children Eliana had carried for nine months and raised with all her love. Now, they were trying to set her on fire, just to get back at her for Linda. Her whole body went stiff. She just couldn't believe it. She tried to move her fingers, but her body felt limp. She couldn't even lift a hand. Flames licked at the door, and thick smoke made her eyes sting and fill with tears. With every ounce of strength she had left, Eliana rolled out of bed. She collapsed onto the floor, writhing weakly. "Help... me..." Her raspy cry for help was drowned out by the crackling of the fire. Her vision blurred as her consciousness started slipping away. The last thing she saw was the bedroom door crashing down. When she woke up again, she was in the hospital. "You're awake?" The nurse let out a breath of relief. "You're lucky the neighbors noticed the fire when they did. If they hadn't..." Eliana lay there in silence, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her children's words echoed in her ears, each one cutting like a knife. "Jamie, are we really going to burn her alive?" "Of course! She hurt Linda, so we have to make her pay!" Those two sentences twisted in her heart like a blade. Suddenly, Eliana threw back the covers and staggered out of bed. "Where are you going? Your wounds could split open!" the nurse shouted. Eliana ignored her, stumbling down the hallway to the nurses' station. "I need to use the phone." Her fingers shook as she dialed. "I want to report a crime. Attempted murder." The voice on the other end hesitated. "Who's the suspect?" "My two children," Eliana said, her voice as cold as ice. "They drugged my water, then set the house on fire. They tried to kill me." There was a long pause. "Are you sure?" "I'm sure." She hung up, slid down the wall, and sat on the floor. Her back was drenched in cold sweat. In less than half an hour, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. Gabriel burst through the door, with Linda and the two kids trailing behind him. "You called the police?" Gabriel asked, his voice cold. Eliana looked up at him. "Yes." "Are you out of your mind?" Gabriel grabbed her wrist. "They're your own kids!" "So that gives them the right to do whatever they want to me?" Eliana shot back with a bitter laugh. "They drugged me and set the place on fire just to get revenge for someone else! They were standing there watching me burn!" "Eliana!" Linda rushed over, grabbing Eliana's hand. Her eyes glistened with tears. "It's all my fault! The kids just wanted to stand up for me." She sobbed as she continued, "I've already scolded them! They're just kids. They don't know any better. How could you send them to jail?" By now, people had started to gather outside the room, whispering to each other. "Oh my god, she's sending her own kids to jail?" "That's too heartless..." Eliana remained expressionless, refusing to say a word. Suddenly, Linda dropped to her knees with a heavy thud. "Eliana, I'm begging you! I'll do anything if you'll just forgive them. Please let them go!" The room seemed to freeze in that moment. "Linda!" Jamie shouted in a rage and charged at Eliana's bed like a madman. He kicked it hard enough to nearly knock her off. "You heartless woman! How could you make Linda get down on her knees to beg you?" Before Eliana could react, Jamie lunged at her, punching her over and over. "I hate you! I hate you!" he cried, hitting her again and again. "Linda's the kindest person in the world! How could you bully her like that?" Hannah, eyes red and filled with tears, clung to Linda. "Please, Linda, get up! We'd rather go to jail or die than watch you be humiliated like this!"