Renee sorted Kaitlyn's pills, then neatly placed them into a small pillbox for each day of the week. She poured warm water and prepared to remind her mother to take her medicine.
Balancing the cup and medicine, Renee approached the room's doorway. She suddenly heard her mother's hushed voice on the phone.
Kaitlyn spoke softly, her tone urgent and low as if she meant it that way.
"Is everything taken care of?
"What? She... hasn't died?
"You all are a bunch of useless people!
"...I don't care about that. Just make sure she doesn't return to Centrolis!"
Renee's heart skipped a beat. She struggled to catch the words beyond the door. She wasn't sure who her mother conversed with on the phone, and the thought that her mother could utter such things was hard to accept.
Could it be a misunderstanding? It had to be!
She furrowed her brow as doubts gnawed at her. Her mother had been unwell and withdrawn for so long. How could she now command others to do such things?
The voice from within the room persisted.
"And that individual... Watch her closely for me. Don't let her escape!"
Fear surged through Renee, and her grip on the cup faltered.
"Who's out there?"
Kaitlyn flung open the door abruptly. Catching Renee's wide-eyed gaze, she emanated a chilling intensity.
Terrified, Renee stepped back. The cup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
Kaitlyn's expression darkened, her voice icy as she demanded, "What are you up to?"
"Mom, I..." Renee's voice trembled. "I came to give you your medicine. It's time for your dose."
That person's daughter could also be her daughter. The glory and wealth that person could have in the latter half of their life… she must have it too!
Kaitlyn went up and patted Renee's head, saying softly, "Such a good child."
Renee smiled as she watched Kaitlyn enter the living room. She kept an eye out and quickly slipped into her mother's room.
She spotted the forgotten phone her mother had left on the bed.
Her heart raced as she hid the phone behind her back and left the room quietly.
Once back in her own room, she locked the door and tried to unlock the phone. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she contacted an engineer she knew from work. With his guidance, she successfully unlocked Kaitlyn's phone...
The first entry in the call log was from an unknown number.
Renee felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat!
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