Chapter 6: The Collapse
Ryan and Linda’s world fell apart within days of my return.
After the bail hearing, Ryan was denied bail and sent back to jail to await trial. Linda was released on bail but had nowhere to go. The house had already been seized as part of my civil claim, and most of their assets were frozen. She ended up staying with a distant relative who made it very clear she wasn’t welcome for long.
I watched it all from a distance at first.
I had rented a small apartment in the city under my real name again. I didn’t want to hide anymore. I wanted them to know I was here, alive, and coming for everything they had left.
Ryan tried to contact me through his lawyer. He sent messages begging me to drop the charges, saying he would give me whatever I wanted. I didn’t reply to any of them.
Linda, on the other hand, tried a different approach.
She showed up at my apartment one afternoon with red, swollen eyes. She looked older and smaller than I remembered. When I opened the door, she actually got down on her knees.
“Please,” she begged. “I’m an old woman. I can’t go to prison. Ryan was the one who pushed you. I just… I didn’t stop him. Please have mercy.”
I looked down at her without any sympathy.
“You stood at the top of the stairs and watched while your son tried to kill me and my baby,” I said coldly. “You lied to the police. You helped him cover it up. And now you want mercy?”
Linda started crying harder.
“I made a mistake,” she sobbed. “I was wrong about you. Please, just drop the charges against me. I’ll do anything.”
I stared at her for a long moment.
Then I said the words I had been holding in for three years.
“You don’t get to beg for mercy now, Linda. You didn’t show me any mercy when I was bleeding on your floor. You don’t deserve it.”
May you like
I closed the door in her face.
That night, I slept better than I had in years.
